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It’s not until I see the glimmer of metal she slips into an older lady’s pocket that I realize what’s happening. The second the bus pulls away, the tracker starts moving again down the road.
“Fuck,” I want nothing more than to rip her fucking head off and spit down her neck. There’s only one way they got that bracelet off, and it fucking shatters me to think of it.
I push the air from my lungs, fighting every instinct I have screaming at me to attack the woman. But without the bracelet, she’s my only link between me and my wife.
Several minutes later, a bright red car pulls to the side, and she gets in. I curse that I gave my fucking car away, not that I could follow her in it anyway. I walk straight into the road, in front of a mid-class Chevy car. The driver wails on his horn when he slams to a stop, narrowly missing me. I press both hands against his hood for balance, then walk around to his window.
“I’ve got a dash cam. Insurance scams won’t work with me.” He’s looking at the camera mounted to his visor when I open his door.
“Do you know who I am?”
His brows pull together in confusion, wasting precious seconds before his eyes go wide. “You’re an Everette.”
“That’s right. So you know this is real.” I unclasp my watch, handing it to him. “It’s worth at least five times your car. Now, get out of the fucking vehicle.”
He undoes his seat belt, and I grab him by the shoulder, hauling him the rest of the way out. I’m already in the car and racing the way the woman disappeared. My pulse is rushing in my ears as I look down the busy streets, my chest caving in on itself with each moment I don’t see it.
A car revs up ahead, and I spot the red roof, relief flooding through me as I follow her toward an upper-class residential area, red brick row houses with black roofs. I park several cars behind as she gets out and makes her way into the dwelling. I don’t follow the car, spotting the Uber logo. I get out and walk across the street to get a better view. Rushing in hot right away will only make it more likely that they’ll kill her.
My ribs crack in my chest, and I push the thought down before it can incapacitate me.
The woman walks in front of the window, her ear to the phone. Thank God for the rich’s vanity, never missing out on the opportunity to show off. I watch as she pours herself a glass of wine, laughing as she walks around her living room. The realization that Misty’s not here presses on my chest until each breath is a struggle.
Matthias answers my call immediately.
“They took the bracelet off of her and used it as a fucking decoy. I’ve been chasing the wrong person for the last hour.”
He’s silent for several seconds, knowing exactly what it entailed to remove that bracelet. “Do you still have eyes on the perp?”
“Of course I fucking do. It’s a woman. She’s at home. I don’t think Misty’s here.”
“Fuck.” I can almost hear him thinking through the phone. “Fuck.”
“That’s all you got? What the fuck am I supposed to do,” I demand.
“Stay there. Watch her. Hope she meets up with the person that has Misty.”
“Hope? You want me to fucking stay here and hope?” I yell down the line, pushing every bit of anger through it.
“There’s nothing else you can do.”
My heart bleeds as it fills with anguish.
Misty won’t survive on hope. And it’s my fault.
Chapter 53
Misty
Thump, thump, thump. Each heartbeat feels like a hammer to my wrist, breaking the small bones apart from the inside out. The pain radiates up my arm in an ever-expanding distance, like sharp shards slicing through my veins. The world is fuzzy every time I wake up, floating in and out of consciousness. My uninjured arm cradles my broken one to my chest instinctively, and I thank God that they didn’t tie me up. My teeth chatter from the chilling cold that seeps from the concrete floor into my bare thighs, the fabric of my dress too short and too thin to provide any form of insulation.
Throbbing agony constricts my thoughts, and I force myself to breathe through it. This is the most lucid I’ve been; I can’t let myself pass out again. Breathing slowly, I take stock of the world around me. If I have any chance of surviving this, I can’t give up now.
Damon’s coming for me. He’ll find me. He’ll always find me.
I just have to keep myself alive.
My heart skips when minuscule movements show that my wrists and ankles aren’t bound, and a small hint of hope needles away in my chest.
