We’re all sitting in Lola’s store, waiting to hear something back about where she is. We have every police officer available and my PI’s working the case, yet no one has come back with a damn thing. It’s been over an hour, and I’m tearing the walls down with worry.
Another thing worrying me is Dwayne. No one can get in touch with him or find out what PI firm he used to see if they have any leads that could help us find Lola.
“Have you tried Dwayne again?” I ask my dad.
“He’s not answering. No one is picking up at the office either,” he informs me, looking concerned himself.
“We’ll get in touch with him,” Mom says as she sits down next to Dad with a fresh cup of coffee. I watch her hands shake. It’s been hard for her to keep it in check since she got here. She broke down when she first arrived and has tried her hardest since to keep it together, for my sake more than anyone else’s.
Pagan is on the other sofa, curled up to Sid who looks worried for his twin. The young lad, who I found out is called Alec, was picked up by his mom and dad an hour ago. I felt bad, deciding to go visit him and check he’s okay after I get Lola home. I’m going to regret a lot of shit I’ve done today, but at the moment I can’t seem to concentrate on anything other than finding her.
I’ve logged into my hard drive from Lola’s computer and tried looking for something myself, but without my work database, I’m pretty much a sitting duck.
“Does anyone want anything to eat or drink?” Brooke asks, Lorelei by her side, ready to take orders.
Everyone shakes their head, and she sits back down. I notice Lorelei doesn’t. Instead, she moves back over to the counter, cleaning the surfaces once again. I think she’s worried about Lola like the rest of us are, but something more is bothering her, and it’s killing me not having the head space to help her. When Lola finds out I ignored her new friend’s pain, she’s going to kill me.
I chuckle, but it’s dry, and everyone snaps their gazes my way, looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I have.
“What’s funny?” Mom asks, trying to make conversation.
“Lola. She’s going to kick my ass when she finds out some of the shit I’ve done and said today.” I chuckle, but it quickly turns into a pained sob. I drop my head into my hands, pulling at my hair.
“It’s going to be okay. If anyone can find her, it’s you,” Mom says, coming to sit next to me. The sofa I’m on is empty since everyone has pretty much given me a wide birth.
“Is it really?” I ask, turning my face to the side to look at her. “Because I feel fucking useless sitting here when I could be out there doing something.”
“Yeah, you could waste petrol driving around. You could look for her and lose signal or something and end up missing a vital call. You’re doing what you know is best. Until you have something to go on, there’s no point in getting yourself worked up over ‘what if’. I know in my heart everything is going to be okay,” Mom says, and I wish I had the same optimism.
As if God heard my mom and my prayers, my phone rings, Darius’s number flashing on the screen. I snatch it off the coffee table.
“Where is she?” I bark into the phone.
“I’ve got a positive description of Carl Holmes. He’s at a bed and breakfast near the school grounds. You know the old Travelodge on Springel Road?”
“Yeah, I’ve driven past there a few times. Are you sure?” I ask, already getting up and waving Cage to follow. I take a piece of paper off the side and quickly jot the address down.
“Yeah. I called the reception, and an older lady answered. I explained what was happening and she said he signed out ten minutes ago. I’m on my way already. There has to be something there to give us a clue,” he says, and my heart pounds.
We might not know where she is, but it’s one step closer than we were before.
“I’ll see you there,” I tell him and hang up.
I quickly inform Cage what Darius said, and his eyes widen. “I’ll take you. C’mon.”
“Mom, Dad, keep trying Dwayne,” I shout, not waiting around for a reply. I’m already out the door and getting into the patrol car. “Darius is meeting us there.”
Cage turns to me, smiling. “I know Darius. Good bloke. Just wish he’d come join us.” He chuckles, and I grunt.
“He’d rather be hung. He hates been told what to do by me. It’s why I let him run his own cases. He also likes not having a code to go by.”
Fifteen minutes later we’re pulling into the bed and breakfast, next to Darius’s car.
Darius is walking out of a room, shaking his head and muttering something to one of the officers next to him. The officer nods and rushes off to his vehicle.
“Dean, man, I think you should step aside on this one and let me and the cops deal with it,” Darius warns, and I rear back in shock. He’s not the sort of person to tell someone to step back. It’s why he never wanted to be a cop.
“Fuck you, mate. I’m going in there,” I snap, then barge in. He calls my name, but I ignore him. The second I step inside, I come to a sudden stop. Cage bumps into me as I stand paralysed.
“Holy shit,” Cage hisses.
My stomach drops and any hope I had of Lola being okay leaves me. The blouse she wore this morning is torn up and thrown on a rumpled bed, covered in blood.
Clenching my hands into fists, I take another step, kicking food cartons and beer cans out of the way.
“How the fuck didn’t we know he was this close?” I hiss, pulling at the ends of my hair. I’m ready to blow, my anger building to the point of no return.
“I’ve no idea. But it’s not everything,” Darius says, gesturing me to follow him over to the desk on the far wall. On the desk are piles of photos of Lola and me.
“He’s been following us for fucking weeks. These were taken three weeks ago,” I say, pointing to the picture of me, Lola and my parents going out for something to eat.
“Fuck, he’s obsessed,” Cage curses, shifting some of the pictures with a pen. He moves the top lot to reveal a bunch of close-up photos of Lola. He took pictures of my woman, my Lola. There have to be hundreds of different pictures.
“Have you called someone in to get these fingerprinted?” I ask, looking over my shoulder.
“I asked the officer who met me here to grab some shit,” Darius confirms. “Maria, the owner, has CCTV footage. I’m going over there now. Do you want to tag along?”
“Yeah, I’m coming,” I tell him, my voice hard.
“Has anyone radioed anything in?” My eyes catch the bloodied blouse on the bed, and my heart squeezes painfully. If I keep thinking about her hurt, it’s going to break me.
“No. Nothing. We have a search going for the vehicle. We’re hoping to pick it up soon.”
I follow Darius into the main reception, nodding at the scared, young-looking girl sitting behind the counter.
“Maria’s expecting you. She told me to tell you to go down the hall and take the second door on the left.”
My legs feel like jelly because I have no idea what I’m about to see on the camera. I already know she’s hurt, but seeing it is going destroy me. The empty, powerless feeling is strong, and a sense of unworthiness, of being unable to protect her is worming its way around my heart.
The door is open, and we walk in, surrounded by screens and computer equipment. Maria turns, hearing us approach, and gives us a grim smile.
“I’ve found the time he turned up. You can watch this screen here, and it will play through. If you fast-forward half an hour, you’ll see when they leave,” she says, stepping back to let Darius take charge of the computer. He presses some buttons, and the screen Maria pointed to earlier shows a car pulling up.
“Pause it a minute. Let me call the plate in,” Cage says and starts pressing buttons on his phone. I stand there, waiting impatiently as I turn back to the screen. Darius glances at me, seeing my unease, and presses play.
My blood boils as Rick steps out of the car. I’d recognise his mug anywhere; after all, I did my homework on the sick fuck.
He walks around to the passenger side of the car and lifts an unconscious Lola out. My heart sinks seeing her hair and face matted with blood.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I growl, and Maria looks at me sharply before taking another step back. “Fast-forward it.”
Darius nods, rushing through the video until movement at their door has him hitting play. The door seems to open a little before slamming shut, and we all look at each other with wide eyes.
“She made a getaway. My stupid girl,” I murmur, my eyes never once leaving the screen.
Not long after, the door opens and Rick steps out. This time he’s holding a bag and my eyebrows rise. He throws it into the boot before making his way back inside. My heart pumps like crazy, and I lean in closer, not wanting to miss a single detail.
I need to find her.
Fury simmers its way through my veins as he walks back out with an unconscious Lola. This time she looks worse for wear, her body covered in blood in various places.
Darius pauses on her, zooming in so we can see what’s going on better. “Fuck,” he growls.
Lola is only in her bra, cuts and bruises marring her pale, silky skin. My fists clench and unclench as fiery anger burns inside me and takes root, growing, festering and taking over my entire body.
Maria must sense what’s about to happen because she rushes out the room, a small squeak leaving her.
I pick up the empty chair next to Darius and swing it, smashing it against the door.
She’s hurt, and she needs me. I’ve never been so vulnerable than I am at this moment. I’ve never felt this level of anger or fatigued incapability before, and it’s burning through me.
Next, I move the trolley with cups, kettle and other shit on. I launch it across the room, smashing a few computer screens on the left wall, and I hear Maria scream.
Darius and Cage reach for me, pinning my arms behind my back as I struggle, screaming at the top of my lungs like a mad man.
“I’m going to fucking kill him. I’ll fucking kill him!” I roar, wishing he were in front of me right now so I could tear his fucking throat out.
She fucking needs me.
She fucking needs me, and I’m in here, watching her hurt on a fucking computer screen, and I can’t do anything to help her.
I try shoving off Cage, to get free. I need to get this anger out. I need to do something, anything to get my woman back.
“You need to get it together, bro,” Darius hisses in my ear. I knock my head back, hitting him in the nose. He grunts, cursing, but doesn’t let go.
“Don’t make me fucking arrest you, Dean. You’ve got a girl to find and a sick fuck to catch. Oh, and you’ll be paying for the fucking damages you’ve just cost the nice lady,” Cage demands.
I sag against them and nod, letting them know I’ve got it together. They let me go, and I step forward, breathing hard.
“Fuck, get it together,” I curse to myself, and I hear one of the lads grunt behind me. I ignore it since I deserve more than their shit.
Darius starts moving shit to get to the computer he was on. He’s not clicking away for long before he’s mumbling something to Cage.
“He’s heading west. Do you want to start heading that way, or do you want to wait around?” Cage asks.
“We’ll go. I can’t just stand around,” I tell him, beginning to feel everything all at once.
“I’ll wait here. There are a few bits of paper and receipts in the room that I want to check over. I’ll catch up to you and ring if I find out anything,” Darius says.
“Okay. Be quick. It’s clear he’s not concerned about hurting her and the longer she’s in his care, the riskier it will be. He could….” Cage pauses, glancing at me briefly before looking back to Darius. He doesn’t want to voice the fact that Rick could kill Lola.
Maria steps back into the room with a uniformed police officer. He hands Darius a few things, and I turn away, focusing on Maria.
“I’m really sorry about the damages, and for scaring you,” I whisper.
“It’s fine, dear. I really do hope you find your wife,” she tells me, and I don’t bother correcting her because Lola will be my wife. When this is all over and she’s in my arms, we’re getting married the first chance we get. I can’t live my life without her.
“Thank you. Here’s my card. Call me or email the address at the bottom. I’ll send you a check…. In fact, forget it. I’ll be in touch in a couple days. I’ll have one of my men organise to have a new, top-of-the-line security system put in.”
I squeeze her shoulder gently, showing her my gratitude for not pressing charges, and turn to Cage, giving him a chin lift.
Darius gives me a nod as we leave and I check my phone, making sure no one else has tried to call me.
A few messages from Mom, Dad, and a couple of men who work for my company, but nothing with information on Lola. I give Dad a quick text, letting him know what’s happened, leaving out a few details. He’ll end up coming down here, but with Rick knowing where they are and what they all look like I don’t want to risk their safety.
Getting in the car, I run a frustrated hand through my hair and turn to Cage. “We need to find her.”
He glances my way as he starts his car, pity filling his eyes. “We will, mate. We will.”
*** *** ***
We’ve been driving west for twenty minutes when my phone breaks through my thoughts. I’ve not been able to stop thinking about where he would take her. It’s not back to Carlisle because he would have headed north.
Darius’s name flashes and I slide my finger across the screen. “Have you found her?”
“It’s a long shot, but I think we have a lead. We found a business card for a Tim Rowland for Gateway Housing. I’ve called him, and he confirmed a Carl Holmes was a client. But get this―he only looked at one house, one time. The only reason Tim remembered him was because he thought he was sketchy, but it seems Rick thought of everything. He produced a business card for Lawson Law, using his alias’s name.”
“Where?” I ask impatiently. I know he’s trying to explain, not wanting me to get my hopes up, but anything at the moment is better than nothing.
“You know the old derelict house up on Haricot Hill?”
“Yeah. Isn’t that knocked down though?”
“No. Apparently the council said it couldn’t be, something to do with legislations. Our guy never got back in touch with Tim, but if that is where he’s taking her, then he won’t even need a key.”
“We’ll check it out. Head our way just in case,” I tell him, itching to get off the phone.
“Okay. Keep in touch,” he says before ending the call.
I turn to Cage. “We need to go to the old derelict house up on Haricot Hill. Darius seems to think he’s taken her there since he went to look at it through an estate agency.”
Cage nods, taking the next right. He turns to me quickly before looking back at the road. “That’s what? Half an hour away, a little more?”
“Yeah.” I nod, looking at my phone. “And they’re over an hour ahead of us. And that’s if they’re even there,” I curse.
“No. I think Darius is on to something. Think about it. He was heading west, and the cameras on Falcon Road picked the car up. It’s in the same direction,” he says and picks up speed, ignoring the honking horns blasting.
“Go,” I tell him, not caring how we get there as long as we get there. Cage grunts but does as I say, turning his sirens on.