Page 46 of The Swap
Igrunted as I sat up, confused about how I’d wound up on the floor instead of in the bed. My head pounded, and I reached up, wincing as I touched the spot where it felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to the back of my skull. There was a large knot there and when I pulled away, my hand was coated with a wet, sticky substance.What the hell was going on?A wave of nausea made my stomach roll, but one look at the other side of the bed had me leaping to my feet, the pain in my head forgotten.
I flicked on the lamp beside the bed, wincing at the sudden brightness. Oliver’s side of the bed was a mess. Blanket and sheets twisted around each other, pillow near the foot of the bed and the fitted sheet pulled off the corner of the bed, exposing the bare mattress beneath. Everything that had happened came rushing back, the horror of it all slamming into me like a punch to the gut. Someone had been in the apartment. They’d hit me and then gone for Oliver. I’d tried to get to Oliver, to stop the person from hurting him, but then a fist had knocked me backward.
Icy-cold fingers trailed down my spine and I took off running through the apartment, calling out for him. Terror seized me as I realized he was gone and I bent over at the waist, leaning my hands on my knees as I tried to fight back my panic. I could fall apart later, but right then, Oliver needed me, and every single second counted.
I sprinted to the bathroom and grabbed my wrinkled suit up off the floor then ran back to the bedroom, pulling the business card out of the back pocket of my pants. Detective Rogers answered on the second ring and I hit speaker before setting the phone on the bed.
“He’s gone!” I shouted. “Somebody came into the apartment. They knocked me out and when I woke up, Oliver was gone.” I raced around the room, pulling my clothes on. My hands were shaking so badly, it took me three tries before I finally managed to get my shirt buttoned.
“How long ago?” Detective Rogers’ voice was calm and precise, but it did nothing to quell the fear that had been squeezing my heart from the moment I realized Oliver had been taken.
“I don’t know. Maybe five, ten minutes at most?” I told him.
“Okay, I’m going to get every available officer from the L.A.P.D. on this. You sit tight, and I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something.”
“You have to find him. Please, Detective Rogers. I can’t lose him. I can’t…” My voice broke at the end and I covered my mouth with the back of my hand to hold in a sob.
I heard him sigh through the phone. “We’ll comb this entire city until we find him. I promise, Samuel. We’re going to stop this bastard once and for all.” It was impossible to speak around the lump in my throat, but I didn’t have to. He’d already hung up anyway.
I tossed my phone aside and sank down onto the bed, tears welling up in my eyes. I’d never felt so afraid or more helpless in my entire life. The man I loved with every fiber of my being was missing; taken by some monster who for whatever reason had become fixated on him and had killed before. The idea that I may never see Oliver, never get to hold him in my arms or hear his laugh ever again had me doubling over.
I wrapped my arms around my middle, trying to hold myself together as the fear and the pain threatened to tear me apart.How am I supposed to do this? How am I supposed to just sit here alone while Oliver is out there somewhere?Picking my phone back up, I called the only person I could think of who could help me right then.
“Please, I need you,” I whispered brokenly.
“I’m on my way. Tell me what’s going on,” Gayle said. I could hear the phone rustling as she moved around and then quiet murmuring as she spoke to someone on her end.
My shoulders sagged wearily as I told her everything that had happened since we’d left the restaurant after having dinner with them. Had it really only been a few hours since we’d all been together? It seemed like an entire lifetime had passed since that one perfect moment. I’d felt so happy, so complete and I’d thought that my life couldn’t possibly get any better. Then, within hours, everything had shattered, and Oliver’s life was left hanging in the balance.
Gayle promised she’d be there as quickly as possible and we hung up. A few seconds later, there was a knock at the front door. Leaping to my feet, I rushed to answer it, hoping it would be Detective Rogers bringing Oliver back to me. My heart sank though when the two men in the doorway held up their badges. I recognized them right away as the two undercover cops who’d been sent to guard the place and all of my anguish turned into a furious anger in the blink of an eye.
“Where the hell were you guys? You were supposed to make sure no one got in here. You were supposed to keep him safe,” I shouted.
One of the officers held his hands up in a placating gesture. “Sir, we understand you’re upset, but we can assure you, we were watching the front of the building the entire time. We would’ve seen if anyone had gone in or out of here.”
“With your permission, we’d like to have a look around just in case this guy might have left something behind that might give us a clue who he is or where to find him,” the taller of the two men said.
My anger drained out of me as quickly as it had risen. There was no point hanging onto it when that energy could be better spent trying to do something to help Oliver. Stepping aside, I gestured for them to come inside. I showed them back to the bedroom and went over everything once again as they searched under the bed, around the floor and in each room.
“Pretty sure this is how he got in here,” the taller officer called from down the hall. I followed the sound of his voice and found him next to the open back door. Looks like he jimmied the lock with something sharp, possibly a screwdriver because the wood’s been split around it. Also, this door faces the rear of the building which would explain how he could get in here and carry Mr. Hughes back out without us seeing,” he explained.
My hands went to my hips and I tilted my head back, taking deep breaths through my nose as another wave of nausea hit. How long had he been in there? Did he come in after we fell asleep or had he been there while we were making love? My imagination went wild, picturing every scenario, each one more horrifying than the first.
Another knock at the door saved me from torturing myself any further and I rushed to go answer it. This time when I opened it, I saw the worried, loving faces of my family. Gayle, Brooklyn, and even Andrew all rushed forward to wrap their arms around me and for the first time since I’d woken up, I allowed myself to fall apart.
Andrew set to work making a pot of coffee while Gayle got a wet washcloth. Her fingers were gentle as she started cleaning the area around my wound, looking it over and proclaiming in her firm, mothering voice that I should be checked for a concussion. I was too tired to argue with her, so I just nodded, but that was going to have to wait, I needed to find Oliver first.
Brooklyn sat next to me on the couch and held my hand, quietly assuring me that Oliver was going to be alright. I tried to cling to her optimism, but the sinking feeling in my chest, prevented me from fully believing it. The officers came out awhile later and said that they hadn’t been able to find anything else, so they were going to help with the search. I nodded numbly as they left, staring at the door as it shut behind them.
“Okay, let’s go,” Gayle said after they’d been gone a minute. I turned and gave her a puzzled look. “I mean it. We’re only going to make ourselves nuts if we sit here. Oliver needs us, and you need to feel like you’re doing something. Let’s get in the car and go look for him.” The look on her face showed that she was absolutely serious, and I couldn’t remember ever being more grateful to have her by my side.
The four of us packed into Andrew’s car and set off to comb the streets looking for Oliver. Tirelessly, we drove around, stopping to ask anyone we happened to see out walking if they’d seen Oliver and showing them a picture of him from my phone.
My heart felt heavy each time they shook their heads no, but Brooklyn, Gayle, and Andrew would be ready with some encouraging words and we’d take off again until we found another person to ask. I’d lost track of how many streets we’d driven and the number of people we’d asked when suddenly, my phone rang, startling us all. My heart stuttered when I saw it was Detective Rogers’ number on the screen.
“Hello.” My hands felt clammy and my pulse raced as I answered.
“Samuel, we were able to locate Oliver.” I sagged in my seat and let out a long breath, but then I noticed the tentative tone in his voice.
