“What about searching Sif’s room?” I asked, pulling away from him. “Maybe there is some clue or hint about where she might go? I can go search her room.”
“No,” Rune said. “Trust me. Let me work. Iwillget her back for you.”
Rune’s jaw clenched. I could tell that I would not move him on this. Arguing with him would draw his attention from the search, and that definitely wouldn’t help Vivi.
“Okay.” I hung my head before mumbling, “I’m going to take a shower and get out of your way. Come get me the second you hear anything.”
I walked out the door with my shoulders rounded forward, my arms wrapped around my stomach, and my eyes on the floor.
Sarah followed me out. As soon as we got to the stairs out of earshot, she asked, “What happened to what would Ethyl do?”
“I decided to be reasonable,” I answered, standing straight up with my arms at my side. “Arguing with Rune wouldn’t do a damn thing. So, I’m going to take a shower like I said I would. If he doesn’t have an update before I get out, then I’m going to ransack the bitch’s room.”
“But Rune said…”
“And if she kidnapped Evie, I would listen to Rune, but it wasn’t Evie Sif took. It was Vivi. He has twenty minutes.”
Murmur strode up the hall behind us. “Her door is three down from Rune’s.”
“You think I’ll find something?” I asked.
“No, I don’t,” he said truthfully. “But if tearing her shit apart makes you feel better, do it. Who knows? Maybe you will get lucky?” He took a few steps past us.
“Where are you going?” Sarah asked.
“There isn’t anything more I can do until Sif contacts us, or someone has eyes on her or the van. So, I’m going to go help Tab with Evie. She is freaking out, and we are going to help her sleep for a few hours. With any luck, she’ll wake up and Vivi will be back, safe and sound.”
“Thank you,” I said. “For helping get her back.”
He nodded before heading back towards Evie’s room.
Sarah came with me to my room. She sat on my bed, seeming lost in thought for a moment, while I set a twenty-minute timer on my phone.
“You know what? I’m going to WWED too.” Sarah jumped off my bed.
“What does that mean?” I asked, gathering the things I needed for a shower. “What do you think Ethyl would do if she had to choose between an oppressive government or risking losing a piece of herself?”
I couldn’t even guess what she would do in that situation.
“Not with that. With the other thing.” She walked over to my mirror and started running her fingers through her hair.
“The other thing?”
“What would Ethyl do if she had two equally sexy men flirting with her? There was no option for anything more than a single night with either, and she was in a highly stressful waiting game?”
“Flip a coin?”
“No, she would make a pass at both and see if she could get a threesome.”
Yeah, that sounded like Ethyl.
“Now?” I asked.
“There isn’t more either of them can do but wait. Why stew in stress when we can relieve some of it? If you find something, come get me. I don’t care what I’m doing.” Sarah swiped on a bit of my lip gloss. “All of our phones will be on.”
“Good luck?” I offered.
Not what I would have done, but my response to getting into a fight with Rune and then almost getting kidnapped was to fuck Rune in the middle of a bookstore during operating hours, because I’m classy like that.