Page 89 of Coerced
Unable to waste any additional time, I stood and walked out, locking the door behind me. As I made my way over to my place—my dogs still needed to be let out, and I had no clue yet where to go to get Aria back—I found the number in my phone I needed and tapped on it.
“This is Landen.”
“Landen, it’s Pax. Thank God, you’re still at the office.”
“What’s going on? Are you okay?” he questioned me.
I got inside my house, my brood meeting me at the door, and answered, “I’m fine, but Aria’s not. Long story short, she’s my neighbor and my girlfriend, and she was kidnapped about twenty-five minutes ago.”
“Shit. Any idea who might have taken her? What can I do to help?”
Landen worked in the private investigation unit at Harper Security Ops, so I hoped he was going to be able to help me figure out where to turn next. I certainly didn’t intend to waste time driving all over Steel Ridge in hopes something was going to pop up and tell me where to find Aria.
“She was followed home from The Steel Pub a couple weeks ago,” I explained, opening the back door to let the dogs out. “I intervened that night with the guy, but apparently, he didn’t heed my warning. The camera footage from my house shows that guy and another one leading her away from her place and into their vehicle. I can’t be sure if it’s the same one he was in that night, but it’s the only start we’ve got. Any chance you can reach out to Jesse and find out what camera footage is accessible from the pub that night? He’ll know the exact date.”
“Yeah, man, absolutely. What kind of car did she leave in today?”
“It was a newer model SUV. Black. Possibly a Suburban.”
“I’ll check into it and let you know what I find.”
I’d moved to the kitchen to work on getting the food situated for the pets. “I’m fifteen minutes out; call me if you find anything in the meantime.”
“Will do.”
After disconnecting the call with Landen, I made quick work of taking care of the pets and was out the door in a flash. The moment I was in my car and racing back to work—no distraction of pets to take care of and kids to shield from horror—it pressed in on me.
Aria was missing. She’d been kidnapped. And I had a crummy lead, at best.
What if I couldn’t find her?
What if the worst happened?
The more I considered all the possibilities, the more my thoughts ran wild. And I couldn’t shake the notion that this was something more than just a random guyshowing up again, because he didn’t like being turned down and humiliated that night.
If that’s what it was, why would he have come back with someone else?
Something cold and hollow settled in my stomach. The bad vibes slithered across my skin and along my spine. I had to find her. I had to get her back safely.
It was only by some miracle I made it back to the office, because I’d zoned out on the drive. Images of Aria with her beautiful smile, gorgeous dimple, and stunning green eyes filled my vision.
As I’d driven home earlier, I’d been mulling over this issue that seemed to be plaguing Aria, telling myself it bothered me because I was starting to develop deeper feelings for her. But now that I knew something nefarious was happening, I realized just how wrong I’d been.
I wasn’t just developing deeper feelings for Aria. It had already happened, and I needed her to know the truth about how I felt. What if I didn’t get that chance?
If I couldn’t locate her before something bad happened, I’d never forgive myself.
I raced through the parking lot and didn’t slow down until I reached Landen’s office. Jesse was there with him, and they both sent sympathetic looks in my direction. “Anything?” I asked, the desperation in my tone unmistakable.
“Without knowing if this is the car we’re looking for, we did find one on the footage from the pub that matches the description you gave me,” Landen shared.
“Great. Do you have any info on the owner?”
“That’s the thing, Pax. The car is registered to a location that’s hours outside of Steel Ridge.”
As soon as he said it, my body tensed. “Is it Birch Creek?”
His brows drew together. “How did you know that?”