Page 80 of The Woman

I resume my grip on the edge of the counter. “What do you want?”

“Meet me at the corner of Mission and Appleton.”

The line goes dead, but I remain holding the phone pressed to my ear. What the fuck? I thought he was going to ask where I was, and demand to know why I wasn’t at the office.

But this . . . this has my mind spinning. It tumbles and turns until all the pieces line up and then comes to a stop.

He did this, didn’t he?

My own father.

It makes sense. The looks and comments. The fact he had something come up on Friday and left the office. Was he there when they took her? Is that why I’ve had no communication from them? Because he instructed them not to?

The thought makes my blood start to boil and my stomach lurch.

Why didn’t I think of him as a possibility earlier? I guess I just didn’t think he’d go ahead and do something like that without talking to me first.

I head straight for my front door. He never told me a time, but I can only assume he meant now. I’m not sure what he wants to discuss, but I need answers.

My phone rings again, but this time it’s Thomas. He still went into the office to take calls and move my schedule around for me.

“Hello.”

“Just wanted to let you know that Mark Anderson was fine to reschedule your meeting to Wednesday. It didn’t seem like he was aware of any interaction between you and Jonah, so I guess that’s good.”

I press the button for the parking garage and lean against the elevator wall. “That’s good, although I wouldn’t give a fuck if he did know about it and had a problem with it.”

Thomas chuckles before quieting down. “Any new info?”

My fingers tighten around my phone. “I’m on my way to question my father about it now.”

“What? Do you think he has something to do with it? He hasn’t been in today either.”

“I’ll be confirming it when I see him.”

“I’ll come with you,” Thomas replies immediately.

“That’s not necessary.”

“I just mean I’ll come for the car ride. You can talk to him by yourself.”

I appreciate Thomas’s support and help in all of this, even if it seems like he’s more excited over the fact that he’s involved in something illegal.

Nevertheless, each day, I’m more grateful than the last that I decided to hire him.

“I need you to keep me updated on things at the office.”

“Alright,” he answers with a sigh. “Let me know how it goes.”

It doesn’t take long for me to get to the location my father gave me, but there is no sign of him when I arrive. I wait in my car, hands fisted around the steering wheel, closely watching every car that approaches or drives past and every person that walks by.

When half an hour passes, I finally step out of my car, feeling way too anxious to remain sitting any longer.

What if Avery is being brought to me? The changed version of her, at least. Shit. I run my fingers through my hair, taking a few steps away from my car. What the fuck am I supposed to do with her?

Just then, a black van rolls up beside me, the front windows completely blacked out, and no windows in the back. It comes to a stop just as the back sliding door opens.

“Get in,” a voice from inside says.

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