Light (The Shadows Series) (21 page)

“Eve. Baby, wake up. I need you to figure out where you are. Come on, baby wake up. I need you to get to me.” Water splashes on my face. It’s cold. Where is it coming from? I look around for Theron. I can’t see him anywhere. “Eve, wake up for me.”

I try to move, but my body is stiff and incredibly sore. My tongue wets my lips, and I try to swallow some spit to wet my throat. My eyes won’t open. Water splashes on my face again. I can’t see anything and I start to panic. I try to kick out my feet and arms. That is when I realize that I am restrained. Shit. Wiggling as much as I can, I try to make sense of where I am. Think. Breathe and think. What do I know? Ben attacked me at the bookstore, but someone else was there. I know that I am restrained, but I’m lying on something soft. I pull on my legs and I can hear metal clinking. There must be some kind of cuffs on my ankles. My arms can move a little, but not much. I don’t think there are cuffs on my hands, it feels too tight. Is it rope? I don’t know what to do. Being able to see would be really, helpful right now. The last time that I saw Theron plays through my mind. Why didn’t I just go to the office with him?

Icy cold water splashes on me again, this time soaking not just my face, but my chest as well. Thoughts of Theron and what our life together were supposed to be, won’t stop playing through my mind. Tears slip from my eyes, I can’t blink them away. “Stop. Just stop. Please.” My voice is hoarse and cracks, as I start to cry.

“There’s no point in begging. She thinks she can stop me from having you, but I will. She’s not running this show. I am.”

“Who the fuck are you talking about? Just let me go. You can leave now. I can’t even see to follow you, just go.”

I hear the sound of heels clicking against tile or some kind of hard flooring, maybe it is cement. I am not sure.

“I swear if you fuck her up anymore, I will end your life. Benjamin, do not fuck with me.”

The female voice sounds so oddly familiar. My mind is racing, trying to figure out who is in here with us.

“Please. I’ll do anything. Do you need money? I’ll get you whatever you need. Just let me go.”

“Eve, don’t beg. It’s beneath you. What would your family think of you caving in so early? What about Kayla? How would she handle this? I’m sure after Matt, this would break her.” Her voice is smooth. Oh my, God. I know her. I fucking know her! At first, the idea of Bridgette helping Ben crossed my mind, but I was way off.

“Anne? What did I ever do to you? We were friends, Anne. None of this makes any sense.” My cheek stings, as my head whips to the side. Why do they have to answer everything so forcefully?

“Your boyfriend came into the picture. I was left behind, and then you took my job. I was out on my ass with nothing to show for my years of hard work. Then our friend, Benjamin shows up and tells me that he has been wanting to get back at you for a while. Apparently, you’ve made things rough for him over the past couple of years. We both wanted revenge. Getting back at your boyfriend for ruining my plans for my career is just a bonus. Now, Ben may have taken it a little bit farther than I wanted, but we are here now. It’s not really like we can go back. So…what do I do with you now?”

“We end it, that’s what we fucking do.”

“Benjamin, shut up!” Her voice shakes and I know that she is flustered. Maybe I can sway her, bring her around to letting me go.

“Anne, please, you’re my friend.”

“Friend? A friend doesn’t forget you exist. A friend doesn’t turn her back on you, and then hang you out to dry while she parties with the boss’s kid.”

“It’s not like that.”

“No? Your boyfriend’s dad buys the business we work for, and then suddenly I was out of a job and you took the position I worked so hard for. Sounds fishy, doesn’t it? Did Theron get a kick out of knowing he ruined someone else’s life?”

I try to shake my head, but the smallest movements are followed by an intense throbbing. “No. He didn’t know. I didn’t know.”

“What? I got emails, Eve. Emails and messages going between you and Bridgette. You knew. I read them all. Ben, what is she talking about?”

“Don’t listen to her, Anne. She’s lying.”

My mouth is so dry that I swallow and lick my lips. As I take a deep breath trying to gather my nerves, I feel a pinch in my side. “I didn’t know. Bridgette and Thomas set it all up—” Before I could even finish my thoughts, my head is yanked to the side by my hair. “Shut the fuck up.” Ben’s grip in my hair tightens and I can’t pull away from him. Fuck him, and fuck her. I never did anything to either of them. Anne was my friend. We hung out and cried over boys together. We rented movies and gorged on Chinese. This isn’t my friend, this isn’t Anne.

“They will be looking for me. He will find me. Then what will you two do, where will you run?”

A ghastly scream rips from my chest, as something slams into my left knee. White lights flash behind my eyelids. My leg is throbbing. They are talking, but I can’t make out their words. The only thought that I can hold onto is knowing Anne and I were never really friends. I feel light, as darkness claims me once again.

I can hear water. The sound of waves washing against the shore and seagulls fill my ears. I know this is a dream. I should wake up, but this is so much better than my reality. Sitting up, I realize that I am alone on the beach. It is serine and peaceful. Contentment fills me. I feel at ease. I watch the soft waves kiss the shore and it is such a sweet greeting. It’s gentle and loving. The water kisses the shore, and the shore returns with a sweet kiss of her own, gently giving away a little piece of herself each time they meet.

I can smell him. My body buzzes with electricity, letting me know that he is close. I can’t see Theron, but his words are light and heavenly in my ears.

“You’ve been sleeping for a while, beautiful.”

“I know. I don’t want to go back. Please, don’t make me.”

His laughter fills the air around us. “When have I ever been able to make you do anything you didn’t want to? If you need to stay here for a few more minutes, it’s okay, but don’t stay too long. I need you to come back to me. I love you.”

“I love you, too. I’ll see you soon.”

The current running through my body dies out and I know that I am alone again. It’s okay. I lose myself in the calmness of my surroundings, once again.

M
y phone buzzes. It’s Eve. I am not sure what happened exactly, but Olivia is leaving on an emergency. The idea of her being alone, sends a chill down my spine. “Gentleman, I’m sorry, but we will have to reconvene at another time. My lawyer has all of the details, if you have any questions, please deal with him or my personal assistant directly. I have an urgent matter that I need to attend to. If you’ll excuse me. Evan, if you’ll come with me.”

Looks of confusion spread across the boardroom, but I don’t give a shit. If Eve needs me, then that is where I need to be. Evan follows me, he knows that something isn’t right.

“Sir?”

“Evan, I need you to follow me. Gather who you need to keep a perimeter. Eve is alone at the bookstore, and something feels off. I’m heading over there now to pick her up. Follow me, but stay far enough back, so that it’s not obvious. We know that Thomas isn’t behind this. With what took place this morning, I know that he isn’t involved. He may be an asshole, but he’s easy to read. The look of shock on his face this morning when I questioned him about the notes, wasn’t fake. Someone else is out there watching her. God damn it!” I slam my fist through the wall. Why didn’t I force her to come with me? Why didn’t I send Evan over there when I found out Thomas wasn’t involved? “I’ve put her life at risk. If something happens to her, I won’t ever be able to forgive myself.”

Evan doesn’t flinch when I punch my fist through the wall a second time. He nods his head at me and follows me, as I head out to my car. I race through town. He stays right behind me, even when I blow through two red lights. Once we get close to the bookstore, Evan falls back. I park directly in front of the store.

As I get out, everything looks normal. I turn the handle on the door, the lock clicking quietly in my hand, as I push it open. I barely hear the sound of the bells, as I take in my surroundings. There’s a shelf knocked over by the cash register. I immediately take out my phone and call Evan. “Evan. Get here now. I don’t care what you have to do, but fucking get here now. Bring the police with you. The fucking store is trashed.” I end the call before he can ask any questions.

Fear and adrenaline race through me. My heart pumps so hard in my chest, I think I might be having a heart attack. Carefully, I step around the bookcase. I am trying to be as quiet as possible. I don’t want to alert anyone to my presence. Books are scattered across the floor. I notice something smeared on the floor, bending down to take another look, I realize that it’s blood. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I scream her name as loud as I can. Finding my feet, I run to the back of the store, there is a thin line of blood smeared across the floor, leading from the back door. They took her. My knees go weak beneath me and I fall to the floor. Everything that I live for has been taken from me, it was taken through the door.

“Theron! Where the hell are you, man? I got the detectives on the way. Theron!”

I can hear Evan calling for me, but I don’t have words to answer him with. Anger, hatred, and guilt seep into my soul like black tar, completely consuming me. I stand, as Evan walks through the door, halting to a stop, as he sees me.

“I know you have connections, Evan. I’ve never asked about your life before we met. I don’t want to know what unholy things you’ve seen, but I want you to find her. Do what you need to do. Anything you need. Do it. I don’t care who you kill or who you buy off. You fucking find her, and you bring her home to me.”

“Yes, Sir. I’ll leave now. The detectives should be here any minute. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you not to touch anything. They will need everything as it is.”

“No you don’t. Find her.”

Evan leaves me to my guilt. Why is she so stubborn? All that I wanted to do was love and protect her. My head hangs low in defeat. I am vaguely aware of someone approaching me from behind. My body reacts on instinct, as I stand and turn to face the person and make myself known.

Detective Markz, holds both of his hands up in front of his chest. I suppose this gesture is supposed to calm me, letting me know that he is not there to hurt me. It doesn’t matter. I have already died a thousand times since I got here.

“I have my team in here. We are collecting all the evidence that we can. I’m going to need you to come with me, so we can clear the scene and let our CSI unit do their job.” My stomach rolls and fear eats away at my insides, as I follow him out of the store. I give him a detailed description of everything that I know and what I have seen leading up to the time they got here.

“Her family needs to be notified, but we need to keep things as calm as possible right now.”

“They can stay with me. I have room for them. I’d like us all to be together, so that we can all be notified at the same time of any news.”

“I’ll let them know your wishes. The head of your security is the one who placed the call, but I fail to see him here now. Why is that?”

“He’s doing as instructed. I told him to find her. He’s ex-military. He’s using his skills and connections, just as you are. That’s all you need to know.”

“I should warn you that anything illegal is ill advised.”

“And I should warn you. Money can buy anything. Legalities are not of my concern right now. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my place and ready myself for her family.”

Fucking cops. I get that he has to do his job, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t do my own investigation. I ease out of my parking space and take my time driving through town. Once I hit the back roads, my foot finds the gas pedal and I don’t ease up until I’m in front of the house.

I had Rebecca turn down the other rooms upstairs. I doubt anyone will sleep, but I want to have the option. I am pacing in my office, when I hear the doorbell ring. My stomach drops, as I try to think of what I am supposed to say. What reassurance can I give them? I have taken their only daughter and played recklessly with her life. I take a deep breath, as the doorbell rings again. Rebecca answers it before I can make it down the stairs.

As I hit the last step, I am greeted with devastated faces. Phillip is holding up Eve’s mom with his arms around her waist. She is limp and her face is streaked with makeup. Robert steps in behind them and his face is hard like stone. His eyes are radiating hatred towards me. I don’t blame him. I hate myself as well. “I was hoping we could all meet in the library. It’s Eve’s favorite room and I’d like to be as close to her as possible.”