Chapter 172
~ Navine ~
I was helpless and restless, pacing outside Hailey's apartment while police processed the scene. My shoes scraped against the worn hallway carpet with every tight turn, the sound too loud in my own ears, like nails on my nerves.
My mind kept racing through worst-case scenarios — relentless, vivid flashes I couldn’t shut off. Hailey tied up in some dark room, blindfolded, gagged.
Hailey bleeding from a blow to the head. Hailey alone and terrified, calling for help that wasn’t coming.
Where she might be right now,some abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city, a van parked in an empty lot, a basement somewhere with concrete walls that swallowed sound. Whether she was hurt or scared or worse… whether she was still breathing, still fighting, still hoping so
