Page 49 of Choose Me

"Fuck."

"What's going on? What happened?" Brock asked.

"I don't know. There were some loud noises, and then the phone went dead. I can't get through to either one."

"Okay, let's call base. They should be tracking them. We'll get their location and go to them." Brock got on the phone, and I watched his face go through a series of emotions, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he listened.

"James, what the hell is going on? What did you do?" Amelia's angry voice sounded behind me.

"Amelia, not now."

"No, you don't get out of this that easy. What did you do to her? I swear to God if you--."

"Goddamn it, Amelia. I fucking said not right now!" I screamed at her.

The car pulled around the cul de sac, approaching where we were standing. She must have seen the panicked look on my face because her demeanor changed instantly.

"What's wrong? Where's Ava?" She asked, gripping my forearm.

"I don't know. Something happened, and the call cut off with Everett. I can't get in touch with either of them."

She gasped, pressing her hand against her mouth. "Oh my God, James."

"I've got to go. Stay here with your detail. I'll call you when I find her." I told her.

Amelia didn't question me. She could hear the urgency in my voice and backed away with a nod. I hopped into the passenger seat, and Brock sped off towards the last known location of Everett and Ava.

My heart pounded, and the overwhelming feeling of something terrible hung onto my bones. Brock's phone rang, and he picked up immediately.

"This is Agent Patel from Base. Sparrow One called over the radio and said they were hit. We have a location on them. They are in a drainage ditch on Smith near the railroad tracks. Sending the location to your GPS now. Local police have been dispatched, and rescue car one is en route."

"Thank you, Agent Patel. We're heading there now." Brock hung up the phone and hit the gas, the tires screeching as we took a sharp turn.

I tried calling Everett and Ava's phones again with no luck. When the tracking GPS updated, it said we still had ten minutes to reach them. I felt like I was crawling out of my skin as we drove. The fear that emanated from me hung in the air around us.

We reached the railroad tracks, and I saw the orange detour sign Everett mentioned on the phone.

We were close.

Brock turned on Smith, and I saw the unmistakable flashes of red and blue slicing through the darkness. Their sirens droned and screamed from deep at the bottom of the ditch, growing louder by the second. Without hesitation, I barreled out of the car and sprinted towards the embankment. My eyes landed on the twisted heap of metal below, crumpled and broken like a haphazardly thrown rag doll. My stomach lurched as I descended the stairs two at a time. Once I reached the bottom, I saw a body bag being zipped up by the coroner. I cursed under my breath, pushing past the other agents and shoving the coroner's hands out of the way to unzip the bag.

The lifeless eyes of one of my agents, pale and bloodied, stared up at me. "Where is she?" I yelled to no one in particular. I looked inside the car, but she and Everett were missing. All that remained was her purse lying on the floor, covered in glass and blood.

"Where is she? Where is Everett?" I turned, yelling so loud the cops startled behind me. I needed someone to give me an answer that didn't already exist in my mind.

"I'm sorry, there was no one else here. Just the male driver that was DOA."

"Oh my God. This isn't happening." I ran my fingers through my hair. My world was spinning, and I felt like I was going to pass out.

"James! CCTV shows Ava and Everett being loaded into the back of a van by one subject. We're tracking the van's path through video surveillance, but it will take some time to determine its destination.”

"Margaret found her. She fucking took her." I choked, stumbling backward, Brock grabbing ahold of me before I fell to the ground. "She fucking took her." Sobs wracked through my body, and my knees buckled, my voice broken with grief, choking on my words.

Brock helped me to the ground, keeping his arms around me. "We will find her, James. We will find them both."

It felt like someone had punched a hole through my chest.

Margaret took her.

---