Page 75 of The Woman

“Avery,“ I bellow. “Did you tell someone about her? Did you get her taken away?”

Something crosses his face, and he glances to the left of him before facing me again.

“No, but you’re telling the whole fucking neighborhood with your yelling. Get in here and keep your voice down.”

He yanks himself back out of my grasp and indicates for me to step inside. A presence off to the side of the entryway has my gaze swinging that way, and I catch Thomas’s father sitting in his wheelchair by the TV, looking back and forth between us, curiosity in his eyes.

“You’re lucky he’s half deaf,” Thomas throws over his shoulder as he leads me into the dining room. I’ve been in here before when I decided to buy it, but it was empty then and devoid of life. “You may be my boss, but I don’t need you worrying my father with your outburst. So, what’s going on?” he asks, leaning against the dining room table and crossing his arms.

“Avery’s gone,” I grit out, pacing back and forth, my body still filled with anxious energy.

“Gone?” The genuine confusion and then surprise on his face has me leaning toward the conclusion that it wasn’t him. “You think she was reported and taken away?”

“Yes.”

Lifting a hand, I grip my neck. I should have taken her with me today like she wanted. She would have been safe with me. I’ve never felt this worried, this unsettled and agitated.

“Wait a second. You thought I went ahead and reported her after I told you I wouldn’t?” He levels me with a pointed glare, offended and hurt.

“I’m sorry. You were the only one who knew for sure about her.”

“Well, I forgive you, but only because I’ve never seen you so out of sorts.”

His gaze sweeps down my frame much like I’ve done with him in the past, his lips pulling to one side in concern.

My eyes snag on a mirror off to the side, and I can see what he’s talking about. My hair is a mess, and part of my shirt is untucked. It’s not a lot, but I’m sure if I were ever photographed like this, the press would have a lot to say about it, as well as my grandfather and father.

But what’s most noteworthy about my appearance is the slightly unhinged look on my face. I suck in a deep breath through my nose, trying to compose myself. I’m not one to have freakouts and lose my cool. She’s done this to me.

It’s all because they took her. They took Avery.

I need to find her before it’s too late. I’m not even sure what they do to the WOUN, but Avery once mentioned that one was found out at the facility and then changed.

Do they alter their brains?

How long do they keep them there?

How long does it take to assess them?

“I need to find her,” I tell him, straightening myself out and tucking my shirt back in.

“How? I mean, do you even know where those places are?”

“No, but I might know someone who does.”

Chapter 31

Phoenix

Pressing replay, I watch once again as Avery appears from the hallway at the top of the screen, the same gorgeous smile on her face that sucks the air out of my lungs and grips my attention until it’s the only thing I see.

It’s only there for a second before it’s replaced by an infinitesimal moment of looking stunned and then to a gaze so empty and lifeless that it causes my heart to hurt. She freezes in place, staring at whoever is in the foyer out of sight, and then she’s stepping toward them and disappearing.

Did she think it was me arriving home at first?

It only occurred to me to check the camera feed from this morning when I was on my way home from Thomas’s. I’ve replayed it several times now. Each time is more painful than the last.

“Well, look who it is,” Edison remarks as soon as he answers the phone. “I don’t even remember the last time you called me.”

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