Page 7 of Only Everything (The Obsession #1)

REID

Darkness. Had I thought Emmett would stay true to his word and call?

Being a cop didn’t make you honest or dependable. Although a part of me knew it was too good to be true, I had held hope to at least that even if it was Emmett I was talking to, it would still somehow bring me closer to Tauren. If not directly, then by association.

I wanted to hear her voice. Even information about her could somehow sate this hole that was growing hotter and heavier in my chest. Couldn’t she feel it too? Didn’t she miss me as much as I missed her?

The thought? Fucking laughable. Tauren cared for no one but herself and her guard dog. That’s all Emmett was. He did the barking, and she held the leash. She wouldn’t even talk to me anymore. She had him try to brush me away like some pesky bug that was annoying their perfect life.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I stared into the opening of trees in the distance. Lightning flashed, revealing their jagged outlines, and I tried to push away Tauren counting the seconds in my head.

One-one thousand. Two-one thousand.

We used to do that as we sat on the back of the sofa, staring out of the window. We’d turn all the lights out and just wait, counting the seconds before it would thunder. Every storm. Every time.

Thunder rumbled, and buzzing had me blinking in surprise. Had that been the thunder? I wrestled to get my hand in my pants pocket. I pulled out my cell, taking in the illuminated screen. My heart was exploding, and I could barely get my finger to go up to press the button. Was this even happening?

“…Taur?”

Her name came out strangled through my surprise.

“Reid, I don’t have long.”

“I told Lucus not to call you. I wanted to do that myself. I have—I’ve tried to call you.”

A pause. “I know.”

“If you know, why didn’t you pick up the phone? Why haven’t you called me back?”

Anger. I couldn’t hide it even though I knew I should have tried. At the sniffle, I felt myself slowly stand from the chair.

“You’re crying.”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s something. What is going on with you? Did something happen?”

“It’s too long of a story to go into right now.”

“It’s not. We can talk. Let’s talk.” Panic was edging into my tone.

I couldn’t lose her again so soon. She’d finally called.

“You don’t want to go into what’s wrong, fine.

” I ran my hand down my face, trying to slow the engulfing emotions that wanted to have her here.

“Tell me about you. What are you doing now, work, school? Have you been okay?”

Another sniffle. “I’ve been fine. I work. It’s a job, and I like it.”

“What sort of job?”

“Reid—”

“Not yet, Taur. Don’t leave me yet.”

“He doesn’t know I have my phone. I said I had to go to the bathroom. He’ll come looking for me if I don’t hurry back.”

“What is he, your keeper? You can’t go to the fucking bathroom without him holding your hand?”

“I’m not at home. I’m…in the woods. I didn’t even think I’d have service. He said I wouldn’t.”

I stiffened. “What do you mean, woods? What woods? Like camping?”

“You could say that.”

A smile tugged at the side of my mouth, and I couldn’t fight it. “You, camping?”

“Tell me about it. I want to go home.”

The last was so full of longing but something else entirely.

“I can come get you. I can take you home. I can bring you to my home. You can stay here with me. We can talk. We really need to talk, Taur . I need you .”

Silence.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry .” My hand was up as if she could see me trying to calm her.

I was fucking this up. I was pushing her away with my smothering declarations, but I couldn’t stop now that I knew she was listening.

“I miss you. We were good, right? Back then? We had something? I didn’t imagine that.

You didn’t—You wouldn’t use me like that, right Taur? Tauren? ”

Anger clipped her name. I closed my eyes, trying to control the deep breaths.

“You were better off without me. Becky wouldn’t leave. …I couldn’t leave. Dammit, Reid.”

“And Emmett?”

His name came out more as a growl than anything.

“I have to go.”

“Fuck that motherfucker. Let me come get you. Tell me where you are.”

“Reid—”

“I’ll come right now. Give me a landmark. Something .”

“There is no name. That’s what I’m saying.

I don’t know where we are. We left the Mini Mart and drove down a ways.

Fifteen, twenty minutes? Then we made a left, driving just about as far.

The road… it changed from asphalt to gravel.

We parked and found some rundown hiking trail that lasted miles.

Then…a fucking cliff. I’m in the middle of nowhere.

” A sob left her, and it had me walking deeper into my yard.

She was crying. Something was…wrong. There was this edge, this panic to her words that I didn’t like.

I’d heard it before. I knew when she was afraid.

“That could be anywhere.”

“Exactly. Maybe that’s the point. ”

“What do you mean? What are you not telling me? Taur…”

“Tauren?”

“Almost done!” Her voice lowered. “I’ll be here for about three days. I’ll call you when I get home. We’ll talk. But Reid…if you’re hoping—we can’t—I can’t.”

“We’ll talk about it. But you have to call me, Taur. Call me. Don’t forget. Don’t ignore me. Otherwise... I’ll come for you .” My tone deepened through my threat, and I couldn’t stop it. “I don’t need the name of the place. I will find you.”

The line went dead, and I squeezed my fist around my phone, breathing deeply through the rolling fury as lightning once again lit up the outline of trees.

A part of me had hated Emmett from the moment I found out he was a cop.

Maybe a big part was because it was a shield for Tauren, but also because it was a civilian mirror of myself.

I’d had a lot of training throughout my four years as an MP.

Military Police—Criminal Investigation Division.

The safety that she’d needed was exactly why I had gravitated to my job.

It was a slap in the face. It was me meant to protect her.

Me , she was supposed to run to, not some overcompensating piece of shit that had freedom when I hadn’t.

Now, something was wrong. I had to think.

I had to switch gears and go back to the one thing that I couldn’t stomach to think about.

Not the secrets. Not the things I’d done.

Those would stay locked away. I needed to focus on the training. The classes. The work…

I turned my pacing to the yard, hearing Lucus’s voice in my mind.

I could still see us staring through the glass at the soldier handcuffed, sitting at the table.

“You’re starting this one. You know what you’re doing.

You’re ready. Just remember, listen for the vocal cues and speech patterns.

The silence is where the truth hides. Watch his breaths.

Pay attention to when he hesitates. You got this. ”

I did. I had this.

Think.

Tauren’s voice bled into my mind. I replayed our conversation, letting it repeat.

She’d sniffled a few times. The way her breath would hitch.

She’d been crying while we talked. And then there was the way she spoke softly.

Whispering. Yes. She admitted she was hiding the fact that she was talking to me.

But it was more than that. Emmett told her she wouldn’t have service.

She was surprised that she did. He had her isolated in the wilderness.

And she didn’t want to be there. She said she wanted to go home.

There was definitely fear in her statement, if it wasn’t a downright plea. She was afraid.

Turning, I felt a sprinkle drop down to my arm as they swung from my wide steps. I was eating up the ground, letting my mind race as I gave myself over to the training that was ingrained.

I’d asked her if she was camping in the woods.

She replied, “You could say that.” She wasn’t saying yes, which indicated a lie, an omission, or…

she truly didn’t know. But it was clear she was there.

Doubt of Emmett’s motives could play into that response, plus the fear, but she’d been crying… There had to be a reason. Why?

I cursed under my breath as more droplets rained down. I barely noticed, I was so lost in the analysis.

Fuck. I needed to go deeper into our conversation.

I had to look at the entire picture, and maybe it was the most obvious thing of all.

Tauren had called me. After almost constant avoidance since I’d left, she had finally reached out to me.

She needed me. She chose me. That meant trust was still there, and with trust could come love.

She could love me again. …She could love me still.

No. Stop. I fisted my hair, trying to slow the obsessive thoughts. The focus was on the trust. I could think about the love later. She trusted me. It spoke volumes in a moment where she seemed distraught. I was the one she ran to. The one she called.

But in the realization, came a bigger truth, and it barreled right over the fact that she’d chosen me. It hit so heavy that it had me stopping in my tracks.

Tauren had given me a map to find her. She wanted me to help, whether she realized it or not. Why else would she give me so many hints?

Mini Mart— middle of nowhere, deeper into the mountains. As I went over her clue on the Mini Mart, I knew only one.

My forehead creased as I headed for the door of my cabin. I grabbed the handle, turning back to stare in the darkness. Road, fifteen to twenty minutes later, turning from asphalt to gravel. Did I know that place? Why did I feel like I knew where that was?

I was isolated and about that far from Asheville.

And there was a turn off a few miles from here, but that made no sense.

Why would Emmett bring Tauren so close to me when he’d spent years making it impossible for us to speak?

And he had questions. Ones I doubted he wanted her to know about.

But he knew where I was. I told him my general location.

It wouldn’t have been hard for him to discover the truth if he really wanted to.

Opening the door, I headed inside, walking to the small counter to grab my truck keys.

More, my mind raced. I let the minutes pass, going between motives and cliffs I knew of in the area, and whether my extreme paranoia over Tauren’s safety was valid.

Could I even trust that anything she told me was the truth?

Buzzing had my head slowly dropping back down to take in Emmett’s name on my screen. What the fuck was happening, and what was this bastard up to? Was he coming to me? Here, to my cabin, with Taur? I almost wanted to smile, and not in a nice way.

Hitting the button, I lifted it to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Reid, this is Emmett. I meant to call earlier, but I was busy.”

“It’s cool. What’s up? Did you figure out a time when we could meet? I really need to talk to my sister.”

He laughed under his breath. “I’ve been thinking a lot about that. I even considered that we should all meet in person.”

“Alright. When?”

“I’ve changed my mind. I don’t think it’s a good idea after all.

You see, things are looking up for me and Tauren.

We recently got engaged. This very evening, actually.

” My body tensed as a rage-induced shaking took over.

“I really think she’s finally in a place where your presence may disrupt her healing.

I’m sure you understand how delicate of a situation this is.

I mean, what she saw—what she lived through— why it happened —I just don’t see how it would be a good idea to make her face that again. ”

“We lost the same thing. I lost my mom, and she lost her dad. We were a family. We may have gotten into a fight, but Tauren needs me. I need her.”

“So you’ve made clear on countless occasions. If she finally wanted you in her life, don’t you think she would initiate?”

She had.

A deep breath left me. All I saw was red. It was almost impossible to keep my cool. Had it not been for Tauren and the fear I detected, I would have told him the truth just to shove it down his throat so he could choke on it. “You had questions for me.”

Another soft laugh.

“Only confirmation. I’m pretty sure I already know. Thing is...” He paused, and I could hear crunching under his feet with every step. “I think I can get the answers from her on my own. Might be better that way. More fun .”

I picked up my truck keys, letting the grooves bite into my palm at my squeeze. “Did I ever tell you what I did in the military?”

Seconds passed. “No, but I already know. I also know you couldn’t handle it. It’s why you got out.”

It was my turn to laugh. “You’re wrong. I got out because I could handle it.

Because I liked it, a little too much . That’s what fucked me up, not necessarily what I did.

And if you know my specialty, then you know your cryptic insinuations are not going undetected.

” I licked my lips. “I’ll tell you what.

I’m willing to let your threats against Taur go if you do one thing. ”

A huff sounded. A rustle. More crunching, this time louder.

“First off, you can’t threaten me. Second, you’re really not fucking seeing her now.”

“Shut the fuck up, Emmett. Look down. The leaves under your feet are wet, but that crunch I heard a few seconds ago told me you walked somewhere dry. You’re in the woods.

That slight echo behind your tone tells me you’re not just in the woods, you’re in the mountains.

Elevation…more than decent. You’re high.

And as you know, I’m also in the mountains.

I grew up in them, which gives me the advantage.

Given the echo, you’re not far from the edge of something.

A cliff. Maybe one hundred-fifty feet? Three hundred, at the most?

You’d be smart to take my sister home. Unharmed.

Otherwise, you will meet me. It just might not be by choice. ”