Page 16 of My Turn

“No. You can put in an extra hour or two every day starting next week. Everyone should be home to take their kids out tonight or whatever they want to do. Don’t make them work weekends either. They already spend too much time here.”

He smiled. “You’re too soft, you know. That’s why you couldn’t run this team.”

“I don’t need to run it. That’s your job. But I’ll be damned if my projects are the reason anyone misses out on important time with their families.”

“Big fan of Halloween, eh?”

“You could say that. It’s the only holiday that lets you be anything you want. No job, no responsibilities, and no identity.”

“A winner like you… Aren’t you already who you want to be?”

I laughed lightly at the question. “Sure, but we all need a break from our reality sometimes.”

“Do you have exciting plans tonight?”

“Maybe. I’ll see you in a couple weeks. Make sure you get us caught up.”

He nodded before he joined the rest of his team. I made a beeline for the door, ready to get home. It was a two hour drive from here and it was already three in the afternoon. I had plans to take Alana out, so I called her to make sure she’d be ready. When it went to voicemail, I sent a text instead.

With each passing mile, I glanced at my phone. I knew she was upset, but ignoring me seemed petty. Even with the shock of what she’d learned, I’d hoped she would be able to work through it by the time I got back. If she needed a little extra motivation, I was happy to provide it.

When I was a few miles away, I checked the app on my phone to make sure she was home. I stopped at my house quickly to change into jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt. One of the masks rested on my passenger seat while the other was tucked away in the back. I would need that one later tonight when I paid her a visit.

Out of all the options, the one I’d chosen for my alternate persona was the least cliché and, in my opinion, looked the coolest. Some might opt for a Ghostface or Jason mask, but those were boring and overplayed. The one I got was black with neon blue x’s for the eyes and stitches across the mouth. I found it appealing with just the right amount of creep factor. It was easy to wear with a hood and would be memorable, especially after I visited her at night. Plus, if I didn’t have it lit up, it was mostly black.

My Halloween mask was Jason, though, so I guess I was a cliché for the time being. I thought Alana would find it funny since it was my name. Simple things like that made her laugh sometimes.

I pulled up to her apartment and my brow furrowed. Her car wasn’t in the lot. I checked the app again, confirming that she was here.

That was weird and unnerving.

Taking the steps two at a time, I made it to the second floor quickly. I typed in my code and immediately checked the living room, then the kitchen.

“Alana,” I called as I headed down the hall. “Where you at? If you’re naked, you should tell me if you don’t want me to come in and see your tits.”

With a shrug, I walked into her bedroom but found it empty as well. I spun in a circle, not really sure what to do. Pulling out my phone, I called her again. Vibrating drew me back to the bedroom where I found her phone underneath her pillow. She kept it there when she slept, so maybe she’d taken a nap. But where was she now?

“Fuck. God damnit, Alana.”

Leaving her phone was most likely an accident. If she went somewhere, she’d be back for it. Maybe she just ran to the store. I wondered if I should sit and wait, but then I thought about how she hadn’t answered my calls or texts since I left the job site. That was almost three hours ago now. They showed as unread, which just made my stomach churn even more.

Twirling my keys around my finger, I decided that I couldn’t just wait around. She could have been gone for hours by this point and that didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t know how I was going to find her, but I would.

After this, maybe I’d stick a fucking tracker under her skin. I probably should’ve done it ages ago. Live and learn, I guess.

*****

The school parking lot was packed. There were fucking youths everywhere, buzzing around like bees. They didn’t give two shits about the cars trying to maneuver through and one even flipped me off. Teenagers were the worst. I wasn’t any better at their age, which was why I could say with absolute conviction that everyone should be sent to boarding school from thirteen to eighteen. Give them a place to be their crazy ass selves while the rest of us lived in peace.

It was entirely possible that I was in a bad fucking mood. I was pissed off that I had to go hunting for Alana. Didn’t she know how much I would worry when I couldn’t find her?

“Fuck!” I shouted, slamming my hand against the steering wheel. There wasn’t a single place to park. With a vicious shake of my head, I pulled up to the edge of the coned off area and jumped out of my truck. I wouldn’t be gone long enough for someone to tow it.

I made my way through the rows of stations that were handing out candy. There were some activities throughout the space and a bouncy castle for the younger kids who sounded like they were tearing off each other’s limbs inside. A man in a striped shirt tried to rope me into playing a ring toss game, but when I leveled him with a glare that showcased exactly how I was feeling right now, he quickly gave up.

Finally, I pinpointed someone I could talk to.

“Jane,” I called.

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