Page 64 of I Never Stopped Loving You

“I know, Noah. I’m trying. We’ll find her.”

The back door is suddenly kicked open, and a man is tossed out onto the grass. He gets back up quickly and starts to stumble toward the door, cussing and fighting, but they just slam it shut in his face.

“Monty, I gotta go.”

“Everything good, Boss?”

“The universe just dropped the devil in my lap.”

He lets out a dark chuckle before I can hear the clicking of him typing on his computer.

“Want me to send someone to pick up the car? It’s a blue Honda Civic.”

“Yeah. He won’t be driving it. I’ll leave the keys in the gas cap.”

“Have fun, Boss.”

The line goes silent, and I can hear my heart racing. The blood is pumping so fast with each heartbeat, it’s like a rapid thumping in my ears.

This is it. Eleven fucking years, and I’m finally one step closer to finding the woman I love. The woman whose life he ruined before disappearing. I know she’s out there somewhere, and I hope to God he’s the key to finding her.

If not, well, at least I’ll have someone to keep me company until I do find her. I wonder how long I can keep him alive before his heart finally stops.

“Fuck you, you fucking bastards,” he shouts as he punches the steel door one last time before screaming to the sky. “Fuck!”

I can’t help the sickening grin that spreads across my face as I watch him stumble to his car. He trips twice before falling onto the busted-up gravel. When he stands and wipes his hands on his jeans, the dim parking lot lights catch the smear of blood down his pant-leg. Damnit, and here I thought I’d get to make him bleed first.

I quietly open my door, making sure the interior lights are off so he doesn’t notice me. But judging by how off balance he is, I don’t think he would have noticed anyway. My footsteps are nearly silent as I glance around the half-filled parking lot. Everyone’s still inside, drinking and enjoying their evening. James must have gotten rowdy or pissed off the wrong person. Bad luck for him, wonderful luck for me.

No cameras. No cars are passing on the road. Hell, I haven’t even heard the sound of an owl or a coyote all night. The world is dead, except for the noise from the bar.

“Stupid fucking…Shit,” he curses as he drops his keys when he gets to his car.

He bends forward to grab them and slams his head against his car door. Jesus, he’s drunk.

As he struggles to grab his keys from the ground and then stands back up, I slowly step up behind him. I can see myself in the reflection of his window, just peering over his shoulder. I watch while his body sways back and forth as he struggles to get the key into the lock, then stops.

His eyes squint, then widen as he finally registers the second reflection staring back at him in the dingy glass.

“What the fu…”

*Crack*

I don’t let him finish his sentence. I slam his face into his car, and then a second time for good measure before he crumples to the ground in a heap. Blood trickles from his forehead and his nose. I can see where part of the rusted frame has cracked off and embedded itself in his forehead.

I take a second to glance around before locking the car and putting the keys inside the gas cap lid. Not a single thing has moved out here since I stepped out of this bar.

Glancing one last time at the lone house across the road, I can see all its lights are still off for the night. No one heard a single thing. No one saw. Perfect.

I grab him roughly by the shoulder and lift him, hoisting his drunken, dead weight over my shoulder. He smells disgusting, like old gym clothes, alcohol, and cigarettes. How long has it been since he’s showered? Gross.

I pop the trunk and toss his body in. I grab a few zip-ties and wrap them around his wrists and ankles before I take the duct tape and wrap it around his head a few times to keep him silent. I don’t need him swinging on me if he manages to wake up by the time I get him back to the house.

My house.

My sanctuary.

*Ring* *Ring*