Page 68 of Shielding Aubree

The pain in her head was a living, breathing thing.

And her vision wasn't helping matters either.

There was no light inside the trunk, and she wondered if this was what it was like to be stuffed inside of a refrigerator.

Someplace where the light only came on when the door was opened.

Aubree breathed in through her nose since there was something heavy and tight around her mouth.

It was something in her favor really.

If he was just going to kill her, he could have done so much more than cover her mouth with... tape.

He could have killed her just as easily as he'd taken her captive.

No, he had something else in mind.

Something she didn't want to put a name to.

Whatever he had in mind for her meant that she had time.

Time to figure out how to get out.

How to save herself.

She had a whole damn life to get back to.

And a family that didn't need to lose one more child.

Ruben pickedup his phone and didn't bother to look at the screen.

He swept his finger over the screen to accept the call.

"Hello-"

"Ruben? This is Antonio Cueva."

"Sir?"

Ruben looked down at the screen to see the man's name lit up against the black background.

"I came to the station to pick Aubree up and take her home, but she's not here."

Ruben dropped his chin down in a nod. "You tried her phone?"

He cringed even as Antonio answered his dumb-ass question.

"And the officers there?"

"They saw her around and in her office, but no one remembers seeing her leave. Do you think Alara decided to stay? Maybe they went out chasing down a lead?"

Ruben couldn't argue with the other man's thought patterns.

They were hopeful even as panic was likely screaming inside his head.

"As far as I know. Alara left this afternoon."

"Okay."

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