AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“When someone finally opened the door, it wasn’t Sydney.”
I throw my phone across the tarmac. “Fuck!”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Max
One word.
Hey was all it took for me to lose my shit on Rex. I stare down at my swollen hand, opening and closing my fist to make sure I didn’t break it. It didn’t matter at the time he sounded genuinely concerned. Or that he wanted to help. All that mattered was that my girl was in trouble and he’s the reason. Now, I’m stuck on this plane going out of my mind.
Kase yanked me off, sending me to the back of the plane. Instead, I came into the bedroom. I always thought I’d be the type to remain calm when someone I loved was in trouble. The voice of reason with Aiden and Kase, that was me. I’m the one who told them to pull their shit together. But now I get it. The anger inside me burns and I can’t control my actions.
The plane descends from the quick forty-five minute flight from San Diego. Well… usually it’s quick. Today, it feels like we’ve flown across the country.
Kase already has a chopper waiting for us since it’d take us over an hour to get to her place in traffic. Fucking LA traffic. I thought New York City was bad. The chopper will get us as close to Sydney’s apartment as possible, and then Hudson is picking us up. I might regret not calling the police or FBI, but I can’t risk them fucking it up. If that woman is still there, Sydney’s alive. Statistically. As soon as the plane hits the ground, I storm out of the room. Passing Rex, holding a bag of ice on his face, I stop and ask, “Is it broken?”
He shakes his head. “Nah.”
“That’s too bad.” I crack a smile, sort of feeling bad, but not really. “You plan on helping?”
He stands up. “If you’ll let me.”
“Your breaking and entering skills might come in handy.” A whisper of a smile sneaks up on his face, but he pulls it back. I stick out my hand and we shake. “Sorry,” I mutter. He nods, knowing no verbal acceptance is necessary.
All three of us run to the chopper and we’re three blocks from Sydney’s apartment complex in ten minutes. Stone pulled the blueprint of the complex and sent it to us while we were in the air.
“I still don’t know how the hell they got in there,” I say, studying the file, mustering up all the self-control that I know is inside me. Having a little time to think has helped me stabilize my thoughts. “There’s a window by her door and a window in her bedroom. Neither are broke.”
“I heard a story once,” Rex starts and I glance up from the file. “A guy was breaking into apartments by starting at one end and cutting through the drywall to get into the next apartment. I think his record was ten apartments.”
“That’s fucking commitment,” Hudson states in surprise. “It’s difficult and loud to cut a hole in a wall, with studs and all.”
“But doable. Especially if you know someone isn’t home. They don’t have to rush,” I say, already pulling up Stone’s number to send him a text. It makes sense considering Hudson checked the apartment. They probably had something covering the hole that didn’t seem out of place.
Me: Find out the lessee to the units behind and to the side of Syd
Stone: On it
We park around her building until we figure out a plan. I instruct Stone to stay put and keep watch after he gets the info we need. He tried to snap a picture, but his phone wasn’t quick enough. All we got was that she was a tall brunette.
I open the blueprints again, pointing to the unit behind Sydney’s. “Okay, this unit is empty so we’ll go through that one and see if that’s how they got in. Kase, I want you to fly Red Robin when Rex and I get in. Rex, can you open the sliding glass door quietly?” He gives me an incredulous glare. That’s what I was counting on. “Tell Hudson what you need, we might already have it.” The two guys get out of the SUV and open up the hatch in the back. “Kase, fly in front of Sydney’s unit first and count bodies.”
“Got it. You sure you can count on your brother? I mean, I could easily open it up too,” he whispers.
I slap him on the back and nod. “I know. But Hudson won’t touch Red Robin, afraid to crash it and Stone has to stay where he is. I need you to be our eyes.”
The guys come around and Hudson hands us our earpieces. “Hudson get as close to Syd’s door as you can, just in case they come out that way.” He nods, checks his gun and runs off.
My phone rings and my finger is over the answer button expecting it to be Stone. I pause when I notice it’s not him.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
Rex glances at it and smirks. “Tell ‘em I said hi.”
I answer. “Aiden.”
“If I wasn’t a couple thousand miles away, I’d kick your ass right now,” he growls.
