Chapter 29

Pacey 

 

 

Jogging up the steps to Juliana’s place at exactly 6 o’clock, I couldn’t help noticing small things that I’d gone years without really noticing, like birds singing in the tall trees on her street and the smell of rain in the air. She was bringing me back to life; Tugger was right about that.

There was a big, goofy grin on my face when I reached her door and knocked, surprised when it creaked open a bit under the light pressure of my knuckles. It wasn’t latched.

A tendril of fear crept up on my insides, and the grin dropped.

“Juliana,” I called out. It was possible that she simply hadn’t locked her door, in which case we were having a safety talk later. After I either kissed her senseless or shook her by the shoulders for scaring me.

There was no answer, so I used my elbow to push the door open more, calling out again. “Baby, are you here?”

I was met with nothing but silence. Stepping into her house, I surveyed her small entrance hall, but there was no sign of a disturbance, other than a bowl lying on the floor a short distance away from a wooden side table with keys lying next to it.

Exactly as it would be lying if someone had swept at it in a struggle. The tendril crept higher, tightening my stomach and kicking every sense into gear. I darted into her kitchen just off the entryway. It was empty, but there were grocery bags unpacked on the counter, and two rolls of pastry sweating next to them. Several of her cupboards were hanging open like she was in the middle of unpacking the groceries.

So where the hell is she?

Very real worry was setting in fast, and I started running from room to room, yelling her name over and over again. “Juliana!”

Still no answer. I dashed into her living room, empty. As was her dining room, office, second bedroom, her bedroom. All empty.

In her bedroom, her work clothes were in the hamper, and her purse was on her bed.

I checked it. Her wallet was still inside, but the Jeep was in the driveway anyway, so it wasn’t like she’d popped out for something last minute. My gut twisted, my entire body tensed. Fear iced my veins, paralyzed my lungs.

Fuck. No. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

I couldn’t lose Juliana. Not now. Not like this. Frantic, I pulled my phone from my pocket and called the police. She couldn’t be gone. They had to find her.

“911. What is your emergency?” A relaxed-sounding dispatcher chirped.

“I’d like to report an abduction,” I told her, struggling to keep my voice under control. I rattled off Juliana’s address and was told to sit tight and wait for the police to arrive.

I couldn’t sit still, though; I couldn’t just do nothing.

I have to keep her safe. I can’t fail again. I couldn’t lose the peace she brought, her arms, everything she was. Not again.

Pacing her short hallway, I cracked my neck. I was on the verge of losing it, barely controlled rage rolling through my body, stretching through my limbs. Someone had taken her from me, and the rage was begging to be let out to pulverize any person who so much as tried to hurt her. I would utterly destroy them. I wanted to raze the world to the ground to find her.

I knew that I had to wait for the police though, so I called the one person who could talk me off this goddamned ledge. Mercifully, he answered on the first ring.

“‘Sup, brother. Thought you had a hot date tonight; need me to hold your hand?” Tugger said.

His voice broke through the mist of fear and need for destruction that had descended onto me. “She’s gone.”

“What?” he asked, taken aback. “What do you mean she’s gone?”

“Someone took her,” I said, feeling the blood drain from my face as I spoke the words to my best friend. It was different saying it to him than saying it to the unknown, detached operator.

“What’s the address? I’ll be right there.” I rattled it off once more, then went to wait on her porch.

Tugger pulled up not five minutes later, though it felt like an eternity. Every minute was torture, knowing she was out there, in danger, with no one to protect her when she could be hurting.

His expression was murderous as he hopped from the truck and marched to up me. “What happened?”

“I got here, and her door was unlatched. When I went inside, there was a bowl with her keys lying on the floor and groceries half unpacked in the kitchen, cupboards still open. That’s her car.” I pointed to the Jeep. “Her work uniform is in her bedroom, along with her bag. Wallet’s in there too, I checked.”

“Okay, so she’s probably not just gone to the store. Is it possible she went for a run or something?” he asked, all business with only a flicker of hope that I’d say yes. He knew better, but he was trying to keep me calm.

“No.” I shoved my hands through my hair and considered his question carefully. “I don’t think so. It’s unlikely under the circumstances.”

Tugger breathed out a heavy sigh and nodded. “True. Okay, show me.”

I’d taken Tugger through the whole scene by the time the cops showed up, sauntering in like they had all the time in the world. It took everything I had not to rip someone’s fucking head off. Breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, I went to meet them in the entrance hall.

A beefy man who looked more like a mall cop smiled when he saw us, Tugger trailing close behind me. “Hey there, folks. We got a call about an abduction. Who wants to tell us what’s going on?”

Christ. He sounded as if he were discussing who had taken the last slice of pie at a Sunday picnic.

Tugger’s hand on my shoulder told me to keep calm. “The woman who lives here has been abducted. Her name is Juliana Douglas.”

“And who are you?” the beefy cop asked, pulling a toothpick from his pocket and starting to chew on it, then made a note in a small paper notebook.

God. How cliché…

“Pacey Nelson,” I said, stepping forward and extending my hand to the officer. He shook it briefly and made another note.

“Officer Reginald. How are you related to this,” he glanced at the notebook, “Ms. Douglas?”

Seriously, I’d told him her name less than a minute ago, and he couldn’t remember it?

“I’m her boyfriend,” I told him, assigning the title to myself because ‘friend’ or ‘date’ wasn’t going to get me anywhere. And they just didn’t fit right.

“Okay, Mr. Nelson. Why do you think your girlfriend has been abducted? The ladies can be quite temperamental, eh?” The chauvinistic bastard actually winked at me.

I took a deep breath. I knew how this worked, if I didn’t keep cool, I would likely end up in the back of the patrol car, and they’d be booking me instead of out looking for Juliana. “Sure, but that’s not what happened here.”

“You sure about that, son?” the other cop, an older guy with a stained beard, asked.

“I am. Look, we were supposed to have dinner here tonight. When I got here, the front door was unlatched, that bowl was lying there, and her groceries were half unpacked in the kitchen. Let me show you,” I said, leading them first to the kitchen, then to Juliana’s bedroom where I pointed out her purse, clothes, and wallet. “Also, her car is in the driveway, and her keys are out there lying on the floor.”

While I took them through the house, they listened to me with mild interest at most and scribbled in their notebooks from time to time. When we got back to the entrance hall, Officer Reginald gave me a sympathetic look.

“Thanks for calling this in; we’ll look into it, but you might consider that perhaps she simply skipped out on your date and is with a friend.”

Rage blurred my vision, and I bunched my fists at my sides. “Why would she leave her car, wallet, and purse behind, her groceries on the counter and her door unlatched to go out with friends?”

Reginald shrugged and waved a hand. “Like I said, we’ll look into it, but if I were you, I’d contact her friends. I’m sure she’s with one of them. Does she have any known enemies? Anyone who might want to abduct her?”

“Enemies?” I honestly didn’t know. “I don’t think so; she’s a great girl. Above board. Her ex is a scumbag though; Scott somebody.”

Both officer’s eyes narrowed at my mention of an ex.

“Look, I’m not some jealous new guy who’s afraid that she’s ditched me for her ex, okay?” I all but exploded.

Reginald stepped back, bumping into the shoulder of the other cop, who still hadn’t bothered to introduce himself. He ignored my outburst after shooting his partner a look. “We’ll need your contact details in case we need to get in touch with you.”

Tugger stepped forward, obviously sensing that I was 30 seconds away from flying off the handle. He pulled one of our business cards out of his wallet and handed it to the officer. “Both of our details are on there. Thank you, officers.”

Both of them nodded to us and then left without taking a single print. They hadn’t even asked Tugger for his name.

“I can’t lose her, Tug. Not again,” I said, turning to face the one man I knew I could count on to have my back.

He nodded and crossed his arms. “I know. You’re not going to.”

Pointing toward the door the officers had exited from, frustration spread through my limbs like a disease. “Those guys aren’t going to do anything about it.”

My mind split into three: the first yelled that I had to be strong, resilient. That I had to save her and by extension, myself. The second dictated the law to me, I wasn’t sanctioned to interfere here, to do anything, while the third demanded that I fall to my knees and fucking scream. Louder and harder than ever before. Because this couldn’t be happening. Not again.

I wasn’t screaming. Not today. Not any day.

Tugger followed my gaze to the door and nodded absently. I could see him slipping back into the persona that he’d left behind.

“Agreed. They won’t do anything, but we will,” he said, a glint of determination that I hadn’t seen in years entered his eyes, the set of his jaw.

“Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?” I lifted a brow, because Jess would definitely not approve of his idea.

“If you think I’m suggesting that we go after her ourselves, then yeah. That’s what I’m suggesting.”

His plan was miles better than waiting for the police to do something. “I’m in.”

Tugger smirked, “I should fucking hope so. Should we round up the troops?”

“No. It’ll take them too long to get here, then to get everyone up to speed and kitted out.”

He nodded his agreement, “I hear you, but do you have any idea what we’re walking into? Backup may be wise.”

“I don’t think we’ll need it.” Cocking his head, he made a rolling motion with his index finger for me to continue. “I think we should start with her ex; the asshole’s got to have something to do with this, but he’s a small-time druggie. We can take him.”

“Okay, let’s get to it, then,” Tugger said, and the knot in my stomach eased slightly now that we were actually doing something to find her.