Page 33 of Keeping Caroline

I nodded, leaning into his touch, the muscles of my chest squeezing uncomfortably. “Just come back to us—both of you. Please.”

Eyes softening, he leaned down and kissed me hard, lingering against my lips a moment longer as his hand slid up to touch my belly, where his daughter was safely growing inside me. “I’ll always come back to you, Little Red.”

With one last glance, the love of my life slipped out the door, locking it securely behind him. For a long moment, I stared at the solid piece of metal, wrapping my arms around myself, and hoping we’d all make it through this nightmare.

Chapter 22

The Phantom

The shrill ring of my phone pierced the silence of my apartment, jolting me from my work. Ethan didn’t even wait until I greeted him before he spoke.

“Tristan. I need you to track the traffic cameras near the bookstore for a black SUV. Now. Caroline’s gone. She was taken from the bookstore this morning. We got back from the doctor and found Evie alone.”

Ice flooded my veins, my greatest fears coming to fruition, forcing bile up my esophagus. Caroline had been so sure that a black SUV parked on her street was watching her, but then she’d started to question herself, thinking she was being paranoid. It turned out she’d been right the entire time, and I’d left her and Evie alone in that house only two days ago. I’d left them in danger, running away like a coward.

“And you don’t recognize them at all? The two men?”

The sound of Evie crying met my ears through the phone line, shredding my heart into pieces.

“No, but I’m sure they are just in it for the bounties. They probably don’t know anything about her. I need you to run facial recognition. See if anything picks up. And get on the traffic cams. We need to find that SUV.” He went quiet for a moment, and I could barely pick up the sound of Scarlett talking in the background. When he came back, his tone was even sharper. “But Phantom, I need you here as soon as you can get here. I need to look for Caroline, but I can’t leave Scarlett and Evie home alone, even with the safe room.”

My fingers trembled, yearning to spring into action, to scour every pixel of footage until I found her, but this was too big for me alone, especially if I needed to drive back to Alabama.

“I’ll call Legacy,” I said, my mentor’s weathered face flashing in my mind. “He picked me up off the streets when I was a kid and taught me everything I know. We can trust him. He can access the feeds faster, so I can head your way.”

Although Ethan always wanted to keep his circle as small as possible, he grunted in agreement, desperation seeping into his usual stoicism. We both knew that we needed help if we were going to find her. “If you trust him with your life and my sister’s, then put him on the cameras and you get on your way down here. Call me when you’re close or if you get any information while on your way, so I can prepare.”

Ending the call moments later, Caroline’s name pounded through me with each rapid heartbeat, making it impossible to focus on what I needed to do next. My hands shook as I grabbed my phone again, quickly dialing into Legacy’s secure line as I pulled up the link for the GPS device I’d given to Caroline, slamming my hand down on the desk when it showed no signal. Wherever she was, it wasn’t sensing her. All I could hope was that she had it on her and they hadn’t found it yet, so that maybe it would pick up a signal eventually. It was the one thing that could help us find her immediately, if the signal ever went through.

As I stood from my desk and started shoving clothing and equipment into multiple duffle bags, Legacy answered, his gravelly voice grounding me. I did my best to explain the situation, my words spilling out in a jumbled mess, but he didn’t hesitate.

“Consider it done,” he said, warmth lacing his tone. “Go to them. I’ll be in touch.”

I whispered thanks, the relief washing over me allowing me to put one foot in front of the other so I could pack my car and get on the road. Placing Houdini in his carrier, I grabbed the last few items I needed, double checking my bags before making my first trip to the parking garage. With the litter box and all my equipment, it took three trips for me to finally get everything loaded. But once it was, I wasted no time gripping the wheel and pulling out into the afternoon sun.

Storm clouds moved in as I drove, the countryside and eventually the mountains flying past in a blur, but my mind was far away, lost in a chaotic blend of anger at myself and fear for Caroline. I thought back to the first real conversation Caroline, and I had in her car, when she’d told me about her life before Alabama—when her fierce resilience and fiery spirit drew me in despite my best efforts to remain detached. She saw right through my loner facade to the real me hidden underneath. She seemed to see me in a way no one else ever had. We hadn’t had much time together, but it was enough to know that if she’d wanted to, she could have wrapped her tiny hands around my heart and held it forever.

Other stolen moments flashed through my mind—her smile that made my heart skip a beat; the brush of her hand against mine that sent sparks skittering across my skin; our day at the park where we slid down the slide a hundred times with Evie, laughing our asses off; her vulnerability and passion when she opened herself up to me intimately, holding nothing back until the guilt from her loss set in and stole her joy. It stole her away from me.

In such a brief time, she had become something akin to my compass, what I’d always seen as home circling until it pointed directly at her. And now that she was lost, I felt adrift, torn from my moorings, an anchorless ship cast out into a raging sea.

My hands tightened on the wheel as I pictured her bound and frightened, crying out for help. No matter how conflicted her emotions had become, I should have done more to protect her. I should have kept her safe. And if something would have happened to Evie… That was a realistic possibility I couldn’t face. A storm raged through my blood, getting more violent with every mile.

The winding mountain road stretched on endlessly before me as I pressed my foot down on the gas pedal, urging my car to go faster. My fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly, my knuckles white with tension. I replayed our last conversation in my mind, analyzing every word, every nuance, wishing I’d handled her rejection better. Heavy with regret, my chest ached, wishing I could tell her I was sorry.

Nestled amongst the towering pines and rugged mountains, Ethan and Scarlett’s cabin came into view after two hours of driving in a panic. I had already spoken to Legacy twice, but he was still searching for the SUV, which had proven to be more difficult than I’d expected. To our dismay, they appeared to have stayed on rural roads, eluding the traffic cameras that resided along every big city street and highway. Her captors had become ghosts, but he was not giving up that easily, and as soon as I was set up in the safe room of the cabin, I would join him in the search.

Relief washed over me as I pulled into the cabin’s driveway and killed the engine, noticing Ethan’s dark silhouette lingering on the porch. He closed the distance between us before I had even pulled all my gear out of the car.

“Any leads on Caroline?” he asked, keeping in step at my side.

I shook my head, wishing I had better news to share. “Legacy is working on it, but they appear to have taken backroads after leaving town to the east.”

Hands clenching into fists, he grabbed one of my bags, carrying it back toward the front door. “I need you to dig, deep as you can. Find anything to give us direction.”

I nodded, stopping by the front door to set Houdini’s carrier down before heading back to the car to grab the rest of my stuff. “I’m on it, boss. I’ll set up in the surveillance room downstairs, get a dedicated connection running.” Reaching forward, I set a hand on his shoulder, not knowing how much I wanted to reveal, but wanting him to understand how invested I was. “I care deeply for Caroline, so the stakes are just as high for me. We’ll find her, boss. We must.”

Dipping his chin, he dismissed me to go inside and set up, and we parted ways. There was so much more I wanted to say, but time was wasting, and we both had jobs to do if we were going to get Caroline back.

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