Page 42 of Captured Heart

“It would just be...simplernot to.”

There it is. That slight derision in her voice, cutting through the pleasantries like a blade. She chose that word with a very particular purpose. She wanted it to sting...and it does. More than it should, but I don’t let it show.

I nod slowly. “Simpler. Right.”

She shifts her weight, looking past me toward her friends. “I should get back. They’re waiting.”

“Sure,” I say, stepping aside.

She brushes past me and goes right back to laughing with that asshole. Watching her is grinding my last nerve raw. I don’t know what’s worse. Her icy indifference or the fact that I deserve every second of it.

DESPERATION IS THEbest word I can use to describe my current state. I never had much of a plan before, but now that I have nothing to work with, I’m starting to get anxious. This is why a thorough plan is so important. I hate winging it through this shit because I can’t deal with this kind of unpredictability. It wasn’t her intention, butsheshovedmeout of my comfort zone, and now I’m out here on my ass.

With my options being so limited, the best way forward is to wait until she gets back home, then go there uninvited. I’ll figure out how to get into the house and get those files when I’m there.

I check her location on my phone, and she’s not yet home. It’s Thursday, so she usually goes to the gym at five and leaves by six. It’s past seven and the blinking dot is nowhere near her house.

By eight, she still isn’t back, and my volatility levels are spiking through the roof. I’m pacing Morty’s trailer, staring at my phone like it owes me answers to every question running through my head. Like, where the fuck is she? I can only see the street address. I have no idea if it’s a coffee shop or a restaurant or some fucking dude’s house.

Eventually, I reach my limit and call Corey. He’s distracted when he answers, and I hear shooting noises in the background.

“John, my man, what’s up?”

“Nothing much. Listen, is Katelyn with you?”

“Shit! Zayn, go left. There’s another one on the roof.” This kid is playing video games while I’m here, losing my mind. “Uh...no, she’s not with me. We were supposed to...Fuck, Zayn. I need backup over here.”

“I’m coming! I’m coming!” I hear Zayn shout.

I grit my teeth. “Corey, focus.”

“Oh, yeah. We were supposed to be collating our data tonight, but she bailed and said we’ll do it tomorrow.” More guns go off in the background. “I’m almost out of ammunition, boys.”

I ignore that and try to keep him engaged in the conversation. “Do you know where she is?”

“Yeah, she went out with Karmani. Some team won some game and they’re having a celebration party at some bar.”

I was right. He is as useful as a handbrake on a canoe. I got nothing from that. Yet even with the lack of specificity, something stands out clear as day.

“Wait. She bailed on you to go to some bar? That doesn’t sound like her.”

“Gentlemen, can we please coordinate and move as a team?”

I exhale slowly to stop myself from snapping. My patience is thinner than a strand of hair right now. “Corey!” I hiss, trying to reel him in again.

“Yeah, John, she’s been acting strange this whole week. She said she’s tired of being boring and predictable, and she’s just gonna go out there and live her best life.”

“Slutting it up with Karmani isn’t how I would classify living one’s best life,” Zayn adds. “But to each their own, I guess.”

Hearing that instantly puts me on edge. “What does he mean by that?”

“He’s just jealous, and it makes him nasty.”

Zayn sneers. “I’m not fucking jealous.”

“See? He makes it so obvious. Anyway, he gets like this because Karmani’s a little friendly with the guys...”

“That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one,” Zayn chimes in.

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