Page 76 of Caught By the Chief of Staff

“That’s a twenty-minute lead,” Wes states. “That’s not too bad.”

“And Black said he heard something in the kitchen,” Jake reminds me. “And the side door was open.”

“Where does the kitchen side door lead to?” Black asks.

I stand up. He’s right. I have to follow her trail. Everyone follows me downstairs and into the kitchen. We go through the side door and out to where my trashcans are stored, but I have a feeling….

I turn the corner, and lo and behold, her garage door is open. I walk through the garage, not bothering to see if anyone is following me. Cara’s car is gone. She would have had to go inside to grab her keys. I made sure those were not included in her belongings when I moved her into my house with me. I didn’t want her to be able to run until I convinced her we were real.

I take a chance and walk into her house and look around. It looks like she didn’t make it very far into the house. The living room and stairs still look as if they’ve been untouched since the last time I was here.

“Hey, Rick?” Jake calls out.

“What’s that?”

“You might wanna come have a look at this,” he says, and I follow his voice into the kitchen where sitting on the counter is a freebie notepad. It drives me crazy that Cara keeps all those shoved in a drawer. But this one is different. On the pad, in her messy handwriting, is a note telling me what she should have said to my face.

“Fuck, fuck!” I bite out and run my hands through my hair. It’s a sign of my agitation that I’ve never been able to get rid of.

She knows where Rachel is, and she went to get her on her own. I know where the house is. I’ve dropped Rachel off at Becky’s enough times, and now I have to go get my girls and hope to God I’m not fucking late.

I race back through the house and into my own to grab the keys to my SUV. I check the magazine in my gun and re-holster it behind my back.

What I don’t do is notice Ryan Black’s absence from the group. I would regret that later.

I exit through the door to the garage at the back of the house, much the same way Cara escaped her house, and I head down the road. Rachel’s friend Becky and her family don’t live too far from where Cara and I do. It’s ten minutes at best. I only hope it’s not too late.

When I drive down a side street, I notice Cara’s vehicle. It’s a piece of shit sedan, and when this is all over, I’ll buy her the car she deserves. I’ll take care of her and Rachel for the rest of my life, and I won’t take no for an answer.Just don’t let me be too late.

I don’t even bother to hide I’m here. I walk right up the front porch and knock on the door. No one answers, and I knock again.

I hear a scream from somewhere in the back of the house, maybe a basement that’s not sealed inside, and I kick the door in. I pull my gun from the back of my jeans and hold it loose at my side while I make my way through the house.

I think I’ve found where the scream came from. There’s a door that sits ajar at the back just like my bedroom door had. I raise my gun and take off at a run, and then I hear a sickening crack that can only mean one thing.