The Man I Thought I Trusted - E. L. Todd Page 0,79

drove by, and I waved it down.

Ever since my last encounter with Simon Prescott, I always made sure he wasn’t lurking in the other seat before I got inside, so I bent down to check.

His shadowed outline was there.

I immediately turned away from the cab so I could sprint back into the bar.

Two guys came out of nowhere, one hand cupped over my mouth while the other got the door open. I was overpowered immediately, shoved into the car despite how hard I fought back. Then a fist flew at my face so hard that I saw stars.

My wrists and ankles were bound, and I was too dizzy to fight.

The door slammed shut, and the cab took off.

I turned to look at Simon, trying to fight the zip tie around my wrist. His face came in and out of focus.

He stared at me, shaking his head slightly. “What a shame…absolute shame.” He grabbed my purse and found my phone. Then he slammed it down onto the center console, making the screen shatter. “Hope it was worth it, Carson.”

27

Dax

I went back to my lonely existence.

It’d been a week, and she hadn’t contacted me.

Her ring was still in my kitchen drawer, and now I knew she’d never come back to retrieve it.

My last attempt to get her back was cathartic, because I loved her deeply but had to speak my mind, that I wasn’t the easiest person to deal with—but neither was she. I had my baggage, but I had a lot of qualities that would make me the perfect man to love her.

Letting me go was a mistake.

A big fucking mistake.

Letting her go was a mistake too, but I didn’t let it happen. I fought until there was no other option.

I did the best I could.

I could continue to tell myself that until it didn’t hurt anymore.

My phone rang, and Charlie’s name appeared on the screen.

It was almost ten o’clock at night, so it was odd to hear from him. My heart started to race, wondering what he had to tell me. I took the call. “What’s up?”

He spat out the words quickly. “Is Carson with you?”

“No… Why?”

“Oh shit.”

The panic set in. “Why? Charlie, what’s wrong?”

“She was supposed to talk to a source after work, but that was hours ago. She’s not taking my texts or calls, and she always does. The girls tried to get a hold of her too, but nothing. When I call, it goes straight to voice mail, so I think her phone is off…or broken.”

I was on my feet instantly, even though I had nowhere to go. “Did you call the police?”

“They won’t file a missing person’s report until she’s been gone for twenty-four hours.”

“Even though she’s a reporter?” I asked incredulously.

“Yeah. I talked to the chief of police and everything. I know all the guys down there, but they still wouldn’t do it.”

Jesus, I was going to have a heart attack.

“I gotta go. I’ve got to make some calls—”

“What was her last location?”

“East of Eden in Brooklyn,” Charlie said. “What are you going to do?”

“Find her.”

“You’re gonna go down there and ask questions? They’re closed—”

“I’m going to hack in to her phone and pull up a location.”

“You can do that?”

“You bet your fucking ass, I can.” I hung up.

I met my software guys at the office, called them in after hours and told them it was an emergency. They worked at their computers as they broke through the firewall of the operating system and actually got into the location services of her phone.

Charlie and Matt sat with the girls, helpless to do anything.

My lead engineer turned to me. “Sir, you know this is illegal—”

“I don’t give a damn,” I snapped. “They can lock me up afterward.”

“Fair enough.” He turned back in his chair and kept working.

“Any updates?” I asked, towering over them from behind.

“We’re working as fast as we can,” Tom said. “Just give some time.”

I walked back to Carson’s friends.

Charlie looked sick to his stomach. Denise cried on and off. Kat seemed like she was in shock. Matt was in a daze, like he had no idea what to do except stare at the wall.

I stood near them, my heart still racing like it was before.

“What do we do when we get her location?” Charlie asked.

“Call the cops and tell them there’s a homicide in progress,” I answered. “I just hope we get there in time.” I continued to watch my guys work on their computers, breaking the privacy laws of this country and