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“Hel—”

“Jake! Lynn’s missing. She’s not in our apartment and she doesn’t answer her phone. He took her. I know it.”

“Where are you? Are you safe?” The sound of a door banging echoes behind his questions.

I fly down the three levels of stairs and burst through the door, nearly trampling another person. “I’m in my building lobby, coming to you.”

“No!” His voice is so commanding that I freeze on the spot. “Stay there. Wait in the lobby. Be near other people. Don’t go to your room. Don’t go anywhere alone.”

A sob escapes me. “I can’t—I can’t just stay here.”

“I’m driving to you. I’ll be there in five minutes.” The sound of a motor starting accompanies his voice. “Stay on the phone with me.”

I can’t just wait here. I walk to the front door. “He has Lynn. I know it. I know it with every cell in my body. He took her.”

“You can’t know that for sure.” His voice echoes over the hum of traffic and his SUV's engine.

“I do know. She wasn’t in our room, and she’s not answering her phone.”

“Maybe she forgot her phone. Or maybe the battery died.” He’s trying to calm me down, but his words lack conviction.

“No, he took her.” My voice cracks. I notice people looking at me with concern. I step outside and pace the sidewalk. The bright morning sun stings my eyes.

“Did you see anything?”

“No, but I can feel it. I just know it.”

“I’m here, parking now.”

I search the parking lot and see him jogging my way, phone pressed against his ear.

Relief fills every part of my body. I nearly drop to the ground. I stagger before locking my knees. Then, I'm racing toward him. I throw myself into Jake’s arms and shatter. Tears break free. He pulls me closer, one hand on the back of my head as he tucks me into his chest. He kisses my temple and murmurs against my hair, “We’ll find her.”

He holds me like this until my tears lessen. Then, he pulls back and wipes my face with his thumbs, the gesture so gentle I want to cry all over again.

Jake tilts his head, and his gaze meets mine. “Let’s go back upstairs. I want to look for clues.”

He takes my hand, and we go back upstairs. I feel disconnected from everything around me except Jake's hand holding mine.

Jake stops a few feet from my door and squeezes my hand. “The room key?”

I blink as if waking from a trance and pull the key from my pocket. Jake takes it, then gently pushes me back a few more feet. “Stay here until I come for you,” he whispers. “If you hear any sounds of a struggle, run. Call for help.”

At his words, awareness rushes back, and my body trembles. I want to protest, but Jake stops me with a single shake of his head. He walks to the door and pulls his gun from a hip holster concealed by his shirt. My eyes widen.

Jake looks at me, nods, and slides the key into the lock. He nudges the door open with his foot, and holding his gun with both hands, disappears inside. Months go by in the few minutes it takes him to return. He slips the gun back into the holster, and I catch a sliver of golden skin before my gaze meets his eyes again. I walk to him, my feet heavy as if dragging them through wet cement.

As soon as I step back into the room, that dreadful weight settles over me again.

Jake stands in the middle of the living room. “Okay. Tell me everything. What’s different? What am I looking for?”

I look around the room, noticing more than before. The place is spotless. “Everything is wrong. It’s too clean.” I point at blankets neatly folded over the arm of the sofa. “Lynn would never fold the blanket like this. The pillows are perfect. There’s nothing on the counters.” I walk into the kitchen area. “Not even a dirty glass in the sink. It’s all wrong.”

“Could she have called a cleaning service?”

I shake my head. “No, we talked last night. She would have said something.”

I walk down the short hallway. He follows me. I point at Lynn’s bed. “Her bed. She never makes her bed, and if she does, it’s never that neat. She just pulls the blankets up and the pillows are never propped like that.”