Page 14 of The Good Girl
Olivia looks confused. “Did you not pick her up when she left?”
Now it’s my turn to be confused. “What? No.”
“If a patient is here by court order and is only under evaluation and not admitted, then they are free to go when and if the charges are dropped.” Olivia recites the rule. “It didn’t require a doctor's discharge. I thought that’s why you weren’t here and you were downstairs waiting for her. I thought that’s why you were late.”
“I was late because the lawyer I hired to get her out received copies of the evidence. The fucker she stabbed had a whole goddamn shrine dedicated to her.”
“Oh god,” Olivia says, and her face pales. “I watched her leave.”
“What?”
“On the cameras.” She rushes over to the computer and pulls up the security feed. Then she backs up the digital recording to the time when Karmen left.
I watch as my beautiful girl exits the building dressed in her school uniform. She stands there for a moment and then looks up at the sky. It’s raining now, but it must have just started when she left.
“Here,” Olivia says, and her fingers are shaky as she points to the screen.
We both watch as a dark SUV parks almost out of the camera view behind Karmen. She’s not paying it any attention as she starts walking. A hooded figure gets out of the SUV and follows behind her. Then both of them disappear from the view of the camera.
“I thought it was you,” Olivia whispers. “I thought you were waiting for her. Oh god, I’m so sorry.”
I’m already reaching for my phone as she collapses in the chair next to me. I text my contacts at the police department and then call Detective Webb. She answers on the first ring, and I have to control my temper.
“Someone’s taken Karmen,” I practically growl into the phone. “We pulled up the security footage, and it looks like it was Andrew.” Clearly I couldn’t see who it was, but who else would do something like this?
“Shit.” I hear her mumble something to someone else before she comes back. “How long ago did this happen?”
I look at the time stamp on the video and my heart sinks. “Two hours.”
“Okay, send me a copy of the video. Maybe there’s something on there we can use to find her.”
“There’s someone coming to see you,” I tell her and check my watch. “His name is Maxim.”
“Who?”
“He’s a friend of mine. He does undercover work. It would be a mistake not to use him.”
“Understood,” she says quietly, and then I end the call.
Maxim sends me a text telling me he’s on the way to see Detective Webb, but it doesn't put my mind at ease. I won’t be able to rest until Karmen is safe in my arms.
Chapter Eleven
KARMEN
My eyes spring open at the sound of rain all around me, and it takes me a second to realize that I’m in the back of a vehicle. I can feel the vibration as it moves quickly, and my mind struggles to remember how I got here.
My head and knees throb, and when I lift my hand to try and rub the back of my head, I realize that my wrists are duct-taped together. The reality of my situation is sinking in, and panic starts to rise in my chest. This can’t be happening. I want to open my mouth and scream, but fear has me paralyzed.
A cell phone starts to ring, and although I want to look around and try to see where it’s coming from I don’t move. I keep perfectly still because I don’t want whoever took me to know I’m awake. My mind races to understand why this could be happening.
“Yeah,” a deep voice says. “I got her.” Then there’s a long pause as he listens to someone else on the other side of the phone. “That’s not part of the fucking deal,” the man says, and he sounds agitated. “Fine, I’ll make the drop.”
He must end the call because he doesn't speak again. When the vehicle slows down to make a turn, I try to track each one. After several I give up because it’s useless. My head has a dull ache and my brain is fuzzy. Besides, I don’t know how many he made before I woke up. All I can do is lie there while the dull ache spreads to all of my limbs.
When the vehicle rolls to a stop and the engine cuts off, I shut my eyes. I force myself to pretend to still be unconscious, but it's partly because I'm scared out of my fucking mind. I don’t want to see the face of the man who took me.
However, a dark-haired man with a gentle smile suddenly appears in my thoughts. When I imagine him, a feeling of peace fills me. His image fades away when I hear voices outside the vehicle, but I can't make out anything they're saying. Tears burn my eyes, and I take a few deep breaths, willing myself to stay calm. I want the image of the man to return.