Page 35 of Vicious Vows

“I’m doing this for you, Micah. You deserve someone to do this for you.” His fingers curl the hair around my ear and he yawns. “I think maybe I’ll just go to bed early with you too.”

I don’t think it’s been long enough for the sleeping pills to kick in, so my earlier assumption of how early he’d had his first drink may be correct. I reach up and kiss him softly on the lips, then turn over and let him pull me into his chest.

“What if we don’t find him?” I ask, but I know it’s not an option. I can’t let them hurt him. I can’t let his family suffer like that. I know the pain of losing someone you love. His mother doesn’t deserve that.

“We’ll find him,” Luke mumbles, and I feel him relaxing deeply. His breathing is heavy, his arm heavier on my side.

He didn’t take dinner either, and I don’t know how much he had to drink before he came to the office. I glance at the red lights on the alarm clock on my nightstand and see it’s been thirty minutes now, definitely long enough to feel some effects. And when he begins snoring lightly, I know it’s time to go.

I know he’s trying, and I am thankful for that, but I have to steel myself against my own affection for him. If I listen to my foolish heart, I’ll climb back into that bed and go to sleep and lose my chance to find Will.

As quietly as I can, I pull my T-shirt back on, shove my legs into the jeans, and dig out a pair of socks. Luke stirs slightly as I open the closet door to get my boots, but his snoring relaxes back into its steady rhythm soon, and I slip out and down the hallway.

Back in the office, I log back into my computer and begin hacking again. The last time I did this, I set the alarm off before I was able to disable the ankle monitor. Tonight, I won’t be so hasty. I’m meticulous as I work my way through the code, ignoring everything else. The cameras are still on loop. Luke is out cold now, and only Vic by the front door stands in my way—easily remedied by sneaking out the window instead.

When I get to the crucial part of disarming the monitor, I do it right this time. The red flashing light turns off and the monitor shuts down. My heart pounds in my chest and my hands shake as I remove the monitor and lay it on the desk. I think of scrawling a note for him, but there’s no point. When he wakes up, he’ll know where I’ve gone and why.

I fold my laptop shut, tuck it into a backpack I took from the bedroom before heading downstairs, and move toward the window. I glance back at the door to the office, thinking how upset Luke will be and how sad that makes me, but this is for Will, and I can’t turn back.

Then I open the window, slip out into the night, and run northward. I’ll hail a cab and be there in twenty minutes. Then I just have to find him and pray Luke’s enemies don’t catch me first.

26

LUKE

My bladder screams for relief, waking me somewhere around the wee hours of the morning. I lie here feeling lethargic and overly tired, knowing it isn’t late enough for me to be awake yet but not knowing what time it is yet. My body is still far too tired to get out of bed for the day, but my body won’t let me lie here sleeping until I use the toilet.

The floor is cold when my feet touch it, but I traipse into the bathroom and the blinding light. I must’ve left the light on when I was in here before I went to bed, and it hurts my eyes, so I flip the switch to off and put the lid of the toilet up to relieve myself. My head spins a little, still feeling the effects of my drinks. They hit me harder than I thought they would last night, though I didn’t eat much more than a bite or two of dinner. Seeing Micah struggle to handle her emotions over this whole thing with her friend made me feel like I should abstain from eating for moral support.

When I’m done with the toilet, I wash my hands and dry them, then return to the bedroom. My eyes are a bit stunted by the light so I can’t see clearly, but I feel my way along the foot ofthe bed to my side. I crawl in, expecting to curl up around my beautiful wife and draw comfort from her body, but her side of the bed is empty and cold. Her phone isn’t on the nightstand like normal, and I’m alone.

I’m not alarmed, though. If she’d have left the property, the ankle monitor would have told me, so she must be downstairs at her computer working again. For a moment, I lie in bed watching the alarm clock go in and out of focus with my sleep-deprived eyes. I’ve watched my mother mourn my father’s loss over the past several months, and I see the same grief in Micah’s expression every time I look at her. I can tell she loves this guy even if he is just a friend. I know there is nothing my mother wouldn’t do to bring Dad back. And likewise, Micah is just as reckless, but I hate watching her struggle. It reminds me of the futility of life, how we’re all vulnerable, and that vulnerability doesn’t sit well with me.

I force myself out of bed and strip off my uncomfortable clothing, exchanging it for a pair of sweatpants, a fresh long-sleeved T-shirt, and a pair of slippers. If Micah is going to burn the midnight oil at her computer, I’m going to join her. She shouldn’t be alone, and now that I’m awake and unable to get back to sleep, I don’t want to just lie in bed.

I descend the stairs and turn toward the office, seeing the light streaming out the open door. Vic sits next to the front door, leaning against it. His head is lolled back and to the side, deep, rumbling snores emanating from his gaping mouth. I don’t mind that he’s resting because I know if something happens, he’ll wake ready for action.

When I approach the office, I expect to hear Micah’s fingers on the keys, pecking away, but I hear tapping instead. The rhythmic, steady tap of water, only it’s not rain on the window,but on the leaves of the bushes outside the front of my house. I round the corner, and the first thing I see is the open window where the wind blows the raindrops in, puddling on the floor. The curtain blows in the breeze, and I turn toward Micah’s desk, but she isn’t there.

The hair on my arms rises and I rush to her spot. Her computer is gone. Her ankle monitor isn’t on her leg. It’s on her desk, and she hasn’t even left a note.

“Fuck!” I shout, slamming my fist onto her desk, and Vic runs in, rubbing his eyes.

“What’s wrong!”

“She’s gone,” I shout, rushing over to the window. Who knows when she left or how far she’s gotten. I lean out the window and look into the stormy darkness, and a clap of thunder echoes my emotion. “Get the guys, and call the team out searching. Let them know we’re searching for her too.”

When I turn to face him, he’s already sending texts out on his phone. I charge back over and pat my hips as I do. My phone is up on my nightstand where I left it next to my drink, plugged in for the night. I race back up to the room and flip on the light, and while I’m shedding the sweats I just put on, I dial Dale’s number.

“Yeah, what?” he grumbles. It’s nearly three a.m. No doubt, he was sleeping.

“Wake up. Get over here,” I growl and stumble as I hastily try to put my feet into the legs of my slacks. “Micah took off. I need you to help me track her.”

“Yeah, okay…” Dale sounds as irritated by this as I am, but I don’t get a chance to say a thing about his attitude. He hangsup, and I jam my feet into my shoes, grab a shirt and my phone, and head back downstairs. My head is throbbing now, an instant headache brought on by lack of sleep, stress, and a bit too much to drink last night. I head for the kitchen and something to drink, and perhaps some pain medication too.

And when I step into the pantry to find the ibuprofen, I see why I slept so hard. The package of sleeping tablets lies on its side next to the allergy medicine, not behind it where I last put it. I flip on the lights in the kitchen as I take a few pills out of the bottle of pain meds and see a trace amount of white powder on the island.

When I grab a cup from the cupboard near the sink, I see a fork with more white powder on it. Micah crushed a sleeping tablet or two and put them in my drink. She had to have. It’s the only way she could have gotten me sleeping so early. And it’s likely the reason she took so long when she got her juice last night, which I now recall she never took a sip of.

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