“I came to drop off a key for Ember at the bookstore, and she wasn’t here. I went out back and found impressions in the dirt. I called the cops, and he’s called in CSI,” I tell him quickly, trying not to lose my nerve.
“God damn it,” he says, and I can hear the stress in his voice. “Atlas is going to fucking lose it, dude. We’re on our way.” He ends the call. This is going to breakAtlas’s heart.
Once Atlas and Asher arrive at the bookstore, everything happens in a blur. CSI comes in and begins their assessment of the crime scene. The severity of the situation and the realization that CSI is looking for the love of my life is tearing me up inside. Atlas hasn’t stopped sobbing since the moment she arrived. She called their parents and Ensley shortly after they arrived. Ensley is on her way already, and her parents are looking for tickets.
Chase and the boys are standing off to the side, surveying everything and silently trying to get more information that isn’t being offered up to the family. Chase is working on the footage from the traffic light at the four-way stop light before you turn into the bookshop parking lot behind the building.
Officer Ulrich approaches Atlas, Asher, and I just as Atlas’s phone rings. Without hesitation, her hands are frantic, trying to get her phone out of her pocket. My heart is beating out of my chest. I’m silently hoping and praying it’s Ember with some crazy story explaining where she’s at. That she’s safe and sound.
Looking over at Atlas’s phone, “Charlee”is pasted to the top of the phone screen. Atlas mashes the green button down. “Charlee? Is everything okay?” Atlas’s hands tremble, the phone stuck to her ear. Her eyes flash up and connect with mine, and my heart sinks.
“You’re on speaker, Charlee,” Atlas says aloud, eyes not leaving mine. Tears stream down her face.
“It was a half-day and Rawley was walking home from the bus.” Her voice wavers before she continues. “He ran inside, he was out of breath, and he said some older guy tried to get him into his car with him.” She lets out a sob, and my stomach turns.
“Ma’am, this is Officer Ulrich, did he give a description of the vehicle or the man?” he asks, looking for any sliver of information.
“He finally calmed down, he said the car was blue,” she chokes out. “He said the man had sandy brown hair and blue eyes. He was in the car, so he didn’t get any height.” Her breathing rises, and we can clearly hear her loudly blowing out her breath, trying to remain calm.
Chase whistles at me from across the parking lot, and I look at Asher to let him know I’ll be right back. “What do you have, man, I’m going out of my mind.”
Chase looks at me with a deep crease in his forehead and his lips clenched tightly together. “We were able to get footage from the cameras.” He offers up his phone to me, not giving any further explanation, just letting the video speak for him.
On the screen, I watch as Ember walks around the back of the building and slings the bag of garbage into the dumpster. She turns to walk inside, but stops. She pivots back to the dumpster and walks around the back of the bin, just like I had. I see her crouch down. The moment she lowers to the ground, we see a hooded body run onto the screen and bring their arm around to place a piece of cloth over her face. Ember puts up a fight, but her petite body is no match for the lean, hooded figure.
After around thirty seconds of her fighting, her body goes limp and her knees crumple. Before she hits the ground, the figure kneels down and throws her unconscious body over their shoulder. The figure, with a ski mask over their face, turns and begins walking to the corner of the screen. Then we see the front end of a Dodge Caravan come into the frame, and the door slides open on the other side. We can’t see the whole van, but I can make out another hooded figure on the driver's side, a bandana covering his face below the eyes. The masked figure who carried Ember lays her softly onto the bench seat before abruptly shoving the sliding door closed and peeling out of the driveway. They take a right once they pull out of the parking lot,no license plate on the back of the van, and keep going straight until they’re no longer in sight.
Chase puts his hand on my shoulder and gives me a squeeze. “What was the call the Officer took over?” he asks.
“Dean tried to pick Rawley up on his way home from school, but the kid took off before anything could happen,” I tell him, running my hand down my face. I look up at the guys, and each one has confusion written across their face.Shit. They don’t know about Rawley.I want to respect Ember and Rawley’s privacy, but right now, the more they know, the better their chance of helping us. Right now, their safety is more important.
I blow out a breath. “Rawley is Ember’s biological son,” I begin telling them. The shock hits each one of them. Eyebrows rise. Sounds of their breaths releasing fill the space between us. “We just got confirmation. Total freak coincidence,” I continue. “It sounds like Dean may have figured out who Rawley is, and tried taking him and Ember.”
“What do you want us to do man?” Gray asks me, reaching over to pat me on the back.
I stand there for a moment, contemplating my next move. “Track the van with street cameras. Let’s see what we can find out.”
Officer Ulrich moves towards us, leaving Asher and Atlas to hold onto each other for support.
“Do we want to clue him in on what we found or fly under the radar?” Andrews asks in a low tone as he keeps his eyes locked on the officer.
“Let’s keep this on the low and see if he’s got any more information that might help us,” I tell him in a hushed tone.
Officer Ulrich reaches us and claps his hand on my back. “I know this has to be rough, Mr. Blackwood, and we’re doing everything wecan to acquire as much information as possible. We want to locate Ms. Alden and get her back home safe to her family.” He crosses his arms over the front of his chest and he widens his stance. “Now, Mr. Blackwood.” His eyes reach mine. “I’m well educated on your background, and I want to remind you that this ismyinvestigation.”
I keep my eyes locked with his. “I’m not sure how you had time to investigate me, but you weren’t able to locate Dean Michael and keep my girlfriend out of harm's way?” My breathing is anything but even. Heat rises in my body. “You expect me to sit here and do nothing? You couldn’t even serve this motherfucker with a piece of paper?” My voice is filled with rage, and despite everything I stand for with the law, my level of respect is dwindling down to nothing for the man standing before me.
“I understand your frustration—” Officer Ulrich starts, putting his hand up to calm me.
“No sir, I don’t think you do!” My body is pumping now with adrenaline. “Because if this was someone you loved, you would do anything possible to bring your person home.” I turn to leave the area, heading back to Atlas and Asher before hearing anything else he says.
CHAPTER TWENTY
EMBER
As I start regaining consciousness,I realize that I am sitting in a chair. My arms ache.
When I try to move them, I realize that they’ve been tied behind my back. Each of my legs is tied to a leg of the chair. I let out a whimper involuntarily and quickly try to shut my mouth. I feel a fabric knot lodged there, preventing me from fully closing my mouth. The feeling of being stuck is overwhelming, and I try as hard as I can to calm myself.
