Page 46 of Ensnared By Silence
“Can you get rid of them?”
The anger was growing, and I could hear those two assholes laughing on the back porch. I turned away from the window and looked upstairs, the silence from her absence filling the cabin.
“Not likely. I told them I was going out of town and they insisted on staying until I left. What the fuck am I going to do?”
My frustration and anger was growing by the second and I was second guessing any plans we had in place to nail these assholes for what they did.
“Where’s Aubrey now?” he asked, and I heard the back door open.
“No clue. Gotta go,” I responded and turned to find Jared smiling in at me.
“You have anything to eat? Tucker’s wasted already and I don’t want him throwing up in my car later.” I chuckled with no humor in my voice.
“I’ll order a pizza to sober him up,” I replied, and he nodded before returning to the back deck.
Left alone in the kitchen, I pulled up the app to Aubrey’s security system and watched as she sprinted around, shoving her personal possessions into suitcases and boxing up her food. Her eyes were wide with fear and every minor bump made her flinch. She was running and I couldn’t do anything to stop her.
I did this to her.I should have told her when she first arrived instead of wanting one more taste of her before I spilled the horrible truth of my connection to her rapists. It was selfish and my actions were causing her to run.
When she gripped onto the counter and fell to her knees, I felt a tear slid down my cheek. Hearing her sobs and seeing her so broken killed a part of me, and I would do everything in my power to make this up to her. I needed to talk to her, to explain.
Watching her, I dialed her number and waited for her to answer. She looked at the phone and declined my call with a fresh round of tears falling from her fearful green eyes. I leaned against the counter and watched as she loaded her car, wiped a tear from her face, and drove away.
Away from Tucker and Jared.
Away from Pierce Bluff and her life here.
Away from me.
Quickly, I dialed Skid.
“She’s running. Please, help me.”
“James called me. I’m on it. Don’t worry. She’ll forgive you.” He disconnected the call, and I was left to worry.
With one last look at her empty house, I closed the app and leaned over the counter, my arms locked and my head hanging down to my chest. Noises from the outside drew my attention, and I looked to see Tucker half-naked, dancing on my deck. I dialed Papa Dough’s and placed an order for a large pizza.
Returning to the back deck with three bottles of water, I clenched my hands and counted every minute until they left and I could find Aubrey. An hour and a half later, they loaded up with a promise to return for Christmas. What they didn’t know was they would be dead before then. Even if I had to kill them myself.
As soon as they were gone, I jumped on my motorcycle and sped down the streets of Pierce Bluff, shooting through the small amount of traffic downtown. Pulling into the underground parking garage for James and Devlin’s building, I parked and ran to the elevator. Using the cardkey they gave me, I pressed the button for the third floor and paced the small car until the doors opened again.
The door to their office was open, and I walked inside to find Devlin pacing the apartment and James talking on the phone to someone. They both turned when they heard me walk in and I approached an angry Devlin.
“What the fuck happened?”
I sighed and looked into his cold blue eyes as I replied, “I fucked up and I need to fix this. Where is she? I tried to call Skid, and he didn’t answer.”
“James is on the phone with him now. Walk me through the details of this morning.”
We sat down at the small table in the dining room as James spoke quietly on the phone, his fingers flying over the keyboard of an open laptop. I watched him for any sign of where Aubrey was and Devlin cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him. His eyebrows were raised expectantly, and I shook my head before speaking.
“She came over for breakfast and, truthfully, I wanted to get lost in her one more time before I told her everything. I was selfish and I was afraid she was going to push me away. Those fuckers showed up before anything could happen, and I know she heard me with them. She snuck out and took off. I watched as she packed up whatever she could fit into two crappy suitcases, shoved some food into a box, and sped away.”
“And the two assholes?”
“I played the part and they took off, promising to be back before Christmas. I should have told her the second I saw her. Fuck!” I shouted into the room as James turned to look at me before returning to his call. “I didn’t know how to handle them standing at my front door. I should have told them to leave, and she wouldn’t be running away. What if something happens to her?”
James disconnected his call and walked into the dining room, holding his closed laptop with a look of confusion and shock on his face. I stood, the chair squeaking across the floor as I rushed to him.
