Page 91 of Fallen Stars

OLIVER

Elbowson my knees and head in my hands, I press the heels of my palms to my eyes and curl my fingers in my hair. One steadying breath after another, I work to calm the perpetual anxiety living in my chest.

As I do most days, I focus my thoughts on the minor details we’ve discovered since Phoebe and Delilah joined the mission a little more than three weeks ago. I concentrate on the map inundated with pins and strings and try to see it from different points of view. I stare at it with a faux predator’s mindset and do my best to think strategically rather than irrationally with my heart.

Today marks fifty-three days since we were beaten in a parking lot and Levi was abducted. Since he was stolen from my life and robbed of his.

Fifty-three days have passed since I last held him in my arms and pressed my lips to his. Since I last told him I love him and heard him say it in return.

In those fifty-three days, I’ve aged just as many years.

Fuck, I miss him. My best friend. My boyfriend. The one person who understands me when no one else does. The only person that makes me want a longer life, just so I have more timewith him. I miss his profound intelligence and the explosive way he loves. I miss his addictive eyes and broody silence. I miss the smell of him on my skin and the smile he reserves for me and gives no one else.

I miss him more than a limb. More than every damn limb.

Words will never adequately describe what I feel for Levi. Love is nowhere near enough. Levi is embedded in every cell of my body. He is rooted deep in my bones. Tattooed on my soul.

When they took him from me, they pried my rib cage in two and wrenched my heart from my chest. They stole the air from my lungs and left me to wither to dust.

A life without Levi is meaningless and dark.

Fifty-three days have passed since I last looked into his eyes. Fifty-three exhausting and excruciating days. But if I have to spend every day of the rest of my life looking for him, I will. And I’ll count every single one of those days. Whatever it takes, no matter the cost, I will not rest until we find Levi.

He is worth every second, every breath, every heartbeat.

“Holy shit!”

My head snaps up and I lock onto Tymber at Levi’s desk. “What?” I shoot up from my seat and cross the room, eager for more information.

“Holy fucking shit!” Tymber shouts with more enthusiasm.

I step up behind him and stare at the countless rows of code on the screens. To me, it’s gibberish. But to tech-savvy people, it’s simply another language.

“What?” I ask again, anxiety and impatience evident in my tone.

Tymber points to the screen, peers over his shoulder, and meets my gaze. A glint of hope shines in his weary eyes. “I found something.” His attention returns to the screen. “At least, I think I did.”

My eyes scan the screen where he points, but none of it makes sense when I read it. I huff out my annoyance. “I have no clue what that says.”

Everyone else in the office crowds around Tymber and focuses on the screen with the same perplexed look in their eyes. Not a single one of us breathes as we wait for Tymber to relay the news.

Shortly after Phoebe and Delilah joined the search party, Levi’s parents walked through the front door of TWSIS. A mixture of surprise, heartache, and uncertainty swirled in my chest at the sight of them. When they said they wanted to help find their son, that whirl of emotion grew tenfold.

Levi may have a strained relationship with his parents, but seeing them in that moment… His family let go of their past differences. For the first time since I’ve known Levi, his parents’ love for him outshines their status and outward appearance.

By the time they walked into TWSIS, they’d spoken at length with Chief Emerson at the Stone Bay Police Department, as well as county, state, and federal law enforcement. Though the departments are working together to locate this human trafficking ring, they directed the Wests to TWSIS, dubbing it the local headquarters for this case.

“It’s a coded message in one of the chat logs.” Tymber spins in the chair and faces the group. “Levi lingered for the most part, reading and deciphering various chats and announcements. But there were a few threads he interacted with to get more information. Some of which he told me about but never gave in-depth details.”

“And?” Infinite hope shapes the small word as Mrs. West waits for Tymber to continue.

“If I’m translating it correctly”—his eyes dart between me and Levi’s parents before he swallows—“the auction he mentioned before he was taken, it will happen soon.”

“An auction?” Mr. West asks in disbelief.

Mrs. West gasps and covers her mouth with her hand.

I stare at the code on the screen, looking for something to contradict Tymber’s interpretation. Anything. But a faint voice in the back of my head says it’s pointless.

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