Page 162 of Happily Never After

“I wonder if he has company,” Claire said thoughtfully. “When ESA tried to kidnap Wendy, they made a big show of it. Everyone from the chapter was going to be there, alumni included. And Brianna’s a much bigger target. They had a poster of her at the convention talking about how she earned more than her male co-lead for this ‘pro-feminist’ movie.”

Anxiety still clawed at her like a wild animal, but now that they were moving and had a plan, it started to subside. The Taser pressed to the inside of her thigh felt woefully inept for such adangerous plan. Even the backup one stuffed in her bra didn’t bring much comfort.

Charlie sighed. “There’s already buzz online about the premiere being cancelled. Apparently studio reps blamed a gas leak, but conspiracy theorists are spiraling.”

“Are you okay?” Claire whispered to Luke. “You’ve been so quiet.”

“Just worried about Brianna,” he said with a humorless smile. He turned to stare out the window. The streetlights and marquees of the city faded away as they crawled into Laurel Canyon. “It feels the same as it did right after we realized you were missing. Back then, we didn’t even have a hunch, not for hours.”

Claire squeezed his knee. “We’ll find her in time. Don’t worry.”

“Are you saying that to me or yourself?”

“Both,” she admitted, sliding her clutch into its cross-body position. She was going to need both her hands free if the occasion called for dick-punching.

Her phone buzzed. A message from Jack.

“They got the security tapes from the Starbucks.” She pressed play on the video.

In the ten second clip, Brianna approached her car. As she reached to open the driver’s side door, two men wearing ski masks and gloves leapt out of the black Escalade next to her and clapped something over her mouth. She slammed her drink over her shoulder and directly into the face of the figure who had grabbed her. It was unfortunate that her pre-premiere ritual wasn’t a scalding hot latte. Brianna’s body went limp and they dragged her into the car.

“Freaking chloroform,” Claire said, clutching at her throat. She could practically taste the sickly sweet liquid on her tongue. Her heart ached for her sister.

“We’re here,” Charlie said dubiously as the car screeched to a stop outside a mansion.

The trio filed out and waited for the car to drive away.

“Which way?”

Charlie pointed two houses to the north. Another mansion hulked out of the darkness. Behind the wrought iron gate, a circular driveway was lined with at least a dozen cars. Claire’s blood ran cold. Two Tasers were definitely not going to be enough.

“Looks like you were right about company,” Charlie muttered. “They’ll let me in the gate, but I’m not sure how we’ll get you inside. There are cameras along the perimeter too.”

“There has to be a way in. Back gate, secret exit, gap in the fence?”

Luke put a hand on Claire’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about us,” he said to Charlie. “Just focus on getting inside and opening the bathroom window. We’ll find a way in.”

Charlie nodded. “Wait until I go in, then walk past. Try skirting around the back. There’s a house under construction next door. It doesn’t have a fence yet. I was only in the backyard a couple times at night, I wish I could remember more.”

Claire grabbed her sister’s hands. “It’s okay. Be safe.”

“You too.” Charlie turned away from them and squared her shoulders. She put her fists on her hips and stood with a wide stance.

“Are you doing the TED Talk thing?” Claire asked. She did it herself on occasion. Allegedly, striking and holding a power pose gave you confidence and lowered your stress levels.

“Yes,” Charlie said. “I do it before every important meeting.”

Claire mimicked her sister’s posture. Apparently not wanting to feel left out, Luke joined them. What a strange sight it would be for anyone driving by.

Eventually, Charlie pressed the buzzer and went inside. Luke and Claire watched from the shadows as the gate swung shut.

“I hate this,” Claire said as her sister disappeared up the marble stairs. Both of her sisters were now in the lion’s den.

“Me too. Come on, let’s update Jack and find a way in.”

Claire hastily texted Jack and took a picture of the cars outside. Hopefully the picture would be clear enough to get some license plates. She took a couple more for good measure. A potential goldmine of information sat behind that stupid gate. And she wouldn’t rest until every member of ESA paid for what they had done.

“Let’s go this way.” Luke grabbed her hand and pulled her around the western side of the estate. Scaffolding and tarps covered a half-built structure next to them. The heavy brick fence seemed to surround Big Z’s entire property.

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