Page 101 of Protected from Torment

Still. Fear urges me into the bedroom, where I fling open the closet in breathless anticipation of finding all of Mel’s things gone.

When I see her clothes still hanging from the rack, I sag with relief. She didn’t leave.

Just as I’m about to leave the closet, a thought occurs to me. Mel’s tracker. I wouldn’t trace her location under normal circumstances, but these circumstances feel far from normal. Just because I don’t have confirmation that she’s in trouble, my gut says she is. And it’s not often wrong.

But, shit. Once the tracking app is open, it shows Melissa’s location as being in the same room as me. Which she clearly isn’t. But the bracelet with a little dog-shaped charm is. A quick scan of the room shows it sitting on top of the dresser, beside the carved jewelry box she brought from New York.

“Dammit,” I curse. My fist slams onto the top of the dresser. Frustration builds until it feels like my body has no room for it. Fear claws at my chest.

“Why didn’t you wear it?” I ask out loud. “You said you liked it. That you wouldn’t mind wearing it.”

But Mel’s not here to answer my questions. She can’t tell me if she forgot, if she decided not to wear it because she didn’t think she needed it, or if she was so upset with me, she didn’t want to wear anything that reminded me of her⁠—

My phone buzzes, startling me so badly I almost drop it.

For half a second, I think it’s Mel.

But it’s not. It’s Rafe, asking how everything’s going.

Feeling sick from disappointment, I message him back.

She’s not at the cabin. I checked all the cameras, and there’s no sign of her. She left her tracker on the dresser, so I can’t find her that way. I’m worried something’s really wrong.

Rafe’s response comes back almost immediately.

I’ll call the guys. See if anyone’s heard anything. Maybe Mel is at Bea’s. Or with Noelle or Yara. I’ll let you know ASAP.

Of course. Instead of panicking, Rafe is being logical about it. But Eden’s still safe at his house. He’s not feeling this bone-deep certainty that the woman he loves is in danger, that she could be hurt, missing…

What if she left the property and got kidnapped? Hit by a car? What if she’s somewhere in the woods, sick and unable to call for help?

Fear shifts to full-blown terror, not unlike how I felt when I got the call from the police after Kaia’s accident. I knew from the tone of their voice that it was bad. And I had this horrible feeling that my life would never be the same.

I can’t lose Mel, too. I can’t.

My phone buzzes again, but this time I’m looking at the screen, so I know it’s Rafe.

Talked to Indy, Ace, and Webb. They asked Bea, Noelle, and Yara. They haven’t seen Melissa today. We’re all heading to the conference room to figure out a plan.

The last flicker of hope blinks out. Mel isn’t safe with one of the women. She’s not answering her phone or her texts. I can’t use her tracker to locate her. I⁠—

“Her phone,” I blurt. “Shit. Her phone.”

I can track her phone. The location won’t be perfect, but if Mel still has her phone on her—oh, I hope she does—it’ll give me a general idea of where to look.

Rushing back into the living room, I snatch up my laptop from the coffee table, drop onto the couch, and start clicking away. My heart is racing in time with the click of the mouse pad, speeding faster by the second.

Let her be okay, I silently pray. Let this all be a big misunderstanding. An overreaction. Anything other than what I fear it is.

Not five minutes later, I get a hit.

Mel’s phone is still on the property.

It looks to be about a half-mile from here, not far from the fence that surrounds the perimeter.

Logic cautions me not to get my hopes up. It reminds me that just because her phone is there doesn’t mean she is.

But it’s a clue. And that’s better than what I had before.