AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fuck, earlier, seeing her in panic mode made my heart seize in my chest. It was worse than before. She looked lost, trapped inside her own hell; her eyes focused on something we couldn’t see. I thought we had lost her to her fears, her demons.
My team and I had been wrapping up the scene at Santos’s house when Ivey received a call from Noelle. She was frantic, trying to explain what happened in between panic sobs, but we got the gist of what she said.Someone had broken into Phoebe’s hotel room. We think he’s still in there. Get here quick.That was most of it. I didn’t hang around for any additional information. I had jumped into my truck and hauled ass, weaving through traffic, the sirens on my dashboard warning everyone to stay the fuck out of my way.
On my way to the scene, Brady called and told me what Ayana told him. They thought someone was waiting for them inside Phoebe’s hotel room. He told me that he ordered them back inside the bar then took the steps up to her floor. He checked her room using the key he had gotten from the front desk when he arrived and found it trashed to hell and completely empty. He searched the hotel as best he could, as well as outside but he didn’t see anything or anyone suspicious.
When I arrived, there were people everywhere, surrounding Phoebe. The sight both angered and sickened me. Couldn’t they see she was in distress? Why in the fuck were they crowding her? And someone had their got damn phone up recording the scene. I grabbed the phone, smashed it on the ground, then stomped on it.
“Hey,” protested the owner, some overweight twenty something. However, his bellowing ceased the moment I turned in his direction and pulled out my gun. He shut up instantly, and I made my way closer to the crowd in front of me.
“Step aside. Move back for fuck’s sake,” I billowed, and those who glanced in my direction, saw I had a gun, scrambled back. I made eye contact with Brady and signaled him to get control of the crowd. I moved further into the bar and found a sight that gripped my chest tight.
Phoebe was sitting on the floor, her back to the wall. She had her arms wrapped around her bent legs, forehead resting on her knees, her body shaking uncontrollably. And kneeling in front of her were Reed Watson and Garrett Tyler.
I ignored them and focused on Phoebe. Seeing her like this broke something in me. The strong woman I had left just hours ago had been reduced to a frightened child, her mind fractured, soul losing the battle of self-control. Well, hold on a second, maybe not lost. I could have sworn I heard her chanting my name, calling to me.
Watson attempted to touch her, but she moved away from him, as if she was trying to become one with the wall behind her. She lifted her head and I could see that her eyes were wide, manic, empty. Watching him touching what belonged to me and seeing her scared and panicked pissed me off even more.
I stepped closer, putting my gun away, just as both men glanced up. They weren’t pleased to see me, but Watson looked as if he wanted to murder me. He could try.
“Step aside, give her some space.” I ordered, but both didn’t move.
“Sergeant, I’m her psychologist.” Tyler began to explain. “I know what I’m—”
I put a hand up and cut him off. “Tyler, I don’t care if you were the second coming. Move.” When they still didn’t budge, I bent over slightly and added in a low tone, “She’s calling me, not you. Now get out of my way before I drag you away by your fucking necks.”
I straightened and continued to glare at them both. Tyler, who seemed like the smarter of the two, nodded once, stood, and backed away. Watson, of course, didn’t move, which left me no choice but to act. I blew out a breath and pulled out my handcuffs. I didn’t want to have to take it to this level. No, I’m lying. I did want to arrest him, and I prayed he’d resist. I started toward the stubborn asshole when Tyler raised a hand and addressed his partner.
“Reed, stop being an asshole and get up. The Sergeant is right. You need to think about Phoebe, not your ego. Step aside.”
Reed let out a long sigh and slowly rose to his full height. He turned and faced me, his eyes narrowed on me, chest puffed out. I wasn’t sure if this was his way of intimidating me or not, but I had no time for it.
I moved closer to Phoebe, squatted in front of her, and lightly grazed her cheek with my fingers. She immediately stopped shaking. I called her name; told her I was here and to open her eyes. However, before I could brace myself, she had wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in my neck. I picked her up off the floor and carried her over to a booth in the bar away from the crowd. I kept her close, rubbing her back, whispering words of encouragement, telling her I was here, and I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. I went on like that until I felt her breathing become normal. When she finally lifted her head, I wiped her cheeks and smiled at her.
“Hey, beautiful,” I whispered. She smiled, her eyes focused solely on me. She was back.
“Sarge, I have the footage up and ready,” Danny announced, bringing me back to the present. I blinked my thoughts clear and found that Tyler had joined Watson and Phoebe in the corner of the room. Noelle and Ayana were both staring at the trio, arms folded, evil glares on their faces. I bit back a smile and turned to face my guys.
“Alright, let’s see it.”
We watched the recording of a security camera that was placed in front of Phoebe’s door. I felt my temper rising as I watched myself leave. This whole time they have been watching me come and go from her hotel, recording my visits, and I didn’t know it. I wondered if they had placed cameras inside the room without her knowledge. That made my temper come to a boiling point. I made a mental note to have Danny sweep the room once we were done here.
The recording showed everything that Tyler explained. We watched Phoebe leave her room thirty minutes after I left. Danny fast forwarded the recording until we saw a figure come into view. His head was down, hand over his forehead so we couldn’t see his face. All we could tell was that he was a white man with broad shoulders and dark hair.
“Didn’t you say someone installed cameras by the elevator and steps?” I asked as the stranger stood in front of the door, his body blocking the view of the doorknob and lock. We couldn’t see what he was doing, which was frustrating.
“Yes, I did, but that footage wasn’t on the email he sent or the drive we found.” Danny said as he fiddled with the keyboard, bringing up another view.
“Uh-huh, kindly ask Tyler where that footage is as well. I want everything they have, and I do mean everything.”
“Yessir, you got it.”
“So, we have nothing,” I interjected. “All we can see is someone standing by her door. We can’t see what he’s doing, can’t see his face. And we have no clue how someone entered the room as well as the room of the couple.”
“That’s correct,” Danny replied, glancing back at his laptop to rewind the recording and play it again.
“Do you think the footage was tampered with?” Ivey asked, which was the million-dollar question and the only explanation. The question was, who tampered with it? As I brought my eyes up in search of the two people that I had a feeling had something to do with just that, I found them in a corner by the door huddled together talking.
Phoebe was now with Noelle and Ayana. They seemed to be heavily engrossed in conversation too. I also noticed Phoebe looked to be more relaxed. You could see she still wasn’t herself, but she was coming back slowly.
