FINDING HER
841 Words
"Amelia," I said, my voice deathly quiet. "The school. St. Jude’s. Three hours ago. I want every camera in a five-mile radius."
"On it," Eric muttered.
The monitors on my wall flickered to life. Eric bypassed the school’s security firewalls like they were tissue paper. We watched the footage of the morning drop-off. I saw my car pull up. I saw Amelia get out, holding Amy’s hand. They looked happy. She knelt down, hugged my daughter, and whispered something that made Amy smile.
Then, Amy walked into the gate.
We watched as Amelia turned back toward the car. She reached for the door handle.
Silas didn't open it. Through the grain of the security footage, I saw the car lurch forward. Silas floored it, leaving her standing on the curb.
I felt a growl build in my throat. "He left her. He f*****g left her on purpose."
We watched Amelia. Her face fell, I saw her bite her lip, a habit she had when she was stressed. She looked around, desperate, her shoulders hunching in. People in the background were pointing and laughing. I saw the sneers of the other mothers.
"She’s walking," Eric said, switching to a city street camera.
"Oh s**t," Nick murmured, looking at the window. "It’s starting to pour. Kade, it’s a deluge out there."
We watched the feed from a traffic light three blocks away. The rain started coming down in sheets. Amelia was drenched in seconds. That white dress she was wearing, the one I’d thought looked so innocent became a second skin.
Even through the rain-streaked lens, I could see everything. The outline of her legs, the curve of her waist, the dark circles of her chest. She crossed her arms over her body, trying to hide herself, looking small and terrified. She looked like a target.
"She’s heading into the industrial district," Nick said, his voice tense. "She’s lost."
Eric flipped to a low-quality alley camera. The lighting was poor, but the scene was clear. Amelia was walking listlessly, her head down, shivering so hard I could see it through the screen. Three men stood under a nearby awning. I saw them point at her. I saw the way their eyes raked over her soaked body, oh God how I will gouge their eyes out and impale it on a stick.
One of them stepped into her path. Amelia recoiled, I saw her mouth move and she was telling them to leave her alone. They laughed and one reached for her.
My office chair hit the wall as I stood up. "I’m going to kill them. I’m going to kill all of them."
"Watch," Eric whispered.
Amelia didn't wait. She bolted. She ran with a desperate, uncoordinated speed, her wet dress clinging to her legs, making her stumble. She ducked around a corner and disappeared behind a row of massive green dumpsters.
Eric found a high-angle camera in a warehouse across the street. We could see her now, curled into a ball in the corner between the metal bin and the brick wall. She was tucked into herself, her long hair plastered to her face, her body shaking with cold and terror.
She looked up at the sky, the rain hitting her face and her lips moved.
I leaned in, my heart stopping. I’d spent enough time in silent rooms with dangerous men to know how to read a mouth.
Kade. Please find me.
She wasn't running from me but rather calling for me. Even after my man abandoned her, even after the world mocked her, she thought of me as her savior.
I stood up, my body vibrating with a violence I haven't felt since I took my father's seat. The air in the room felt like it was about to ignite.
"Eric, give me the exact coordinates," I said. My voice wasn't a roar anymore; it was a whisper, which Nick knew was far more dangerous.
"She's at 4th and Industrial, behind the Meyer Warehouse," Eric said, not looking up.
I checked the sidearm in my holster and grabbed my heavy overcoat. I looked at Nick.
"Call the estate," I commanded. "Tell Mrs. Halloway to prepare a hot bath and have the doctor on standby. If she has so much as a sniffle, Thorne is answering to me."
"And Silas?" Nick asked, his eyes hard.
I paused at the door, my hand on the handle. I thought about Amelia huddled in the dirt, crying my name.
"Bring him to the basement," I said, my teeth bared in a snarl. "I’m going to gut that driver personally and serve his intestines to the dogs as compensation for every tear she shed today. Nobody touches what is mine. Not even by accident."
I didn't wait for an answer. I was out the door and headed for the elevator.
Hold on, Amelia, I thought, my foot heavy on the gas as my SUV roared into the storm. I'm coming to take you home. And then, I'm going to destroy everyone who made you hide.
- Writer
