Page 71
Story: Broken Truths
Oliver whips around, staring at the two of us, his expression going from amusement to fear in a heartbeat. “No, she wasn’t upstairs.”
Alaric runs toward the stairs. “Eden?”
The two of us chase after him, frantically searching every room, looking in closets and bathrooms. There are so many fucking rooms in this house that it takes longer than I’d like. We all meet in the upstairs hallway, out of breath. She’s not upstairs.
“James!” Oliver yells.
James enters the foyer downstairs. “Sir?”
He’s such a polished, older man. There is no panic on his face, and briefly, it makes me feel a little better. If someone is calm, maybe that means we can be, too.
“Have you seen Eden?”
“Yes, sir. I saw her this morning. Is she not back yet?”
Oliver runs down the stairs. “Back from where, James?”
“I believe Miss Astor said she was going to get coffee for all of you.” His gaze creeps toward the big clock on the wall. “That was an hour ago, sir.”
An hour ago? Shit.
I pull out my phone. I have the choice between calling her or looking at the tracking app, but I decide to call her first, quieting my heart so I don’t sound like a crazed lunatic.
Somewhere in the house, her phone rings.
“Fuck,” Oliver curses.
At least we know the tracking app is useless now.
Alaric strides toward the huge doors and pulls them open, revealing my car and his SUV pulled around front, a light dusting of snow covering both. They haven’t moved.
“The Minis?” James suggests.
Oliver pushes past Alaric and takes off toward the garage. He slips on his feet, then rights himself before he sprints again. Alaric and I stride behind him. As soon as he opens the side door to the garage, his shoulders sink. “We’re missing one.”
“Lucky us,” I say tersely, “I put a tracker on all of Oliver’s cars the last time he tried to take Eden away from us.”
Oliver whirls, true relief saturating his face. “You’re a paranoid asshole. Thank fuck.”
I work to get my app open, trying to tell myself she probably just got caught up talking to someone. Hell, maybe she even decided to go see her mom.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Alaric states.
He’s watching my hands tap the phone screen, and I realize I’m shaking. I stretch my fingers out and tell myself to knock it off. If something is wrong, I can’t go into it headfirst like a crazed psycho. I have to be cool and calm under pressure.
The app loads, and there’s red blinking dots under the heading Jackasses Cars. Most of them are all centered in one area, but there’s one that’s blinking away from the others.
I pinch the screen to zoom in.
“Do you guys recognize where that is?” Oliver asks.
“The car is stationary,” I say. “Relatively close to Carnegie.”
“What the hell?” Alaric asks, staring at the screen.
“There’s only one way to find out.” I pull out my keys and dangle them from my fingers. “One of you should stay here.”
I leave them to figure it out while I jog to the car.
Alaric runs toward the stairs. “Eden?”
The two of us chase after him, frantically searching every room, looking in closets and bathrooms. There are so many fucking rooms in this house that it takes longer than I’d like. We all meet in the upstairs hallway, out of breath. She’s not upstairs.
“James!” Oliver yells.
James enters the foyer downstairs. “Sir?”
He’s such a polished, older man. There is no panic on his face, and briefly, it makes me feel a little better. If someone is calm, maybe that means we can be, too.
“Have you seen Eden?”
“Yes, sir. I saw her this morning. Is she not back yet?”
Oliver runs down the stairs. “Back from where, James?”
“I believe Miss Astor said she was going to get coffee for all of you.” His gaze creeps toward the big clock on the wall. “That was an hour ago, sir.”
An hour ago? Shit.
I pull out my phone. I have the choice between calling her or looking at the tracking app, but I decide to call her first, quieting my heart so I don’t sound like a crazed lunatic.
Somewhere in the house, her phone rings.
“Fuck,” Oliver curses.
At least we know the tracking app is useless now.
Alaric strides toward the huge doors and pulls them open, revealing my car and his SUV pulled around front, a light dusting of snow covering both. They haven’t moved.
“The Minis?” James suggests.
Oliver pushes past Alaric and takes off toward the garage. He slips on his feet, then rights himself before he sprints again. Alaric and I stride behind him. As soon as he opens the side door to the garage, his shoulders sink. “We’re missing one.”
“Lucky us,” I say tersely, “I put a tracker on all of Oliver’s cars the last time he tried to take Eden away from us.”
Oliver whirls, true relief saturating his face. “You’re a paranoid asshole. Thank fuck.”
I work to get my app open, trying to tell myself she probably just got caught up talking to someone. Hell, maybe she even decided to go see her mom.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Alaric states.
He’s watching my hands tap the phone screen, and I realize I’m shaking. I stretch my fingers out and tell myself to knock it off. If something is wrong, I can’t go into it headfirst like a crazed psycho. I have to be cool and calm under pressure.
The app loads, and there’s red blinking dots under the heading Jackasses Cars. Most of them are all centered in one area, but there’s one that’s blinking away from the others.
I pinch the screen to zoom in.
“Do you guys recognize where that is?” Oliver asks.
“The car is stationary,” I say. “Relatively close to Carnegie.”
“What the hell?” Alaric asks, staring at the screen.
“There’s only one way to find out.” I pull out my keys and dangle them from my fingers. “One of you should stay here.”
I leave them to figure it out while I jog to the car.
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