Page 76 of Keeping Zita

She heard nothing but the creaking of the ship around her. She couldn’t see anything either. It was completely black. He hadn’t left her a light. Zita couldn’t even see her hand in front of her face.

Her breathing increased. She was on the verge of a panic attack. She hurt all over, and she’d been left here to die. She knew that was Silas’s plan. Carmen’s too.

Anger hit hard and fast at the thought of the actress. The bitch actually thought she could fly into town and sleep with Sage when he was vulnerable? Not happening. The man she knew had way more honor than Carmen thought. He also wasn’t stupid. He’d know in a heartbeat something was wrong. He’d turn over every rock in town to find her.

But will there be enough time?

Zita did her best to ignore that small voice.

With her arms in front of her so she didn’t hit her head on something, on top of all the other hurts she had, Zita did her best to explore the room.

It was completely empty as far as she could tell, except for two metal bunks built into the wall. No sink. No toilet. No bedding. Nothing but metal all around her. Whoever was in charge of dismantling the ship and prepping it to be sunk had done an exceptional job of removing anything and everything that could contaminate the ocean.

Moving slowly, as her muscles were screaming in pain and shaking from the adrenaline rush she’d experienced, Zita sat on the bottom bunk. The chilly metal immediately soaked through her pants. She shivered. But not entirely with the cold.

She was scared. Really scared.

But she wasn’t dead.

If there was anyone who could find her, she knew it was Sage.

Memories of the hug he’d given her just that morning filled her head, making her feel warmer, even if it was all in her mind. Sage wouldn’t give up on her. He’d find her.

He had to.

He had one week.

Seven days before she’d disappear forever beneath the waves, and no one would ever know what had happened to her.

Lying down, Zita refused to cry. Instead, she’d wait. And hope.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Obi-Wan was having a good day.

He enjoyed being back at work. Liked catching up with his friends. And was even happy to sit in meetings that a week ago would probably have annoyed him to no end.

While he’d had a good time on set, had appreciated being asked to advise, it was good to be back in a familiar environment. He’d always be grateful for the opportunity, especially because it had led him to Zita, but he was ready to get into his chopper.

He was kind of surprised he hadn’t heard from her this morning. She’d said she was going to text to see how PT had gone. While Casper and the rest of his team had given him shit, claiming a week off had made him soft, Obi-Wan held his own. And working out with his friends felt good. Like putting on a favorite old, worn shirt.

He figured Zita was probably busy. Maybe her report time had been moved up. He’d sent her a text around nine-thirty that morning, letting her know he missed her and asking how her morning was going, but she hadn’t replied. In fact, the message hadn’t even been read, according to the app. Obi-Wan was a little surprised about that…but again, he assumed she was probably engrossed in her meetings, and it wouldn’t be cool for her to be on her phone.

But when lunch came and went, and he still hadn’t heard from her, and a second text had gone unread, Obi-Wan was starting to worry. True, he hadn’t known Zita long, but she didn’t seem like the type to not answer texts, especially not after their amazing last few nights together. Maybe he was reading too much into it, or being too sensitive because she wasn’t immediately reading or answering his attempts to connect electronically…but he didn’t think so.

“What’s up?” Buck asked, able to read his copilot like a book.

“Zita’s not answering my texts,” he said, bracing himself for his friend to tease him about being pussy-whipped or tell him to chill out.

Buck did neither of those things. “And that’s out of the ordinary?”

“Yes.”

“Then go check on her.”

“I can’t just leave,” he protested. “I’ve already been gone a week. We have the meeting with Colonel Burgess in half an hour.”

“How serious are you about Zita?” Buck asked, sounding as solemn as he did when they were on a mission and shit was about to hit the fan.