Page 14 of Taking Adalisa (Montgomery Syndicate #2)

ADALISA

W orry churns inside me as I pace up and down the side of the store. Where is Margery? Why isn’t she answering any of my texts or calls? It’s been a week since I heard from her, and I’m starting to get worried.

I’ve tossed and turned with the idea of going to the cops and seeing if they can find her, but what if that gets her into even more trouble? What if she is in a dangerous situation and the police make it worse?

What if I go to the police, and Matthias thinks I’m going to talk about him, and something happens to me? Yeah, I’m not going to the police. There are too many variables, and I don’t want to risk my or Margery’s life.

But where could she be?

I press the call button one more time, lifting it to my ear, and waiting for her to answer.

“Please pick up,” I whisper to myself. “Please be okay and pick up the phone.”

I need her to be all right. I need her to be alive and safe. Maybe she is just on a little vacation, and she will be back soon. “You’ve reached Margery. I’m not at the phone, but please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible,” Margery’s voice says through the phone.

Voicemail.

Again.

Groaning, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Maybe she really did check herself into a facility to get better. That has to be the reason she isn’t answering her phone. There can’t be any other reason. I won’t accept it.

Margery isn’t dead.

Margery hasn’t been kidnapped.

That is what I am choosing to believe until I find her.

Alive.

Without thinking, I grab the store keys, my purse, and walk out of the building, locking up behind me. if Margery isn’t going to contact me, then I am going to find her. She would do the same thing if I were in her situation.

“Where should I go first?” I mutter to myself.

I know there is an in-patient therapy center down the road I have been checking out. I sent her the details. Maybe she got the website information and looked it up? I don’t know, but I’m going to check there first.

As I head toward the place, I keep myself vigilant, making sure no one is following me. If Margery has gotten into a bad situation, I need to make sure I keep myself safe to find her.

The closer I get to the facility, the fewer people I see walking down the street. Maybe I should have waited until I had someone to go with me. But who would have gone with me to this place? We’re not in the best part of town, and I’ve heard rumors about the area.

Yeah, it does sound bad when I recommended it, but all the reviews online said they were amazing. I just want Margery to get better so she can live her life to the fullest and get over Ethan.

That’s all I want for Margery.

I want her to be happy. I want her to find another man to spend the rest of her life with; a man who will cherish and make her feel special.

An uneasy feeling washes over me as I stand outside the center. Maybe I shouldn’t do this. Maybe I should try somewhere else. Margery wouldn’t have come here without telling me unless she absolutely needed to and couldn’t tell me or someone else called and got her taken here.

Reaching into my bag, I grab the silver bracelet and slip it on, feeling the weight of it around my wrist, reminding me who gave it to me.

I don’t think this is going to save me if anything happens, but if Matthias finds out I’m here without the bracelet, I feel like something is going to happen.

He keeps threatening to punish me, but he hasn’t yet.

At this rate, I don’t think he’s going to.

He seems to be all talk and no action, which is fine by me. Just means I can get away with a lot of things. Wait. All talk and no action. That means he won’t actually come after me if I leave and disappear.

“Oh, this is perfect,” I whisper to myself.

Happiness blossoms inside of me at the thought. This will be perfect. First, I’m going to find out what happened to Margery, and then I’m going to go into hiding until Matthias gives up on me. It’s perfect.

Taking a deep breath, I head into the facility.

“Hello,” A smiling woman stands behind the desk. “What can I do for you?”

An uneasy feeling falls over me as I get closer to the reception desk. Something isn’t right here, but I continue forward. This is for Margery. I need to make sure she is okay and not somewhere else.

“I’m looking for someone, and I think she might be here,” I cautiously say.

The girl just blinks at me, and I clasp my hands in front of me, clenching them tight as I wait for her to talk. But she doesn’t. She continues staring at me as if I’ve grown two heads and don’t know what I’m doing.

I don’t.

“Her name is Margery, and I’m now realizing I’m a shit friend because I don’t know her last name.” My shoulders sag. “But you have probably heard of her, or well, her ex-boyfriend. Ethan. He died in a horrific car crash several years ago.”

The woman’s eyes slightly widen before going back to normal.

“She says she keeps seeing him, so I told her to check your facility out so she could get some sleep for a couple of days and get regulated again,” I ramble.

“I haven’t heard from her, and I just need to see whether she is here or isn’t so I can stop stressing or continue to stress and look for her in other places. ”

I run my hand through my hair, and I watch as her eyes stay on my bracelet the whole time. Is she part of Matthias’ world? Does she know what this bracelet is, or is she just admiring it?

“Margery, yes, I think I do know someone is here with that name,” the kind woman sweetly replies. “Let me check to see what room she is in and if you are permitted to see her.”

“Adalisa is my name,” I offer. “I should be on there. We are all we have to each other.”

I don’t know why I told her that, and I feel like I shouldn’t have. It is private information.

The girl types on the computer, clicks around, before looking back up at me. “Yes, we do, and you are on the list. Let's get you to a room and then we’ll grab her for you.”

A smile blossoms on my face, and I sigh in relief. “Thank you so much.”

“Don’t mention it. Please, follow me,” she says, walking behind the desk.

I follow her down a cold and darker hallway, the uneasy feeling growing in my stomach with each step I take. Several nurses walk out of rooms, staring right at me and smiling before looking at my wrist.

Creepy.

But I continue to walk toward wherever the lady is taking me. Why do they keep looking at my wrist? Why are they smiling at me strangely?

“How long do you think it will take for you to get her?” I ask as she leads me into a room. “I have somewhere I need to be in an hour. People are expecting.”

Lies, but I’m not going to let her know that. The uneasy feeling still hasn’t left, and I need her to know that people will be looking for me. Who? I don’t know. Matthias definitely will when he realizes that I’ve gone. Maybe he’ll get worried and rescue me from this place if I need it.

But that’s if I need it.

This place could just be sketchy and nothing happens. Maybe I’m just working myself up about something that isn’t going to be a problem.

Taking a deep breath, I look at the girl as I stand at the door.

“So, how long do you think it will be?” I ask. “I just need to make sure that I tell people I’ll be late if it’s going to take longer than expected.”

I grab my phone out of my bag and turn it on. Who would I text to make it seem like I’m messaging someone? If they have Margery’s phone, I can’t text her. The only other people I have in my phone are Matthias and my boss. I can’t text my boss, and I’m definitely not texting Matthias.

I take a step into the room and sit in the chair.

“It will only take a couple of minutes for us to get him,” she replies, walking to the door.

“Him?” My eyebrows furrow. “Margery isn’t a guy.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean him, I meant her . We’ll get her and bring her to you. You just sit tight in here.” She smiles and walks out of the room, shutting the door behind her and locking it.

Wait.

Locking it?

I suck in a breath as I stare at the door. There must be a really good reason for locking it. Maybe some patients don’t like an unlocked door, or they are trying to keep me safe? I don’t know.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I slowly let out the breath to try and calm myself. Everything is going to be okay. I don’t have anything to worry about because they are going to come with Margery in a couple of minutes, and everything is going to be fine.

But as the minutes pass, and they still haven’t come with Margery, my pulse picks up. Shit. What have I gotten myself into? I shouldn’t have come here alone. I shouldn’t have told Margery to come here. What was I thinking?

Turning my phone on, I pull up Matthias’ name. Should I call him and ask him to come get me? I shouldn’t be contacting him, but he is the only person I know who can get me out of here. I press his name, but it immediately ends the call.

“What?” I whisper to myself.

Looking at the top right corner, I curse when I realize I don’t have any reception in here. How am I going to get in contact with him?

I jump out of my chair and walk to the door, banging on it, and hoping someone hears.

“Hello! Anyone there?” I cry out. “I really do need to go. I have people waiting for me.”

Silence.

I try the door handle, hoping and praying my mind was playing tricks on me when I heard it lock. The door doesn’t budge, and my heart sinks.

I’m locked in here with no reception to call anyone for help.

Am I going to be stuck in here for the rest of my life? What have I done?

I walk over to the side of the room and lean against the wall, sliding down until I’m sitting with my eyes fixed on the door.

This isn’t good. How could I have been so foolish to think that everything was going to be all right?

Why couldn’t I have listened to my gut and not walked into the place?

I should have messaged Matthias or someone else about me coming in here, so they would have known.

Now no one knows.

“Shit,” I whisper, tears pooling in my eyes. “How could I be so dumb?”

Pulling my legs up to my chest, I lean my head on my knees. Everything is going to be okay. They are going to bring Margery to me, and then I’m going to leave.

I’ll have to figure out how to get Margery out of here. Maybe I can strike a deal with Matthias to help me get her out of here. That is, if she is actually here and if I get out.

Matthias has to be looking for me. If he is this obsessed with me and wants me as his, he won’t let me disappear for several hours without trying to find me. At least I have that on my side.

Keys jingle, but I don’t get up. I don’t want to get my hopes up right now, not when I am on the brink of breaking down. Maybe that’s what they want. They want me to break so they can say they have to keep me in here.

No, I’m not going to do that.

But as the door opens, my eyes go wide as I stare at the figure in front of me.

“Little bit,” he says with a smile.