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Liam’s smirking, “She probably got busy with the yard.”
The nagging feeling is still there, but they call us back to set. “Shit.” Cursing under my breath, I know I’m going to trust my gut and check on her. The team is going to be pissed, but I don’t give a shit. “I’m going to go check on her.”
Liam’s eyes widen. “What? Man, you’re in the middle of filming.”
“What the fuck do you want me to do? Something isn’t right, Liam.”Am I overreacting?I mean, she can’t answer her phone while working in the yard, I reason.But why didn’t she text you back this morning?
“Bro, stay here, and I’ll go. They’ll be pissed as hell if you leave.”
“I don’t give a shit what they think. Fuck this movie.” Liam’s actively walking backwards, convincing me to stay and work.
“Her place it less than ten minutes from here. I’ll run over and check on her real quick. I’ll call you when I’m there, so you can talk with her.”
My pulse is calming, knowing Liam will stop by. “Yeah, okay, but call me as soon as you’re there.” I point at him, jabbing the air a few times, punctuating my seriousness.
He hustles to the parking lot while I attempt to listen to cues and directions—my cell tucked in my back pocket the entire time. Five minutes. Ten. Twenty. Finally, the phone vibrates, my finger practically breaking the screen on the swipe.
“Avery? Kitten, is that you?” My voice is so tight, I hardly recognize it.
“No, bro. It’s me.” Liam’s voice is dark and rough, coughing to clear it. “You were right. Something’s wrong.”
Without announcement, I leave the set, ignoring the shouted questions. “Tell me.” I demand. “Where is she?” Liam took my car, so I snagged one of our security team’s keys and peel out of the lot.
“I can’t find her. She’s not here. But… her front door was open. Her car is here. And there’s scattered white roses all over the porch. Some of them have blood on them.” As he continues, my foot slams the gas to the floor. “I didn’t touch anything but went inside. Her bed is turned down, but not slept in, and her phone is next to her bed. Your text is still on the screen.”
What was probably a couple of minutes feels like hours to reach her house. Everything Liam said was true, prompting me to call her dad, thankful he gave me his number. Liam called 911 before me, so he’s the next on the list.
A raging storm is coiling tight, gale-force winds beating from the inside, threatening to fracture through bone to break free. Only, I cannot allow even a sliver of a crack, because I’ll lose my shit and fall apart. Now’s the time to be strong.
Liam’s grip on my shoulder, grounding the pending explosion. “We’ll find her, brother.” He promises.
I just hope it’s not too late.
Chapter Ten
Avery
Dizziness spins me back into consciousness as my lashes flutter against the light, blurring my vision, and heightening the pounding in my skull. A moan vibrates my throat as I rub my temples.
When my sight focuses and the details sink in, I realize I’m in deep shit. I’m on a lumpy bed as dust floats thinly in the air. The walls are bare, stained yellow with rusted water trails. A single lightbulb hangs from a cord in the room. Besides the bed, there’s a desk and chair, along with a toilet in the corner.
My focus locks on the only door in the room and mentally envision myself marching out of this shittastic situation. Slowly, so as not to vomit all over my nice accommodations, I sit up and swing my legs over the edge. The sound of marbles smashing together startles a yip into the silence.
Horror fuels the adrenaline coursing through my veins when I realize that I’m attached to the bed. The familiar sound was a long, thick chain shackled to my ankle. When the initial shock wears off, I lift my foot to inspect the latch with a lock securing the metal ring. I yank and jiggle, but there’s no give. It won’t budge. The shackle is large on my ankle, but too narrow to slip over my heal. The length restricts my perimeter to about five feet. Long enough to reach the table and toilet, but not the door.
Footsteps sound above, clacking against the floor, like a fashion statement.Did shereallywear heels to my kidnapping?I track the movement until they’re outside the door. There’s a clank before it slowly creaks open, revealing the same snarky face and creepy-ass grin plastered on her face.
Sarah walks in, carrying the tray to the desk in the room, and setting it down. “Hi!” she starts, like we’re old friends at a slumber party. “You’re finally awake! I was hoping you wouldn’t die. You’ve been asleep for a few days. I guess I used more than I should’ve.” She giggles manically. “I brought you a few things.” She sets toilet paper, a change of clothes, and food down on the desk. By the look on her face, she’s waiting for a thank you. Well, she’ll be waiting a long fucking time.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask, my voice cracking with anger as I ease off the bed, testing my balance to see if the dizziness has dissipated.
“Whoa, there. Sit down right now!” She flips like the psycho she is and screams while pointing to the bed.
I follow her request without permission when I lose my balance and flop unceremoniously back to the bed. The room spins, and the pounding in my head intensifies, vibrating my chest with a groan.
She ignores the outburst and hums as she walks through the room, ensuring everything’s set, and there’s no way of escape. She pauses next to me, her dark eyes narrowing with hate and terrible intentions. “Oh, don’t act innocent.” She growls before screaming, “You know why! Jaxton is mine! We were supposed to get married!” Her eyes close and she takes a deep breath before smiling and speaking casually again. “So, now I’m going to keep you.” She says it as if it’s so simple. “Without you around, he’ll come back to me.” Her giggle is off pitch, sounding as delusional as she obviously is. “You know he’s looking for you. You should have seen his poor face—the agony displayed every second in his eyes. And guess who’ll be there to pick up those pieces?” She’s giddy, practically bouncing in place, while her gleaming smile displays pearly white teeth.
“You’ll never get away with this! Jaxton will never fall for your bullshit! He’ll never love you, never!” I scream, jump to my feet, and charge. Lethargy be damned. I’m getting the fuck out of here.
