Page 73 of Damaged Hearts

I don’t have time to waste. I need to see if she’s okay, but my gut knows she’s far from safe.

“I don’t know what’s happening and I need to get there as fast as possible.”

He nods as I race around a tight corner, my truck skidding.

“You love her, don’t you? I’ve never seen you like this before.”

That’s because I’ve never been like this and every second that ticks by is a second of madness, not knowing what happened or if she’s even alive.

“Laura is the end game for me,” I admit confidently as my mind spins.

“Then, go faster.” He doesn’t need to tell me twice.

* * *

The tires screechas I slam on the brake and throw the truck in park. I don’t even bother turning it off as I jump out and half a second later, Gillian is parked next to me.

“Oh, there she is,” Chucky says, but he couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Not Laura. I’ll explain later,” I mutter as she runs up to me as I hurry toward the apartment.

“She didn’t answer her phone. It went straight to voicemail!” She nearly cries as I stop suddenly, seeing the door wide open with a streak of blood on the outside of the door and my heart slams into silence.

No. No, no, no.

“Laura!” Gillian doesn’t stop. Instead she runs head first into the apartment. It takes me half a second to push past my horror and run into the apartment.

Everything is in absolutely disarray, like the place was ransacked. The TV is destroyed, the couch flipped, and the sliding glass door is completely shattered. Blood soaks the floor by the door and I’m so fucking scared by what I’ll find inside.

I race through to the bedroom, but it seems untouched, exactly like it was this morning.

“Laura!” I yell as I run to the closet and then the bathroom. The same towel I used this morning sits on the sink and her toothbrush seems recently used.

She was just fucking here.

Suddenly, I hear a loud feminine scream, but it’s not the kind that comes from horror. No, it’s the kind that comes from a woman’s heart breaking.

“No!”

I race out of my room to see Gillian on the floor, clutching her chest, as she stares up at the wall in the vacant area by the kitchen. I saw the area was covered in a sheet when I entered, but I was looking for Laura. I didn’t give a shit about a sheet on the wall, but now I see the significance and why Gillian is a mess on the floor and why Chucky looks like he’s seen a ghost.

Fresh black spray paint dusts the wall along with the brown beanie Laura wears every single day with a knife through it, holding it to the wall.

I’ve taken back what’s mine.

D.S.

Anger rolls through me like molten lava. The blood that soaks the beanie adds to my rage. Someone came into my home and not only hurt Laura but took her, too.

“I’m going to fucking kill that bastard.” I punch the fucking wall so hard my fist breaks through the sheetrock. “Where is her ex?” I demand, not giving a shit if Gillian’s upset. I’ll find Laura and bring her back where she belongs, here with me.

She looks up at me like I’ve lost my mind. “This wasn’t Dell.”

“How can you be so fucking sure?”

She slowly moves to her feet and points out the initials at the bottom. “If this was Delvin Clemons, it would be D.C., not D.S. I only know one person with these initials.” Her lip trembles as the points at the D. “Donatello…” she moves to the S. “Scarfoni.”

Fucking hell. Donatello fucking Scarfoni, Gillian’s ex that was looking for her kidnapped Laura.

---