Page 45 of Oblivion

“Not looking forward to sitting on my ass all night, but yeah, I’m ready to roll.”

We made our way to the street, and Makka backhanded me on the arm. “Don’t forget to piss.”

“Dude, we’re stationed on a sleepy street through the middle of the night. I can piss whenever I need to.”

Makka’s chuckle wove through the evening as he crossed the road. We gave each other one final look before sliding into the driver’s seat of our vehicles. If any shady behavior went down overnight, we’d be all over it in a heartbeat.

The night’s darkest hours thrust me back into Green Beret life. Lying still for endless hours, barely breathing. Calling upon the many learned tactics to stay awake and alert while exhaustion sank its claws deep, all the while tenderly stepping around the slumbering ghosts of the comrades we’d lost along the way.

As night bled into the first hints of daybreak, birds began their morning chorus from the treetops around the neighborhood. The notes floated across the crisp dawn air with clarity, bringing with them a surge of focus that I welcomed after nine hours of sitting.

In the ideal world, we’d have this entire mission wrapped up by lunchtime. However, despite it still being early in the kidnapping, time was already against us.

Time was a constant pressure in any mission. Unable to be seen, or sometimes defined, a second held enough power to kill or save, depending on which side of the line you stood. I hoped for Penny’s sake, and selfishly for mine, time would be on our side for this assignment, not the devil’s.

* * *

CJ and Laser took day observations, and by the time Makka and I headed back to the Prescotts’ to relieve them that evening, we were still no closer to finding Penelope. The lack of progress frustrated the hell out of me and darkened my mood.

Meeting the guys on the driveway for the hand-over, CJ’s expression immediately told me something was wrong.

“Why do I get the feeling something is—”

I was cut off by Cynthia Prescott’s shrill voice coming from inside. Her hysterical cries set my nerves on edge and had me grinding my teeth.

“Christ.”

Laser grimaced and cut his eyes toward the house. “She’s been like that for the last ten minutes. Ever since a courier package arrived.”

Dread laid heavily in my stomach, and Makka angled closer in interest. “Package?”

CJ held up his hands roughly fifteen inches apart. “Her ponytail.”

The blood drained from my face. “Herhair?”

“Yeah, brother. And the mother is losing her shit over it.”

Memories of Penny’s hair running through my grasp like silk threads haunted my fingertips.

“Why didn’t you tell us before we arrived?”

CJ shrugged. “You were almost here. After our handover, Laser and I will track the delivery. I signed for it and took note of the driver’s name and plate number on the van, so tracking it shouldn’t be too hard.”

“What else?” I demanded gruffly. “What else was in the box?”

Laser shook his head. “Nothing. No note. No explanation. Just her fucking hair—which leads to assumptions over her wellbeing, of course.”

Assumptions over what other body parts would arrive while we sit here doing nothing. I swallowed thickly.

“Paul seems quiet at the moment.” I had yet to hear his raised voice.

CJ scoffed. “He isnow.Completely lost his shit when it arrived. Wasn’t happy that I opened it before taking it inside, either. If the entire neighborhood didn’t already know what was going on, they sure as hell do now. And whoever he called, got their ass chewed out down the phone.”

I scrubbed a hand down my face. “So, no return address?”

“Nope?”

“Security footage?” I pressed.

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