Page 51 of Stalked

“I don’t have time for this, where is Kyler?” I ask, hand clenching the phone. I’m surprised I haven’t broken it.

“Damn, you’re grouchy,” she mutters, before yelling for Kyler. There is a faint wrestling of the phone before Kyler's heavy breathing fills the line.

“What’s up?”

“Seriously? That’s all you have to say to me. Where the fuck are you?” I ask, switching from English to Russian.

“Dude, I’m in the city, where else would I be?” He chuckles.

“So, you’re saying you didn’t text me saying to meet two hours west of Salem’s house at some warehouse because you found something?”

“Tobias, I didn’t text you.” He suddenly becomes serious.

“I... I, fuck,” I mutter, confusion sinking into my gut.

“When did you get this text?” he asks, before a faint whisper of, “did you text someone off my phone?”

I want to murder him for just leaving his phone around for some random girl to get the chance to go through it. But I don’t, hearing the faint mumble of her voice, but I can’t make out what she’s saying.

“Tobias, none of us sent a text. What’s going on?”

“I got a text from you, but I guess not you, and I’m not su–”

“Fuck!” Zane growls, marching towards me, phone thrust into my face. Backing away, I squint my eyes trying to focus on what he’s showing me.

“Zane, I… I don’t know what I’m looking at.”

“Someone tripped the security at Salem’s.” Ripping his phone away, he takes it away before bringing it to his ear. “Fuck,” he hisses, tapping away at his phone again. “Get in the car, Tobias,” he orders. Biting down on my lip, I ignore the temptation to tell him I’m technically his boss but stop when the moment I shut the door he’s peeling out of the makeshift gravel driveway.

“Put me on speaker,” Kyler says with the faint hint of doors opening and closing. Doing as he says, I pull up Gabriel’s contact, shooting a text off.

“What’s going on, Zane?” he asks before I can.

“Salem is crazy. She has so much security around the entire property. Basically, someone tripped the system, and I can’t get in touch with her or Killian.”

My fingers are moving before Zane finishes talking, Kyler forgotten on the other line. Gabriel's name hangs on my screen.Hi, you’ve reached Gabriel. I can’t–

“No,” I mutter, not believing it for one second. Gabriel has to be asleep; he can’t be hurt. He’s safe. Salem’s house is the safest.

Hi, you’ve reached Gabriel–

“Tobias, what's happening?” Zane asks, his voice too steady for my liking, but I can’t stop, my finger pressing the call button over again, only to get his voicemail. That gut feeling hits me, bile rising in my throat. I can’t lose him, I can’t. I only just found him; we’ve never spent any time together. I haven’t shown him Russia, I haven’t shown him all his artwork I hung up in our house. I haven’t shown him the world.

“I–I can’t reach him, Zane. He’s not answering. Why isn’t he answering, Za–Zane.” My voice cracks, my finger continually hitting the call button though I know exactly what’s going to happen.

Voicemail.

“Grab my phone, call Zion.”

Doing as he says, my hands shake as I pull this Zion’s contact up.

“Speaker.”

Pressing the button, a deep growling voice answer, “What?”

“We have an issue,” Zane says, racing down the street, hitting the highway. Tears fill my eyes, blinding me from being able to see.

“I don’t care,” he answers, and I nearly scream at him until Zane shakes his head.

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