gabriel
. . .
Present
My frustration mountswith each second that passes. “What do you mean, you won’t go out and look for her?” I demand, my voice echoing through the sterile lobby of the Richland Police Department.
The asshole behind the counter doesn’t seem to understand the severity of the situation right now.
My girl is missing.
She didn’t wander off. She’s not hanging out with friends and ignoring her phone.
She. Is. Missing.
I’ve searched all over campus. The pool. The Wolf Den. The soccer field. Julio spoke to Adriana. She’s not with her. Atticus and Deacon checked all the common spaces at PacNorth U and came up empty-handed. We’ve all taken turns calling her phone. And still, nothing.
I’m spiraling here and running out of places to look.
Felix checked in with Cecilia’s parents right before we came to the station. She hadn’t gone home yet, either.
Dread settles low in my gut.
I have to find her.
“Sir, it’s been less than twenty-four hours since your friend was last?—”
I slam my fist down on the counter, the sound reverberating through the room. “He’s out,” I snarl at the rent-a-cop behind the desk. “The asshole who tried to kill her only a few weeks ago is out there.” I wave my arm wildly toward the entrance. “And on the day he’s released, Cecilia’s nowhere to be found. That doesn’t strike you as suspicious? This isn’t a coincidence. He has her. Holt?—”
The officer heaves a long-suffering sigh. “Look, kid, as I’ve already mentioned, Mr. Holt’s whereabouts have been determined. He’s under strict house arrest until his trial?—”
“Then he has her in his home,” I interject. “He probably has her chained to the floor in some creepy fucker dungeon in that mansion he calls a house. Did you check? Like, with your eyes?” He rests his hand on his holster, and I force myself to take a breath. Fuck. This asshole is going to kick me out of here if I don’t calm down. Or worse, arrest me for making a scene. And then where would I be?
With more restraint than I realize I’m capable of, I lower my voice and grind out, “Do you know for a fact he’s home and that she isn’t in there with him?”
The officer huffs, his patience running on fumes. “Sir?—”
Goddammit! It’s that fucking tone. That ‘you’re overreacting and wasting my time, kid,’ tone.
“Why aren’t you taking this seriously?”
His scowl deepens, irritation flickering in his beady eyes.
Fuck him.My patience ran out over an hour ago.
Reaching beneath the counter, he pulls out a form and shoves it across the desk to me. “You know what, kid?” he snaps. “Here. Have at it.”
My gaze drops to the paperwork, my eyes skimming over the text.
“Once twenty-four hours have passed, you can file a missing person’s report.” He glowers. “This will help you get a head start on the paperwork. You can turn it in once twenty-four hours have passed, not a minute before.”
My nostrils flare, and my fingers curl around the papers.
Fuck this guy and his fucking form. This isn’t going to help me find her.
“You and the girl both attend PacNorth, right?”
I nod, barely holding back my fury. I cannot lunge across this counter. I cannot punch thispendejoin the face. Cecilia needs me right now, and I cannot—under any circumstance—get myself arrested.
