Page 89 of Chasing Sarah

Her steps are slow, cautious. We sit on the couch. The space she’s laid between us feels as wide as the Grand Canyon.

“Rhys?”

Words refuse to form. Everything in me is raging to keep her safe, both mentally and emotionally. I’ve seen the relationship she has with Paige, and if we can’t find her… No. I refuse to let that happen. I refuse to risk both Declan and Sarah to whatever future awaits Paige.

I awkwardly clear my throat and meet her gaze. “Paige is missing.” All emotion falls from her face. Her entire body sits unmoving. So still, I’m not even sure she’s breathing anymore.

Then she explodes.

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN SHE’S MISSING?! WHY AM I JUST FINDING OUT ABOUT THIS?! YOU’VE BEEN GONE FORHOURS!” Her voice reaches new heights, filling with rage and panic. Her eyes are wild, completely unhinged.

Her breathing turns shallow as the panic overpowers all other emotion. She presses her hand against her chest.

“Mo Réalta,”I say, gently reaching over to pull her into my arms, but she jerks away from my touch.

“Tell me everything.Now,” she demands, rising to her feet.

Instead of telling hereverything, meaning that she’s at risk of being sold, I tell her Mark abducted her, but we have a plan to get her back.

She reaches for the closest thing – a bottle of wine on the coffee table – and hurdles it at the wall. Deep red splashes across the surface, glass shatters landing in random spots on the ground.

The roar that explodes from her is filled damned near manic. I can feel her fury building.

I move quickly and cradle her face, forcing her eyes to meet mine. Their crazed for a split second before they fill with tears. “I will get her back,” I vow with my entire being.

“Let me help.” She sounds so broken, my heart cracks.

I swipe the tears away with my thumbs. “You need to stay here; we are flying out tonight to get her. I promise, my love. I will bring her back. Declan and I will leave no rock unturned until she is safe and home.”

Life is so good.

Instead of handing my brothers a lump sum of money from the work I’d been doing with Damien, I brought it in slowly. Eventually things started looking up, and now we’re okay. Our home and lives are no longer at risk of being wrecked beyond repair.

As soon as I turned 16, I stopped working for Damien and got a real job. It’s going great. I’ve been working at Dave’s Diner for almost 2 years. Everyone in town loves this place. Even Crazy Steve – who’s not actually crazy – will come in and spend hours telling old war stories from Vietnam. I learned he actually likes the name Crazy Steve. He said it was a nickname given to him byhis brothers-in-arms when he first enlisted and he’s gone by that name ever since.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to learn to appreciate the town I’m in.

Sure, we still raise Hell and pull pranks but being able to walk down the street and see a familiar face every day is amazing.

Though it’s been a long time since I’ve seen those creepy men who tried abducting me, I swear I can sense them in the shadows. Waiting to catch me off guard. I’ve been a lot more cautious about being alone because of it.

Graduation and my 18thbirthday are so close. College applications are being filled out and sent off. My brothers encouraged me to fill out a few to some out of state colleges and I did.

I’m happy. My family is happy. And it’s the best feeling in the world.

Surreal, really. I struggled to see life in a positive light for so long that it’s taken some getting used to.

“Can I get you anything else?” I ask, holding the coffee decanter in one hand, a circle tray in the other.

“No thank you, my dear.” Ethel, one of the sweetest old ladies in town, smiles.

“Well, you let me know if you change your mind, okay?” I step away and head back to the kitchen.

The rest of my workday is swamped and by the end, I’m ready to land face first into bed and fall into a coma. The bell above the door chimes and I spin around and immediately freeze.

Eddie stands in front of me with a smug smile. “My have you filled out in all the right places.” Bile pools in the back of my throat as his eyes slowly travel down my body, filling with lust.

“Get out.” Carefully, I reach behind me. Blindly hoping to find something lying on the counter I can use to defend myself.

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