Page 69 of Found By Him

His menacing sneer fills my vision before he slams my head against the floor, and everything goes black once again.

37

Jack

Four sets of eyes turn to Kyle.

His hands rise in a defensive stance. “I swear it was a uniformed cop. He had a cop car.”

I glance back at Carlos. He shakes his head, then asks, “Did you see his name?”

Kyle has a pained expression as he answers. “No, Miss Easton was in front of him, so I couldn’t see.”

“Did you see the identification number on the car?”

His thumb and forefinger dig into his eyes. “I don’t think so. It all happened so fast. I didn’t even think to look at the numbers since it all seemed legit.” He looks at me, brow pinched with regret. “I’m so sorry, Jack.”

I grip his shoulder. As devastated as I am at what the implications of this are, I can’t blame him. There’s no way he could have known. It looked like a real arrest, and I can’t say I would have done anything differently had I been here.

Ian clears his throat. “What do we do now?”

Nate speaks up. “Jack, pull up your exterior cameras. Let’s see if they caught anything.”

I pull my phone out of my pocket, unlocking the screen and opening the app. Then I toss it to him. He knows how to navigate the program because he has the same one. I don’t think I can watch her being kidnapped out of my house right under the nose of one of my guys.

He watches the video, moving the video closer to his face. “Is there a way to zoom?” he mumbles as he clicks a few buttons. With a heavy exhale, he shakes his head in annoyance. “I don’t know. Unless there’s a way to zoom on this video, you can’t really make out the name or number on the car.”

“Give it here,” Carlos says, holding out his hand. He watches the video a few times, then says, “Let me get my laptop.”

Handing me back my phone, he stomps out of the kitchen. None of us say anything while we wait for him to come back. My hands find the island to steady myself. My head is spinning, my chest tightening.

I stare at the muffins piled on the counter and think back to this morning. I wish I had taken more time with her. If I hadn’t rushed out of the house after I woke up. Made love to her one more time. She was so happy when I walked out to the kitchen after I showered, and she handed me a chocolate chip muffin, which was warm from the oven. I lifted her onto the counter, stepped between her legs, and kissed her. I remember the sweet chocolate taste of her tongue. I squeeze my eyes shut.

I push off the island and cross my arms as Carlos reenters the kitchen and quickly opens his laptop. The four of us are standing around him, watching him navigatenumerous programs, looking for anything that might help us.

Whooshing fills my ears. The clicking sounds of the keyboard are deafening.

“Can you give us some sort of play-by-play here, Carlos?” Ian sounds exasperated.

“Shit, sorry. I was in my zone. Nate’s right. You really can’t see the number on Jack’s cameras. And it looks like he’s not wearing his name tag, so no way to get his name.” That’s not good news. Too suspicious. Carlos types a few more commands and continues. “I’m trying to find some CCTV footage that shows the number.”

A few minutes later, Carlos straightens. The clicking gets louder. He points to his screen. “Fuck yes. Got it.” More clicking. “I have a name. Let me see if he’s working today. Give me five.”

He leaves again, phone on hand.

I’m lightheaded. Fear and anger heat my body as we wait. A hand clasps my shoulder and grips me tightly. When I turn, Nate is beside me, his stare fixed on the computer screen and not on me, but I appreciate his silent support.

The five minutes Carlos is gone are the longest five minutes of my life.

He bursts back into my house and calls out, “Let’s go. He isn’t working. I made my boss aware of the situation, and he gave the go-ahead for him to be questioned. Jack, can you send me the video of him at your door?”

I’m numb as I send the video. He grabs his laptop, and we walk outside.

Ian points to his vehicle. “I’ll drive.”

I let my mind wander as we drive across town, growing increasingly uneasy with every moment that passes. Isecond-guess every decision I’ve made with Gisella. I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to her.

On the way, I text Chris to let him know the recent developments.

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