Page 7 of Shattered Secrets
He approaches me, and I try to move away, try to kick him, but he dodges quickly. He’s not as strong as Ethan, but he’s still big, much bigger than me, and I can’t hurt him.
A quick punch strikes my cheek, and I hear the horrifying sound of splintering bone. My face. He’s broken something in my face.
I’m thrown to the floor. The pain washes through me. A strong metallic taste fills my mouth, my head is pounding, and I think my brain is going to explode.
He approaches me again, and his face is contorted with rage. I curl up in a ball and try to shield my face with my hands. He sends a targeted kick to my ribs, and the air is knocked out of me in one gasp. I choke and try to breathe. The next kick hits my stomach. It’s over. I’m going to die now.
More kicks strike my back, and the pain overwhelms me, filling my being. I scream, unable to stand it anymore. It’s too much. I want to vomit. Then my vision goes black, and the darkness comes to get me.
I’m sorry, Ethan, I wasn’t strong enough. Forgive me.
CHAPTER3
Ethan
Alion in a cage. That’s how I feel right now as I pace back and forth in my apartment, connected to the phone earpiece like it’s oxygen. I’ve been calling anyone I think can help.
“How can I help?” Madeleine turns to me, and I see she’s been crying.
Why is she still here? I shake my head. “You need to go home, Madeleine. Your grandchildren are waiting for you.”
“I can’t go home. I’m too worried about Ayala. I’m worried about you.”
I close my eyes. I’m lost. “Maybe make Ryan something to eat, then. He needs his strength.”
“You need to eat too. You haven’t eaten all day.”
“I’m not hungry.”
She pushes a sandwich into my hands. “You need to be strong to save her, your beautiful woman. She has a good heart, just like yours. I know it will end well in my heart.”
I nod and take a bite. The sandwich tastes like sandpaper. I can’t chew, but I do my best to swallow and keep eating.
I’m helpless. Ever since I found Anna dead in the bathtub, I’ve done everything I could to never feel like this again, to never be in a situation like this again. I even started Savee so no one would have to go through what I did. What Anna did. But lightning strikes twice, and once again, a woman I love needs to be rescued.
And this time, I have to succeed.
We already learned that they boarded a flight to San Francisco, and I even have Michael’s home address.
I was shocked at his composure, his audacity to take her to the most obvious place… He doesn’t even try to hide her, thinking there’s no way anyone can stop him. But he’s underestimated me. He doesn’t know that I won’t give up.
I’ve been trying to get a hold of someone with rank in the police department all morning. Someone who can give me answers.
Ryan is here with me, making calls, trying to help. But it’s difficult to manage the operation from so far away.
I tried asking Paul to send a Savee unit to the house, but without an open call, they can’t get in.
Risking a criminal offense is not something I can ask of my employees, only from myself. I groan in frustration, running my hand through my hair over and over. I want to drown myself in a bottle of whiskey, but despite my need to be numb, I hold back. I need clarity to run this operation.
“I need someone from the station in San Francisco to get back to me! Now! It’s a case of kidnapping and abuse. It’s urgent!” I scream at the police officer who answers my call. The fifth one so far.
I use all my contacts in the police department and all the contacts I’ve made through my app, but it still takes hours for someone to get back to me. Precious hours wasted. When this crisis is over, I’ll need to think about how to improve this situation.
“I need you to send cars to the address I provided. Michael Summers is a psychopath, and the woman there is in danger,” I tell the investigator who finally called me back.
“I understand that Mr. Summers is the husband of the woman in question,” he says.
“Yes! But he is a psychopath, and he beats her.”
