Reclaimed (Powell Sanctuary #5)

Chapter 31

31

Aiden

The club is crawling with police by the time we arrive. Cruisers from neighboring cities and the county are in the parking lot. The attention seems to be centered on the right side of the building, so we head that way on foot after Corjan parks.

Crimson stains on the pavement churn my stomach, and I pause with my hands on my knees. A fortifying breath strengthens my defenses. I have to keep it together for Isla. I have to believe we’re going to get her back. There’s no other option. If she doesn’t come back to me whole and alive…

I simply won’t survive.

Lee emerges from the faces, his long strides closing the distance between us.

“What do you know?” I fire off as soon as he’s within earshot. The strength in my voice vastly contrasts the chaotic storm of emotion raging inside of me.

“Her coworker was found outside in a pool of his own blood. Isla’s check was beside him. The owner got a call around five-after-three from one of the club’s security guards that he saw Isla forced into the passenger side of a mid-2000s sedan and was following. They hung up, the boss called you, and his security guard called the cops with the plates.”

I run a shaky hand over the stubble on my cheek. The abrasive prickle in my palm grounds me some. “Then what?”

Lee’s jaw clenches, and I brace.

“Just before you got here, a call came into dispatch to report a car in the ditch with a deceased male inside.”

“The security guard?”

Lee’s mouth forms a grim line and he nods. “He shot at him through the windshield. The security guard crashed into a ditch and wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. He died on scene.”

My gaze flickers over the blood stain again. “Fuck,” I whisper, gripping the strands of my hair with both hands. “Fuck! The coworker?”

Lee shakes his head. “He was dead before the ambulance arrived.”

Silas steps into our group, and my attention locks onto my old friend. “How do we find her now?”

“County is crawling the roads from where the car was found, and every town to the north has been put on alert. The security guard did a good job of relaying information to dispatch, so we were able to put out a BOLO on the suspect and car.”

That’s good, but it’s not enough. The county roads to the north are numerous, branching off in all directions like the veins of a primary river. Who knows how much farther the guy needs to drive before he arrives at his final destination? The longer he’s on the main roads, the better chance we have to find her.

“Do we know anything about the suspect?”

Silas shakes his head. “Unfortunately, the plates were stolen. We got a description from the security guard. Mid-forties to mid-fifties white male wearing glasses. We’re reviewing security footage now.”

“Why aren’t you out there?”

Silas scowls. “I was ordered to stay here.”

“By who?” I bite out.

His face twists into a pained mask. “My jackass of an older brother.”

I shrink the gap between us. “And you’re going to choose now to listen to him?” I seethe.

A hand on my shoulder holds me back. Jude squeezes, keeping me still. “Without Silas, we wouldn’t know anything. It doesn’t do us any good to have him running around the state blind.”

“Jude.” I turn to implore him. For what exactly, even I don’t know.

He shakes me hard. “ I know .”

A silent conversation passes between us.

The sound of my phone ringing interrupts, and I retrieve the device from my pocket. My mind empties of everything but the two words on the screen.

Isla Calling…

“It’s her.”

A band tightens around my chest as I stab my finger against the screen. I look to Jude as I put the device on speaker.

“Hey!” Silas flags down a detective a few feet away. “We need a trace on this call.”

“Talk to me, starshine.”

The line crackles, relaying nothing but movement and the sound of air rushing by. I can’t tell if she’s still in a car or outside.

“It’s too bad, really.” A man’s voice comes across the line, his voice dripping with something sinister.

“What’s too bad?”

Isla. The anxiety in her sweet tone shreds me to pieces. A heavy silence stretches so long I stare at the phone as if I can see her through the glass.

“All those women. They’re entirely your fault.”

“What women, Henry?”

Henry . We have a name. I raise my head from the phone to find Silas, but he’s already jotting this information down.

“Those sluts I killed for looking just like you.”

“Why would you do that?”

“You should know better than to run from me. I had to teach you a lesson.”

“But I didn’t run from you—”

“Yes you fucking did!” His menacing snarl sends rage through my system. “Don’t you fucking lie to me!”

“I — I’m s-sorry.” Her unease pulses across the line like a palpable thing.

The man gives a satisfied-sounding hum. “That’s better.”

“What are you going to do with me?”

The line cuts out. I hold the back of my head in one hand while I wait for them to come back online.

“—killing you.” A sinister beat pulses across the airwaves. “You need to pay for what you did.”

My knees give out. They simply refuse to keep me standing. I crash against the asphalt but I don’t feel the pain. It’s impossible to register through the absolute agony coursing through my body like a poison.

I silently beg for her to say something, to respond, to let me know she’s still there, but the line remains quiet.

It takes me a moment to realize the screech of tires on pavement isn’t coming from the phone. A small Mazda whips into the parking lot, racing straight for us. The brakes halt the car fifteen feet away. The door flies open, and Juniper leaps out, maroon hair whipping around her face.

“What the fuck,” Lee growls, marching off in the direction of his wife.

“Aiden!” she screams, bypassing my irritated brother. “I know where she is!”

In two seconds flat I’m off my knees and by her side. She thrusts her phone beneath my nose. Sure enough, a little blue dot with Isla’s picture attached moves steadily across the screen down the interstate.

I look at her in shock. “How did you get this?”

“We met for lunch a few weeks ago at a new restaurant, and I got lost. We shared our locations to find each other and never turned them off,” she says in a rush. Her shoulders heave as she sucks in a fresh breath. “I just remembered.”

“This is amazing, Juniper. Can I take this?” Silas asks. “It’s faster and more accurate than pinging her from the cell towers.”

“Of course. Absolutely.” She writes down her passcode on his notepad and Silas takes off.

I crush her to me, enfolding her in such a tight hug I’m not sure either of us can breathe. But I don’t let go immediately, because her arms are equally tight.

“Thank you.” I kiss the top of her head.

She pulls back and wipes a falling tear from her eye. “We’re going to find her.”

I don’t know if she’s trying to convince me or herself. But our odds increased exponentially because of her. For that, I’m eternally grateful.

There’s a flurry of activity as officers begin to move. A handful of cruisers pull out. I catch Lee’s eye. He nods once, then jerks his head at his truck.

“Let’s go.”

I squeeze Juniper’s hand once more in thanks before climbing into Lee’s truck. He hauls himself inside and peels out after Silas’s cruiser.

“Thanks,” I say quietly, knowing it’s inadequate.

“Not necessary.” Lee punches the gas to keep Silas in his sights. The blue and red lights flash soundlessly ahead.

“Does Mom know what’s going on?” I grip the phone in my hand, watching the only connection I currently have to the love of my life. The line remains silent.

“Yes. The rest of the girls stayed behind to rally together. And as pissed as I am at Juniper for leaving the safety of town, I’m so fucking proud of her.”

“I’ll never be able to repay her. If we find Isla, I’ll be in her debt forever.”

Lee’s fingers twist around the leather steering wheel. “We’re going to find her.”

I let the strength behind his words imbue me with hope.

We are going to find her.

The phone in my hand suddenly comes to life, a rustle bursting across the line, followed by a thud.

“Isla,” I call urgently.

“What are you doing?” The man’s voice fills the quiet of Lee’s cab. Our eyes meet briefly before he returns his attention to the pavement beneath his tires and punches the gas again.

“Nothing,” Isla’s breath hitches.

“Don’t lie to me! You’re up to something.”

“I’m just moving around.”

The threatening tone deepens . “If you don’t tell me the truth right now, you won’t make it another five seconds.”

“Please,” Isla bursts into sobs, the terror in her voice sending my hair on end. I don’t have a visual to know how exactly he’s threatening her, and my mind runs wild with the possibilities. “Don’t hurt him,” she pleads.

“You fucking bitch!”

The sound of a scuffle ensues, punctuated with a shout and Isla’s tearful cry of pain. There’s a whistling sound, a crack, and the line goes dead.