Chapter 153: Surveillance
- RAYA -
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. This isn’t happening.
"Why would anyone take Rory?" I ask Dex while we speed back to the country club. "I don’t understand. Who even was it? Lawson is gone, and Kenneth Rider is in jail. This doesn’t make sense."
"You’re right, it doesn’t," Dex says, gripping the steering wheel. "We’re going to find her."
"And why her? I... I don’t even understand why we think someone was after me, much less her. We don’t look anything alike. I don’t think Rory has any enemies..."
Instead of answering or commenting on my thoughts, Dex sighs softly and glares out at the road. I can tell he’s trying to keep it together for me.
We had just gotten back to the house when he received the call from Luciano, and then all the tension he had let go of came back. And my hands are clasped permanently in front of me in a silent plea for her to be okay.
Please, please, please let my sister be okay. She’s been through enough. Nothing can happen to her. No, no, no.
"Is Luciano calling the police?" I ask.
"I doubt it," he says. "Once we get there, we can do it, okay? The staff is already checking the security footage. Hopefully this is just some kind of misunderstanding. Maybe she’ll be there when we get there."
"God, I hope so."
It seems like an eternity later when we finally pull into the long drive that winds around the front of the country club even though it’s only been minutes—too many minutes. The drive has emptied of many of the cars that were parked here earlier—one of them belonging to a kidnapper and others to potential witnesses that have already left.
Dex can’t get to the valet fast enough, and as soon as we pull in, I jump out and run inside without waiting for him. I’m not worried about appearances any longer. I don’t care what anyone thinks or what I look like at the moment. All I’m concerned about is finding my sister.
"Dad," I say, finding him pale and clutching a purse and a broken woman’s heel in his hands amidst several other worried-looking people. The shoe and purse he’s holding are Rory’s. As soon as I see them, my stomach bottoms out. "She’s still not here?"
He shakes his head, and that’s when my tears that have been threatening finally begin spilling out.
"Are the police here?" I choke out.
As soon as the words leave my mouth, Dex strides in with a stormy, authoritative presence that seems to part the chaos in the lobby. He’s angry. Even I can feel it rolling off of him, and an older gentleman who appears to work for the club approaches him right away and ushers him toward an office where I quickly follow with my dad in tow.
"Mr. Mobius, sir, I’m so sorry. When you warned us about security for this event, I never imagined..."
"What’s your name?" Dex asks, cutting the older man off and inadvertently causing him to visibly flinch.
"G-Greg, sir."
"Greg. What have you found? Have the police been called?"
"Yes, yes. They’re on their way. Here, let me show you the video."
Greg walks to a desk with a monitor and several small boxes of surveillance videos displayed all at once on the screen. When he bends over the desk to start hitting keys, I notice his hands shaking.
One video enlarges to take up the whole screen. The feed looks over a section of the lawn facing the long drive of cars, and when Greg plays it, a broad man passes carrying a woman—presumably my sister—over his shoulder. I cover my mouth, more tears falling.
This is real. This is really happening, and here is the evidence.
The angle of the camera only allows the back of the man to be seen from above. There is no way to see his face, but I know just by his build that it’s not the same guy I saw in the cemetery. The one in the cemetery looked scrawny compared to this guy.
"This man somehow gained access to a rear entrance. We are a secure facility, so I don’t understand... that door can’t be opened from the outside," Greg says shakily. "But he appears to have had little problem with it."
He plays another video, this time of the man wearing a fedora and approaching over the same expanse of grass. There is still no view of his face. The hat blocks it.
"Is that the same man from the cemetery? The same hat?" Dex asks, looking my way.
"No," I say, shaking my head.
This doesn’t make any sense. Why would there be another creep showing up? What kind of twisted parallel dimension have we fallen into that’s crawling with evil, horrible men everywhere we turn?
"Is there video of his vehicle?" Dex asks next, turning back to Greg.
Greg hits another button, and we see a distant shot of the man walking around an SUV that’s mostly obscured by a tree trunk and full, leafy branches. Nothing else can be seen until the vehicle pulls out and drives away.
"Where’s my cousin?" Dex asks next, and I don’t hear the rest of what is said, because I’m fixed on the screen with so many thoughts running through my mind and blood rushing like a torrential, angry flood in my ears.
Nothing else happens on the video after the SUV leaves, but that’s it—that’s the moment my sister was taken. She’s gone. She could be anywhere. She could be hurt or worse.
What are the police going to do? They’re not even here yet, which means this is is all taking way too long. How long ago did this happen? An hour ago? They could be... they could be anywhere.
"Raya," Dex says, taking hold of my arm and leading me out of the office.
My eyes find his, and he pulls me further out of the lobby of the building, looking behind him to see if anyone is following.
"Luci is already going after her. He’s not here."
My brows pinch. "Going after her how? How is he going to find her? That video... you could hardly see anything."
"If he’s not here, he’s found something to pursue. I’m going to call him, okay? Are you okay?"
I nod numbly and watch him pull out his phone. How Luciano could have any idea about how to find her, I don’t know. But God, I hope Dex is right.
