LUCIEN

 

MY PHONE BEEPS, slowly bringing me out of a deep and drunken sleep.  Groaning, I roll over and check the time.  It's three in the morning.  The last thing I can remember is drinking a fifth of scotch and then passing out in an intoxicated stupor.

A ragged moan tears from my throat as I mentally beg for the beeping to stop.  My head is pounding in time with the incessant electronic sound, and I curse loudly before swiping one, two, three times at the phone with my hand.

The device falls off the nightstand and clatters to the floor, but the relentless beeping doesn't stop.

Fuck.

Crawling to the edge of the bed, I reach for the phone.  It takes a few attempts before I'm able to grab it and bring it up to my face with it dangling perilously between my fingertips.

But when I read the screen and realize what the alert is, everything around me ceases to exist.

The GPS tracker on Adeline's watch has been activated.

Suddenly feeling a lot more awake and a hell of a lot sober, I clamber out of bed and jog to my office, forgoing the cane and limping the entire way, but making it in record speed.

My physical therapist would be so damn proud.

Sitting down at the computer, I wake it the fuck up and input my passcode.  Muttering under my breath, my fingers move a million miles a minute on the keys as I bring up the watch software program and read over the newest data.

It rebooted its system a couple of hours ago and is currently generating data and GPS coordinates.

The anticipation of finding out where Adeline is threatens to shred my nerves to pieces.  I can barely stop myself from hitting the computer to make it go faster, even though I know that won't do a damn thing to help.

The only thing I can do is wait.

I type out a quick text to Jax, not knowing if he's asleep or awake, telling him that I might have a new lead.

It only takes a few minutes before Jax comes barreling into my office, out of breath and looking like he just ran a marathon.  He puts his hands on his knees, sucking in air.  "What…did…you…find?" he asks between pants.

"She activated the watch.  I'm waiting for the data to upload."

He straightens and narrows his eyes at me.  "So…nothing?"

I smirk at him and wave my hand towards a seat nearby.  "Want to wait with me?"

Groaning in frustration, he goes to a chair and dramatically plops down on it.  We wait in silence as I watch the upload bar indicator slowly move centimeter by centimeter on the big screen before me.

"What if it's not her?" Jax asks the question I've been mulling around in my own head.

"Then we'll find out who has the watch and see if they know where she is," I say through clenched teeth.  The thought of someone else having the gift I gave her guts me, because it makes me crazy with doubt and worry.

My attention snaps to the screen when a new window automatically opens.  Jax moves from the couch to hover over my shoulder as we read through the data together.

"She's in Pennsylvania," he whispers.

I Google the town she's in.  It has a population of around 900, a small farming town in the middle of nowhere.  It would be easy to stay hidden in a place like that.  "Smart girl," I mutter.

"Do you think it's Adeline?"

"It's her," I tell him confidently.  It has to be.  I've run out of options, and I won't even conceive the possibility of not finding her now.  If nothing else, this will give us a better lead than I've had since she first disappeared.

"When are we leaving?" Jax asks, and I look up to see he's anxiously waiting by the door.

"As soon as possible," I confirm.

"I'll tell Wraith to ready the plane," he says anxiously.  Then he quietly adds, "For all of us."

"All of us?" I inquire.

He shrugs and shyly looks down to the floor for a moment before saying, "Well, I have to bring Katya along."  With a shake of his head, he adds, "I just don't trust her yet not to run, and she's not safe out there on her own."

I nod, completely understanding his situation given what I went through with Adeline.  I just worry that Jax is going to get hurt in the end.  I'll deal with this Katya problem later, but right now I can only focus on getting to Adeline and making sure she's safe and sound.

"Be careful," I tell him, and he gives me a long stare before nodding several times.  He understood the hidden meaning behind my words, and I hope he takes them to heart.

After Jax leaves, I upload the data onto my laptop and phone and gather everything I will need for the trip, packing only the essentials.

Once I get my girl back, I'm bringing her home.