Sitting in my room, watching the clock tick by is driving me insane. I have to call her. I have to make her see that I want her. I’m so pissed at the world right now, I can’t think straight.

I decide to write her a poem. Maybe speaking her language will help when I do see her.

With a pen and paper in hand, I set out to write the one thing I have never written before. After about fifteen attempts, I throw the pen across the room. My phone rings, and I cross the room to answer.

I don’t recognize the number.

“Trace, it’s Jordan.” He sounds frantic.

“What’s wrong?” I sense strong fear in his tone.

“It’s Vanessa. I came by her house to tell her I don’t think Eric was the one who attacked her. But when I got here…” He takes a breath.

“What, Jordan? Is she okay?” I ask, throwing on my shoes.

“Her front door was open, and she is gone.”

“Gone? What do you mean, gone?”

“I mean as in she’s not here. I called Maxine, and she is leaving work to come home, but no one knows where she is.”

“Okay, where are you now? Are you still at her house?”

“Yeah, I’m freaking out. Maxine’s father is on his way, and I think he called the cops.”

“Okay, good. Stay put. I’m on my way.”

I rush out the door and grab my keys. Eric wasn’t the one who attacked Vanessa? In my hurry, I never asked Jordan how he knew Eric wasn’t behind it. Either way, Vanessa is gone, and I need to find her.

As I rush out the front door, I notice Tony watching me.

“Where you going?” he asks, putting on a T-shirt.

“Vanessa is missing. I think someone might have kidnapped her.”

He grabs his shoes and runs to catch up. “Oh, shit. Seriously? Well, you’ll need my help.” He looks worried, and I can see he wants to help. I yell at him to hop in the car as I start the ignition.

The streets appear deserted under the glow of the street lights. While Tony asks over and over who can be behind everything, I rack my brain, thinking about the same thing.

When I come to a stop at a red light, I suddenly have a flashback to being at the country club.

“Oh, shit. I think I know who did this,” I say to Tony, pulling into a parking lot.

“Who? How?” He has confusion written all over his face as he waits for me to fill him in.

The Cobra’s interior closes in on me; I feel so claustrophobic. I hop out of the car and start to pace around, trying to figure things out. Tony exits the car and places his hands on my shoulders.

“Dude, you need to calm down and think. Who is behind this?” he asks.

“At the club, I didn’t really notice.”

“What? What happened at the club, Trace?” He tries to help me sort through my potpourri of thoughts. I stare at him and take a deep breath.

“Okay, when I shook Mr. Roberts’s hand, I looked down at his wrists and noticed a tiny mark, but it never even registered in my mind,” I say, cracking my knuckles.

When I had shaken his hand at the club, my mind wasn’t trying to decipher anything, of course, because we had already confronted Eric and he’d left town.

“Mr. Roberts? That guy who works for your dad? Why would he do this?”

“I don’t know, but he creeps her out. Hell, he creeps me out. It might be him.”

Tony drops his hands from my shoulders as I pace around my car.

“Where would he take her?” he asks, letting out a deep breath.

“I don’t know.”

“Well think, man. Has he ever said anything? Or your dad? Do you think your dad put him up to this?” Tony looks down to his feet.

“Don’t even mention my father. No way would he do this.”

“Sorry, I’m just trying to think from all angles here.”

Tony’s eyes show his fear and worry; he kicks a pebble on the ground.

“I know. I’m sorry. Let me think.”

I revisit everything that has happened in the past weeks, since I first met Vanessa. My mind races. I remember my meeting with Mr. Roberts when he first met her. How I told him how I had saved her life in the ocean… Then something clicks in my mind.

“I think I know where he has taken her!” I say, hopping back in the Cobra.

Tony is in the car faster than a bolt of lightning and we speed away towards the marina.

“So, where are we headed?” he asks, gripping the handle above the door tightly.

“From my father’s office, you can see the marina and his boat. I think my dad may have seen me on the boat with Vanessa on our first date. On the other hand, maybe Roberts saw us. I don’t know. I remember telling Mr. Roberts that Vanessa is not a strong swimmer and, I don’t know, maybe…”

“Should I call the police?” he asks.

“I don’t know. It’s such a long shot, maybe we should check it out first. Then, if the boat is gone or they are there, we can call.”

“Deal.”

I speed dial my dad’s number and wait for him to answer.

“Dad, it’s me. Hey, where is Mr. Roberts?” I ask, yelling into the phone.

“What? Trace, it’s late. I don’t know where he is. Probably at home sleeping, where you should be. You have a busy day tomorrow.” My father’s voice is groggy—I have woken him up.

“Dad, did you see when I took Vanessa out on your boat? Was Roberts there?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“A week or so ago. Did you?” I yell into the phone.

My dad takes a deep breath before continuing. “Trace, yes, we were in my office, and I felt you must really like this one, as you have never taken any girls out there before. I had Roberts check up on this girl. We were afraid she would become a distraction and you wouldn’t be able to focus.”

I can’t believe my ears. I want to throw my phone as I hear him speak.

“Check up on her how? By roughing her up in the bathroom at the mall?” I ask with pure venom in my voice.

“What? No. Trace, I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Is anyone using your boat?” I try to change the subject, but I’ll still check out the boat at the dock.

As we pull into the parking lot of the marina, my dad says, “Roberts said you were taking Vanessa out on it. Said you and she were celebrating the end of the school year.”

“Thanks, Dad. That’s all I needed to hear.” I hang up the phone and look at Tony.

The marina is dark and empty when I pull in. The boats bob up and down quietly in the water.

“So, we doing this?” Tony asks, opening the car door and getting out.

“Yep.”

We cross the parking lot and head down the docks towards the boat. The moon shines down upon us, lighting our way. The place is empty, and I can see my father’s boat still tied onto the mooring. I breathe a quick sigh of relief.

The wooden docks creak under our feet as we walk.

I look at Tony, and we slow down. “Should we make a plan?” I ask.

“Good idea. How about we just charge the boat, knockout Roberts, and grab Vanessa?”

I smile at him and begin to chuckle. “I like it. Let’s go.”

We tiptoe down the dock as we edge closer to the boat. The cabin light is on, and I worry for Vanessa. Are we even in the right place? Is she even here?

We kneel down a few feet away from the boat as Tony makes something that resembles gang signs to me with his hands. “What are you doing?” I whisper.

“It’s command signals the military uses. I was telling you to go to the left and I’ll go to the right.”

“Oh, okay.” I nod my head at him. Moving slightly to my left, I see Roberts come out of the cabin of the boat.

Shit. I back down again and look at Tony who freezes across from me on the dock. He throws more hand signals my way, and I nod my head.

We both watch Roberts as he rummages through some cabinets. We have yet to see if Vanessa is in there, so we sit and watch.

Roberts opens the cabin door and I rise on my knees, trying to get a better look. Vanessa is sitting, tied to a chair in the cabin. I grab my phone and glance at Tony.