floor and noticed that the thick fire door at the top of the steps was propped open with a large stick.
Without giving it much thought, Payne continued his journey down the hallway toward Ariane’s apartment. That’s when he noticed something he couldn’t dismiss. A piece of duct tape had been placed over the peephole of her door. Tape that wasn’t there when he dropped her off the night before.
Suddenly, a wave of nausea swept through Payne’s stomach. He wasn’t sure why, but he knew that something had happened to Ariane.
Payne pounded on her door loudly, hoping that she had overslept or had been in the bathroom when he was buzzing her. But somehow he knew that wasn’t the case. He knew that something was wrong. Very seriously wrong.
“Ariane!” he yelled. “It’s Jon. Open the door!”
When his pleas went unanswered, Payne reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He hit the speed dial and watched as her name and number appeared on the screen. “Come on! Answer the damn phone!”
After four rings, Payne heard a click on the line. It was her voice mail.
Payne cursed as he waited to leave his message. “Ariane, if you’re screening your calls or you’re still in bed, pick up the phone.” There was no response. “I’m really worried about you, so please call me on my cell as soon as you hear this message, okay?”
He hung up the phone, worried. “Think, goddamn it, think! Where could she be?”
Payne racked his brain for possibilities, but couldn’t think of any logical explanations. Most stores weren’t open at that hour, and even if they were, she would have taken her car to get there. Most of her friends would still be sleeping or getting ready for work, so they wouldn’t have picked her up. And her family lived out of state, so she wasn’t with them.
No, something had happened to Ariane. He was sure of it.
PAYNE wasn’t the type of guy who waited around for news. He was the aggressor, a man of action. Someone who followed his instincts, despite the odds. In the military, his gut feelings were so accurate that they were treated with reverence, like a message from God.
And in this case, he sensed that time was precious.
Without delay, Payne took a step back and launched his right leg toward the door. His foot met wood with a mighty thump. It echoed down the hallway like a gunshot. The sturdy frame splintered in several places as the door swung open with so much force that the lower hinge snapped a bolt. Adrenaline was a wonderful thing.
In his former career, Payne would’ve been armed and whispering orders into his headset. But today he was alone and empty-handed, worried about what he might find inside.
Cautiously, he walked into Ariane’s apartment. The place was immaculate. No overturned tables, no broken lamps. And most importantly, no dead bodies. Payne wasn’t sure what he was expecting to see, but he felt a certain sense of relief when he found nothing.
The only damage he noticed was the damage that he had done himself.
Taking a deep breath, Payne realized that he needed a second opinion. And when he needed help, he turned to his best friend. Payne hit his speed dial and waited for Jones to answer.
“Yeah?” Jones croaked, obviously sleeping in on his day off.
“D.J., it’s Jon. Something’s happened, and I need your help.”
That was all that Jones needed to hear.
FIFTEEN minutes later, Jones pulled up next to Payne’s SUV and studied the parking lot, but nothing seemed out of place. “Have you heard from her?”
Payne shook his head as he jogged over to Jones’s car.
“Don’t worry. That doesn’t mean something bad has happened. I’m sure there are a thousand possibilities that could explain where she is, so tell me everything you can. I’m sure we can figure something out.”
Payne nodded while shaking his friend’s hand. “I appreciate you coming over so early. I feel better just having you here.”
“No problem. It’s the least I can do for free office space.”
Payne smiled, but his body language told the real story. He was scared. “You know how I used to get gut feelings back when we were in the MANIACs?”
Jones nodded. “Your gut saved my ass more often than Preparation H.”
“I don’t know why, but I’m getting the same bad feeling right now. I know that something’s happened to Ariane. I don’t know what, but something.”
“Jon, listen. We’ve been out of the military for a while now, so the