Page 28 of Guarded from Danger

Maybe she went outside to pick some of the vegetables from the garden Erik started. If she was only planning to run out there quickly, she might have left the door open rather than have to mess with all the locks coming back in. Maybe.

Or I could get my ass inside and find out instead of standing out here, speculating.

When I walk into the apartment, everything seems as it should be. The TV is on in the living room, set to a romance series Lucy’s been binging. There’s a half-drunk mug of coffee on the coffee table, and the laptop she borrowed from Matt is open beside it. Since the show is paused, I can hear the low hum of the dryer running.

Trying to tamp down my growing worry, I call out, “Hey, Luce. I’m back.”

There’s no response, and my stomach dips.

No. It’s fine. She’s probably standing next to the dryer, folding her clothes. She just didn’t hear me.

Except. She’s not inthe laundry room.

Or the bedroom. Or the guest room.

I rush to the window with the best view of the garden.

No Lucy.

A band wraps around my chest and squeezes tight.

Where is she?

Reversing direction, I leave the apartment and jog towards the gym.

She’s not there, either.

Fear slams into me so hard and fast, I can’t breathe for a second.

Did someone take her?

No. That’s not possible.

We would have known if someone breached the property. The perimeter alarms would have told us right away. Nothing can get through the fence around the ranch short of an actual tank. All the doors and windows are reinforced and connected to a top-of-the-line security system.

She’s just somewhere else on the property. That’s no big deal. Lucy knows where the library is, so she might have gone there. Or she went out to the barn. Maybe Jade texted, and she went over to visit.

Each explanation makes sense, but I won’t feel okay until I see Lucy with my own eyes.

So I call Niall first, asking if she’s there.

She isn’t. Jade’s at work and hasn’t spoken to Lucy since yesterday.

I could go to the library to check, or the barn, but that’ll take minutes I don’t want to wait. And yes, I know I’m probably overreacting, and Lucy’s absolutely fine, but… I can’t separate that gut wrenching fear when I found Lucy’s house empty from this. It’s too fresh. Too painful.

Trying not to shift into full freak-out mode yet, I call Matt. While I could pull up all the security camera footage myself, he has a whole setup in his apartment, with something like five computers and twice as many monitors. In the time it takes me to look at one feed, he can check all of them.

The moment he answers the phone, I bark, “I don’t know where Lucy is. Can you look for her?”

He’s immediately all business. “Of course. I’ll check now. When’s the last time you saw her?”

“Before I went to the gym. She texted me”—I open her message again—“thirty-eight minutes ago. She said she was doing laundry. But when I got home, the door was open. I just don’t think Lucy would—she’s been so concerned about security…”

Hurried footsteps are followed by a flurry of keys tapping. Matt says, “I’m just pulling up all the feeds now.” He pauses. “Could she have gone to the gym?—”

“That’s where I am now,” I reply through a gritted jaw. “She’s not here.”

“Okay.” Another pause, and then reassuringly, “We’ll find her, Xavier. She probably got restless and decided to explore the ranch.”

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