Page 101 of Unspoken Promises

Rio exhales a deep, sharp, “Fuck.”

My gaze darts up from my work to see Rio’s eyebrows knitted together tightly.

“Thanks, Chels. Gotta go.” He puts down his phone and doesn’t leave me guessing. “Ava’s location was just turned off.”

Blood drains from my being.

I stand, and my chair scrapes on the wooden floor. I grab my keys. I’m not figuring this out from behind a desk. Just then, I get a text.

CALLUM

Pen just called. Someone broke in and knocked her out with what seems like ketamine. Confirm Ava is with you.

The entire world falls away beneath my feet. I stare at the floor, and my words are hardly loud enough for Rio to hear.

“Penelope was drugged tonight.”

Nausea rushes through me, and my ears ring. Millions of thoughts flurry through my mind like warp speed code flashing across a screen too quickly to understand any of this.

But there’s no time to process any of it.We need action.

I text Callum back to say Ava has been taken, and typingthe words is a knife to the heart. I let her down. I let this happen. I pace the room like a caged animal, wild with rage. Guilt rains down on me with fury.

I glance at my phone. How and why did she text me only minutes ago?

My brother stands. “We need help. Maybe we can get people spreading out, scouring the area. I’ll get Gary and Chelsea focused on the cell tower signals to see if we can triangulate and find out where Ava’s phone was when the text was sent.”

I nod, staring hard at the floor even though nothing comes into view.

Just then, I get another text.

CALLUM

I’m with Pen. She activated the telephone tree. Meet at Trailblazer.

Echo Valley’stelephone tree has only ever been activated twice since we moved here years ago. Once when the wildfires hit near Echo Valley and another time when a child went missing to find she fell down a well. It is an emergency-only situation, and Penelope hearing Ava is gone and sending the town a code red shows what a friend she truly is. We need more hands. More eyes. More ears. Maybe someone in town saw a stranger. Maybe people can fan out and find clues.

Time is of the essence when someone goes missing, andAva already beat the odds once. At this point, I dropped her off at Penelope’s about an hour ago, and now, about thirty people who had the ability to leave their homes and come to help, stand around waiting for instruction.

Nobody knows what exactly is wrong, only that it’s a category five hurricane because they wouldn’t have been called from their homes if it wasn’t. Callum and other police and firefighters bring the crackle of radios. Indistinct voices form a low hum. Julia leans against a doorjamb in her bathrobe, my dad next to her, creases lining his face. Arthur is sitting at a table with his hands folded, paint under his fingernails. Cell phones continue to ring and buzz. It’s filling my head and making my stomach roil. I swallow often to push down the bile that constantly threatens to burn my throat and scream to me this is my fault.

I didn’t realize Santi was behind me, and he comes to clap me on the back. “You gonna pass out?”

“I’m fine.” The words are heavy and hardly make their way out.

“Bullshit. You aren’t fine. And you won’t be fine until we get your girl, so you need to pull it together. You don’t have a minute to waste on feeling sorry for yourself or that massive ego of yours that tells you everything is your fault. These people need a leader now.”

It’s tough love but exactly what I need. I can torture myself over this later. Right now, Ava is the priority, not how I should have done better.

His hand clamps down on my shoulder. “We’re going to find her. You start fucking believing that right now. And tell all these folks what to do.”

We share a solemn moment. He takes a seat and points at me as if to get started.

I clear my throat. “Thanks for coming, everyone. Time isof the essence, and you all coming here straight away could save a life. Two things you all need to know. Penelope’s apartment was broken into, and she was drugged tonight with what looks like a ketamine shot.”

The static hum if the crowd crescendos, and a couple of people approach Pen to give her a hug. I glance over to Penelope who still looks low energy after coming to. If she’s rattled, which most people would be, she’s not showing it, focused only on her missing friend.

Worry is settled between her eyebrows. “Guys… please, I’m going to be just fine. I’m not the problem. Listen to Enzo.”

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