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“Officer, we were just up in our rooms when the smoke detectors went off. I have no idea who would have done this.” I place my hands on my hips and keep eye contact with him.
After a beat, he hands me his card. “Call me if you can think of anyone that may have a beef with you and do something like this.”
I nod and take his cards. He waits for a moment but then turns and walks away. I let out a sigh and turn toward the other two.
“We need to get to Vegas and fast.” I pat down my back pocket for my wallet.
“Agreed. We can get the stuff we need when we get there,” Dekker adds.
“Let’s go. We can walk around the corner and get a Lyft. Houston’s closer to fly out of. And we still need to figure out where she is or where they are.”
“What did Monica say?” Seven starts walking away from the scene, and we all follow.
“Well, in short, my dad was working to get Ledger out of prison. Damien was a distraction to help push Rory out of this school. He never wanted her out here with June, but played the part once she was here in Texas. My father is calculating, smart, so paying for her school, the car, it was all a part of the charade. Something bigger is at play, and we have no idea what it is,” I say as I pull out my phone to call a Lyft.
“What the fuck are you talking about? Your dad helped put him away. Why would your dad want to help get mine out of prison?” Dekker stops dead in his tracks.
“No idea. All I know is we need to get to Vegas and find her before they do.” I turn to Seven. “Can you still track her with your phone?”
Seven nods. “Yeah. It would be easier with my laptop, but that’s gone to hell.” He looks back at the house grimly. “But I can still see if she uses her card.”
Our Lyft pulls up minutes later, and we hop in. I can see Seven typing away on his phone, no doubt trying to already figure out where my father is. I look at my watch and see that it’s nearly five in the morning.
We have a good three-hour drive to the Houston airport and then who knows when we will be able to get on a flight and get to Vegas.
But make no mistake, we will get to Vegas. And we will get Rory back.
And my father is a dead man for ever hurting her.
Chapter Thirty-Two
AURORA
My head is throbbing.My eyes feel like they are glued shut. When I try to move, a shooting pain slices through my head. Fuck, I need to get my eyes open. I have no idea where I am.
Whatever I am lying on is lumpy and smells like vomit and sweat. I cough as I try to breathe completely out of my mouth, but my throat is dry and scratchy. I let out a groan as I try to move any part of my body that might work.
My arms are the first thing to shift around, so I at least know that I’m not tied up. I move them to my face and use my fingers to help peel my eyelids open. Everything is blurry at first. The light above me blinds me. It takes a couple minutes for the room to focus, and when it does, my heart stops.
I’m in some sort of jail cell. The walls are dirty and cracked cement blocks. The floor is a gross cement floor with what looks like dried blood and God knows what other stains on it. The bars in front of me are that of ones in prison. There are no windows, no other entrances or exits but the cell door.
Slowly, I sit up. My hand immediately goes to my head as the pounding intensifies. After a few minutes, I look down at themattress and immediately feel bile rising in my throat. There are brown and yellow stains that cover the entire mattress.
I quickly scramble off the mattress and drop to my knees where I lose the contents of my stomach in front of me.
When I stop dry heaving, I wipe the tears from my eyes and begin to move away from the mess. With a bit more control over my body, I look around me and find a corner that looks to be the safest place for me right now. I am still too weak to fully stand, but I pull my body and crawl on the floor the best I can.
Turning my back to the wall, I squeeze myself into the corner and watch the bars in front of me.
The tears don’t stop, the guttural sob that comes from my throat, my complete confusion as to where I am and why I’m here. I curl my knees up into my chest and wrap my arms around them.
My mind is trying to fill in the blanks as to how I got here.
The last thing I clearly remember is taking a shower. What happened after that? I close my eyes and picture myself back in that room. I see my phone in my hand.
David Grey.
I was looking for my father. I had the phone in my hand, and I was looking for anything that could tell me who this David Grey was, the man who was supposed to be my father.