Colt

 

I feel like I’m losing my mind.

Quinn has been gone for nearly twenty-four hours, and I’m alarmed that precious time is slipping by, and we have absolutely nothing.

“Colt, you should rest,” Ash says softly as she enters the living room with a plate. She pauses before me and holds it out, revealing that she’d made me a sandwich.

I fight back the urge to say something nasty since I’m in a foul mood, and instead, I accept the plate. “Thank you,” I manage to say.

She sits down beside me, her eyes concerned. “When she’s found, she’s going to need you. You can’t be there for her if you’re not taking care of yourself.”

I open my mouth to snarl at her, but then my mouth closes as I take in the ugly bruising on the side of her face. She’d only just come home from the hospital this morning, and instead of resting, she’s been trying to keep us and the house running. She’d manipulated Channing into going to his classes for the day, and somehow, she’d worked that same magic on Harper. Gabe had driven Harper into work this morning, and now the only ones in the house are Ash, Gabe, Bryce, and me.

I release a heavy sigh and set the plate on the coffee table, not hungry. “I fell asleep earlier for a bit,” I gruffly confess. I’d felt guilty as shit upon waking up slumped on the couch.

Ash touches my arm. “That’s your body telling you that you need to listen to it. You can’t ignore your body’s need to sleep.”

I don’t say anything as I stare broodingly at the blank TV screen across the room. Bryce had left earlier to look into a few things at the department, and he hasn’t come back yet. I’m hoping he’ll arrive with something to help us find her—anything.

“If you’re not hungry, why not take a shower,” Ash suggests. I open my mouth to decline, but she railroads right over me. “Two minutes,” she insists. “You’re not going to miss anything during those few minutes, and if your phone should ring, I promise to knock on the bathroom door so that you can answer it immediately.”

I reach up and scrub my hands over my face. I’m not in the mood to do jack shit.

“You smell,” Ash tells me.

My hands drop, and I give her a look. “I do not.”

“You will soon if you don’t shower and shave that mess on your face,” she says bluntly. She rises to her feet, folding her arms over her chest. “I’ll stand right outside the bathroom door, okay? Go shower.”

Not that I’ll admit this to her, but my ass is numb from sitting around. It would probably do some good to stretch a little. I pull my phone from my pocket and hold it out to her, saying nothing.

In the end, the shower was a wise idea. I’m more alert, and getting off the couch had helped my mood. I’m a little more optimistic about what today will bring. Janke had written Next time come alone on the photo. There will be a next time, and when it comes, I need to be prepared. So I eat the sandwich, drink the water, and then pace the floor while I wait for Bryce to arrive.

When he eventually shows up, I’m disappointed to learn that he has nothing new to share. Bryce looks at me, his expression compassionate. “I know the waiting is tough, but Janke will contact you, Colt.”

“Before or after he hurts Quinn?” I ask flatly.

He doesn’t say anything, unable to give me reassurances that Quinn will make it out of this unscathed. When his phone rings, I curse under my breath, wishing it was mine going off. “Detective Banning,” Bryce says into the phone. He listens for a moment before his eyes shift to me. He holds up a finger telling me he needs to take the call, and then he turns and wanders further into the house.

My fists clench at my sides as I walk to the living room window and stare out into the afternoon sunlight

“I think you could use this right about now.”

I turn to find Gabe standing there, two bottles of beer in his hand. Without a word, I accept one of the bottles and walk back to the sofa, reluctantly sitting down.

Gabe sinks onto the other end of the sofa, taking a drink of his beer. “The waiting is a total mindfuck,” he says bluntly.

I glance at him, recalling the hell he’d gone through when Harper was dealing with her own stalker of sorts. “Yeah, it is,” I agree. “Every minute that goes by is an extra sixty seconds he has with her.”

Gabe doesn’t say anything, he just studies me.

“What?” I ask with a frown.

“I didn’t see it then, but I see it now,” he says quietly.

“See what?”

“You’re in love with her.”

I hold his gaze. “Yeah, I’m head over heels for her. I’ll gladly die trying to get her back,” I say levelly. I will go into this next meeting ready to take Janke down. As long as he goes down first and can’t hurt Quinn, I don’t care if I go down too. Not that I want to, but if it’s my life or Quinn’s, I’d give up my own.

“I know you would. I can see that.” He sighs with regret. “I’m sorry I was such a dick.”

“It’s done and over,” I say, brushing it off.

“She’s not going to be the same, so you need to prepare yourself,” Gabe forewarns.

“Yeah, I realize that,” I say quietly.

He hesitates. “Harper, she has nightmares.” He clears his throat. “I catch her looking over her shoulder at times, and when she’s out in public, she’s always aware of what’s going on around her. She’s not as carefree as she once was, and I’m okay with all that. I’m there when she needs me, and as the memories fade, I know she’ll eventually resemble the old Harper. But she’ll never be the same.”

“I’m in it for the long haul, Gabe. I just want her back.”

Gabe looks at me intently. “Don’t let her push you away, okay? I don’t know what she’s enduring, but if she tries to cut you out, don’t let her. Whether she’ll admit it or not, she needs you there for the good and the bad.”

I give him a look. “I’m not going anywhere. Ever. She can try pushing me away, but it isn’t going to happen.” No way in hell. Quinn fought for us when I wouldn’t, and I’m going to fight for us even if she no longer will.

Bryce enters the living room, and I look at him sharply. “Anything?”

He shakes his head and sits down. “It wasn’t about Quinn, sorry.”

I’m done with this waiting around shit. I lean forward and set the beer on the coffee table. “I need to draw this bastard out.”

“He’s too smart to fall for it. This all has to go down on his terms, or he’ll either continue playing with us, or he’ll give up on you and kill Quinn.” Bryce looks at me pointedly. “We can try to predict how Janke will react, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be wrong.”

It’s the same damned conversation we’d had earlier, but I can’t help it. It’s not in me to wait around like this. I’m accustomed to shit getting sorted immediately when there’s a problem. This waiting is brutal. “I can’t sit here any longer. It’s been hours since he last contacted me, and while we wait, Quinn is likely suffering,” I say darkly.

“He’s watching the house,” Ash says quietly.

I look up, noting for the first time that she’d entered the living room and is standing near the sofa, gazing at the three of us.

Something is shifting in her dark gaze. “He wouldn’t stop watching the house. He needs to know where Colt’s is and what he’s up to so that he can plan accordingly,” she says slowly, as if she’s thinking out loud.

Bryce’s eyes sharpen on her. “He’s nearby.”

Shit. Why didn’t we think of that? My eyes swing to Gabe. “Take Ash and go stay at Beck’s or Rem’s place while they’re working. Get her out of here.”

He hesitates, and Ash frowns in protest.

“He’s not contacting me because too many people are around. Get out of here and stay out of sight. It’ll be safer that way, and you guys won’t get caught in any crossfire,” I say as I rise to my feet.

Gabe looks resigned, knowing I’m right. He stands and gives me a look. “Keep me updated hourly. I mean it.”

“I will,” I assure.

“But…” Ash begins, her brows furrowing. She wants to stay and know what’s going on, just like Gabe. But being here could derail everything, and she’s aware of that.

Gabe touches her shoulder. “As much as we want to stay, this is our only way to help.”

She reluctantly nods and turns to me. “Bring her back, Colt. Please,” she says, her eyes pleading with mine.

“I plan to,” I tell her.

Gabe ushers her out of the living room, and I turn to Bryce. “You need to leave, too. Your car has been out front all this time.”

“You need backup, Colt.”

I shake my head. “If you stay, he won’t contact me. And if you search the neighborhood for him, he’ll likely evade us, and it’ll blowback on Quinn. You need to back off and let me do what needs to be done.”

“Colt, I can’t just walk away from this.”

“You have to. Like it or not, Quinn’s life depends on me. I can handle this, you know I can.”

Bryce is silent a moment, and I watch as he rakes a hand through his hair. He knows I’m right. “I’ll stay back, but not too far. Three blocks is the best you’re getting,” he grits out.

“Fine.” I know Bryce won’t be obvious with his surveillance, so hopefully three blocks won’t bring suspicion.