Page 168 of Voices

I slowly stand up on unsteady legs, my heart still in my stomach. “I have no idea where to even look for him,” I rasp.

“Let me call Lily and see what she knows. I’m sure she’s already searching for him.” Ryder steps to the side as he holds his phone up to his ear.

“Is that his Mustang?” Matt points to a deep blue Mustang parked in the back of the parking lot.

We make our way to it, and I’m shocked to find it unlocked. He loves this car and would never leave it unlocked. I climb into the driver’s seat as Matt takes the back and Ash walks around, looking at the outside. Nothing is out of place. He keeps his car fairly clean with a gum wrapper here and there.

Looking over my shoulder at Matt, he shakes his head. “There’s nothing back here. The only thing that I can tell is off is the seat. Charlie has tiny legs. There’s no way he could reach the pedals from all the way back here.”

Now that I noticed it, I was able to sit behind the wheel without adjusting anything for my height.

“Someone moved his car. But why?”

“No idea. Doesn’t he usually park close to the doors?”

“Yeah…” I drift off.

Ash taps on the roof to get our attention. ‘There’s no change to the paint or tires,’ he signs.

I toss my hat on the dash and aggressively run my hands through my hair.

“FUCK!”

I pull out my phone to try calling him again when I see the voicemail icon and remember the message from the number I didn’t recognize. Clicking on it, my heart sinks at the sound of Charlie’s voice. He sounds so sad and defeated even though he’s telling me he loves me and how he wants me to get into the NHL. He even calls me Superstar. But tears fall as I listen to him say how tired he is. Then all I can hear is a whooshing sound before the call ends.

I drop my phone into my lap as I cover my face, trying like hell not to break apart.

“We’ll find him, man.” Matt grips my shoulder.

Ryder steps from behind Asher, slightly out of breath.

“Lily said she went to his house in Indiana and was able to stop one of the housekeepers when he was pulling out of their driveway. He said he didn’t know where Charlie was but that one of their Aston Martins was missing. She drove around town but didn’t see it. When she was telling me about how fucked up his family is, she passed Benji heading the opposite way.” He shakes his head. “I heard her tires squealing through the phone as she turned around and followed him back to the house. Guess who she has trapped in the garage?”

“Let’s go!” I run for my truck without waiting for them.

He’s not leaving that garage until he tells meexactlywhere Charlie is.

“You good to drive,” Ryder asks as we get in.

“I’m fine.” I hit the gas before the doors finish closing.

Ash puts the address Ryder reads off to him in the GPS. It says we’re two hours away. Fuck that. I’ll make it in one.

An hour and twenty minutes later we’re sitting outside of a huge gate waiting for it to open. It’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen and makes me hate his family even more.

A loud click is heard through the closed windows as the gate slowly opens. As soon as there’s enough room to not rip off my side mirrors, I launch up the driveway.

“There,” Ryder points to where Lily’s car is parked sideways.

Pulling up next to it, we get out and are immediately greeted by an older Mexican woman. She studies us in silence for a moment before stopping on me.

“Shane.” She holds out a hand for me.

I place my rough palm in her soft one. She squeezes before leading us through a side door and into a spacious garage.

There are only two cars but there are at least fifteen people in here, including a furious Lily and an angry Benji. I take a step towards them, but the lady squeezes my hand again.

“Do whatever you must to find Charlie. We’re all here to help you.”

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