“Know who you are? Almost. Except there seems to be some discrepancy on who actually perished in that fire when you were a teen. You, or your sister. Ivina was younger…seems less likely she got out on her own. But then again, Lucille was wanted by the police for possibly starting the fire.” Nash runs through information on the woman we suspect of being the apprentice, and how she got her start. The woman flinches when she hears the name Lucille.
“So who are you, really?” He smirks at her. A flush is creeping up her neck to her face with every word he speaks.
I’m trying to focus, but I can’t because Silas is taking a really long time to check in. As much as I appreciate Nash distracting the woman, my heart is in a vice grip waiting for news. I’m about to have Kai go check when Silas’s voice crackles in my ear.
“You need to get out of there.”
Kai glances at me the same time I glance at him. Fear burns in his eyes that matches the sudden pitch in my stomach. Tamping down my panic, I force my voice to sound bored and roll my head towards Oliver, then Nash.
“If you’re going to play for a while, I need to take a piss.”
Nash side- eyes me and forces a laugh that doesn’t match the worry in his eyes. “I guess even guard dogs need a break.”
In any other situation I might punch him in the face for that one. As it is, I just want out of this room. I get to my feet, pretending to stretch and groan while Nash keeps talking to our prisoner, distracting her with information he’s found about herchildhood. Kai and I are able to slip out and meet up with Silas in our rooms.
“What is happening?”
He pulls out his laptop, Matt and Oaklynn fill the screen. I don’t miss the tears on Oaklynn’s face. “Tell me.”
Matt runs a hand over his face. “I’m not sure. None of the perimeters are breached. There isn’t a malfunction or virus to our systems. Everyone had been accounted for, except…except Saylor.”
Everything inside my body is in pain. My heart stops. Time freezes and Matt’s voice seems far away.You’d hate to be wrong about them wouldn’t you?Her voice echoes in my head. She looked at me when she said it. Did she know? Does she know about Rogue? Does she know that Saylor is the most important person in my life and to lose her would be worse than death to me?
“Track her,” I finally clip out.
“Ciaran.” Matt huffs and crosses his arms. “You know that’s a last resort, and she’s asked us not to do that unless absolutely necessary.”
“She’s fucking missing. It’s necessary,” I practically growl. Matt hesitates with his next words while Oaklynn silently cries next to him.
“Her phone is being tracked. Everyone is out looking for her vehicle,” Matt answers.
“Turn her tracker on,” I demand again, my jaw clenching hard. I can’t lose her. I haven’t even told her that I still love her. I want to work on all our broken pieces together. Saylor wouldn’t just disappear. Not when we’re in the situation we’re in with Rogue.
I’m grabbing my things and I send a text to our team letting them know to get the plane ready. I’m heading home.
“We’re finished here,” Kai shrugs and grabs a bag. “We’ll head back home and help before activating her tracker.”
“Even if we wanted to, we can’t turn it on,” Matt finally says, and I halt.
“What do you mean?” I narrow my eyes at my uncle, who for all intents and purposes, has been the only father figure in my life.
“It’s password protected and we can’t figure it out,” Oaklynn jumps in.
Of course she would do that. I want to laugh and smile, but the feelings are opposite to how I am feeling, which is murderous. I need to get home. I need Saylor safe and in my arms. “We’re leaving,” I tell them before slamming the laptop shut and grabbing my bag.
“What about Nash?” Silas sighs and rubs a hand over his jaw.
“He can fucking fix the rest of this mess by himself,” I tell him, before heading out the door. I don’t wait for my best friends. I have one goal, one reason to live. I need to get home to my girl.
“Hiking?” My brow lifts at what Lux has just told me.
She rolls her eyes. “Yes. She picked up the hobby to clear her mind when you guys broke up. I spoke to the owner of the piece of land where she mentioned she goes, but he hasn’t seen anything. She could be anywhere over that way and it’s over a couple hundred acres.”
I push the information into the back of my brain, hating that my girl has been hiking in the woods for months, alone, and no one knew about it. What the hell was she thinking?
“Show me the passcode,” I turn to Matt who huffs.
“Think about this before you do it. Once it’s activated a new one has to be put in. She might kill you this time.”