Page 55 of Heart Like Yours

“Thanks for coming, I’m not exactly sure what you can do but…” I shrug, glancing at his partner, who has his nose buried in his laptop.

“That’s Parker. Horrible social skills but the absolute best person at tracking.”

I swallow thickly and nod just as one of the head detectives steps into the office.

“We got the security footage,” he starts, but Parker cuts him off.

“Have it pulled up here.”

The detective sputters out his protests, but Emmett and I both ignore him and frame either side of Parker.

Bile rises in my throat as we watch a hooded figure enter Paige’s office and pull a gun out. Paige slowly rounds the desk and then everything happens quickly. They scramble. She throws anything her hands land on to distract him and tries to dodge him. My breath catches as she makes it to her door, almost escaping, but the man is hot on her heels, grabbing the hood of her sweater and yanking back. She reacts quickly, unzipping it and dropping so it slides off, and he stumbles.

The camera follows them down the hall, switching angles to where he catches her once more by the editors’ desks. Paige grapples for a chair and just as she lifts it to throw, the man bashes her head with the butt of his gun, and she crumples to the floor.

The detective talks with Emmett, but I tune them out and close my eyes. The image of Paige collapsing plays on repeat in my mind as I try to calm my breathing.

The sound of my phone vibrating on my desk pulls me from my thoughts and I stiffly cross to grab it.

“Emmett,” I call out at the sight of a text message with an image attached from an unknown number.

My blood boils at the picture of Paige tied to a chair, her tank top askew and dirty while her head hangs limply to the side. Red stains the side of her lip and my chest tightens.

Unknown: $1,000,000 and you can have her back. Come alone.

Emmett takes my phone just as another message with an address comes in and he reads it off to Parker.

“Mr. Walker, I hate to be the one who brings this up, but we need to look at this situation from every angle,” the detectivesays, running a hand through his greasy hair as he takes a cautious step away from Parker. “Is there a possibility that Ms. Adams is working with someone? This could be a setup for her to get money from?—”

“No,” I cut him off, my nails biting into the palm of my hand.

“We need to prepare?—”

“Got it,” Parker says, uncaring that the detective was talking. “It’s an abandoned warehouse on the bay.” He shares a knowing look with Emmett as he slams his laptop shut. “I have everything we should need in the truck.”

Emmett nods, turning to me while the detective sputters out his protest.

“There are protocols in place! You can’t just?—”

Parker stands, towering over the detective and scowling down at him.

“We both know thatwecan. Call your boss if you have a problem with it.” He grabs his bag, raising a single brow toward Emmett. “I’ll be in the truck.”

He leaves without another word and Emmett turns to fill me in.

“We can get her, unless you want to pay the ransom.”

“Only as a last resort.” I motion to the door. “Let’s go.”

He smirks but shakes his head. “I don’t think so. You’ll only get in the way.”

“I’m not stupid enough to think I can go in. I know nothing about situations like this,” I explain, snatching my phone from his hand and holding his passive stare. “But I can wait in the goddamn truck and be there when you get Paige out.”

Something akin to admiration flashes in his eyes, but he only nods.

The detective sputters out his protests, but I breeze past him and follow Emmett. He pauses in my doorway, glancing sidelong at the detective with traces of a smirk on his lips.

“I’ll make sure to personally call Chief Rogers to make sure that you guys can do your paperwork correctly.”