Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 119152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
I knock on his door and stick my head in. “Hey, I’ve come to relieve—uh-oh, those two already swapping dinner recipes?” I ask, not seeing Makayla or his wife.
“Who?”
“My girlfriend and your wife. Thought they’d be in here. Let me guess, they’re harassing the rookies?”
“Wallace, what in God’s name are you goin’ on about?”
I pull out my phone and look at the time. There’s no way she would still be at school. “Makayla. Your wife was going to drive her here. I got caught on a call and my shift ran long. Your wife was going—”
“She called a while ago. Said your girlfriend wasn’t there.”
My brow furrows. I specifically told her to catch a ride here. She better not be messing with me. “What do you mean she wasn’t there? She knew to ride with—who’d she leave with?” Please say Hannah. Unlocking my phone, I dial her number before he can respond. Voicemail.
“Didn’t say. Is there anything else?”
“I need to know who she left with.”
“Wallace—”
“It’s important,” I snap. I just need to know where Makayla is.
Chief stares me down, his brows creased. Slowly, he pulls his phone out, and I wait as he dials his wife. “Hey—no, I’m not at the store—no, I don’t like that—I’m not on a damn diet—listen to me, woman. Who took Wallace’s girlfriend home?” He pulls his mouth away from the phone. “She doesn’t know. Secretary said something about her taking a call and seeming upset. Jenny maybe—”
I’m out of his office before he can finish that sentence and dialing Makayla. Straight to voicemail again.
“Goddammit, Mak.” Why couldn’t she just fucking listen to me? I dial Levi back.
“Hey—”
“Did you find anything yet?”
“Not yet. We’ve found a few Jennifer Swansons but nothing that matches the neighbor. Any chance you got her last name wrong?”
“No. I don’t know—I gotta go. Call me if you find something.”
“Ben—” I end the call and storm down the hallway to the locker room. Ditching the shower, I change, grab my shit, and race to my Jeep. I pull up to my apartment building, ready to throttle her. This is the last thing I need to deal with today. Taking the stairs two at a time, I unlock my apartment door.
“Mak!” I yell her name so she knows she’s in trouble. She doesn’t answer back. “Makayla! Get your ass out here. I asked one thing—and you couldn’t do that.” I storm down the hallway. I don’t care if she’s tied to the bed and spread out for me; she’s still getting spanked. “Mak. . .” My voice trails off when I open my bedroom door and find it empty. Where the fuck. . .? I rip my phone out and dial her again. Voicemail.
The hairs on the back of my neck prickle. I punch in Hannah’s number.
“Hey, I’m really—”
“You talk to Mak recently?”
“Define recently. Like, maybe—”
“Like, the past couple hours,” I snap.
“Geez, no. I’ve been studying and had my phone off. Why? You sound grumpier than usual. Is something wrong?”
“I think Jenny’s up to something.”
She sighs into the phone. “Tell me about it. She’s a strange bird, right? I mean, every time—”
“I don’t have a good feeling right now.” Mak’s stubborn, but she wouldn’t have left with Jenny.
“About what?”
The line beeps, and I see Levi calling in. “I gotta go.” I take Levi’s call. “Tell me you have something.”
“Nothing on her name, but my assistant is a mastermind and may be getting a raise. I went into the Matthews’ Ring camera history and got some screenshots. Lila did a reverse Google search of Jenny. Google did find her, but her name’s not Jenny Swanson. Her name is Rebecca Taylor. Lives about forty miles from here. Nothing really out of the ordinary, but there is one thing that threw up a red flag.”
“What?”
“Going through her Facebook page, we found a photo with a man.”
“And?”
“She tagged herself with Christopher Fischer.”
Makayla
“Why did he hurt me?”
“I don’t know, honey. Sometimes bad people do bad things.” Aunt Karen hugs me tightly to her, and I embrace her comfort. “He’ll never hurt you again, baby girl. No one will.”
Something startles me awake. I groan. Pain radiates in my chest, and I gasp for air. I blink rapidly, but my eyesight is too blurry, and I struggle to focus.
“About time, Sleeping Beauty.”
A shadow crosses my line of vision. I’m on the floor, laying on my side. I attempt to sit up but can’t catch my balance and realize my hands are tied behind my back. “Jesus, Jenny, what are you doing?” I push myself to sit up but sway to the right. “Are you crazy? Untie me.” I pull at my restraints, but the zip tie only digs deeper into my skin. “Come on. We’re friends. If this is about Ben—”
She comes at me, rears her leg back, and hammers her shoe into my ribs. I cry out, falling to my side again. “Please,” I choke out. “We can talk about this. This is insane.”