“Come in,” I called out and placed another book into the box at my feet. I turned to find Hilarie standing just inside the door with a sad look on her face.
“I’m sorry I missed the party,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. She sniffed, and her chin trembled. “I’m having a hard time with this. I don’t want you to go,” she croaked and burst into tears.
I went to her and wrapped my arms around her. “Oh, Hilarie,” I said and squeezed her tighter. “We’ll still see each other. Croftridge isn’t that far away. We could even meet halfway for dinner once a week if you wanted to.”
I felt her nod against my shoulder. “I would like that,” she said and pulled back, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“I would, too.”
“I’m sorry for being such a bitch the last few weeks. I really do want you to be happy,” she said and reached for a box I hadn’t noticed. She picked it up and lifted the lid. “Peace offering?” she asked and held out the box filled with lemon squares from my favorite bakery in Sugar Falls.
I grinned. “I’m stuffed from the party, but I can always make room for a lemon square,” I said as I surveyed the box and shamelessly reached for the biggest one. I pointed to one square in the corner. “Is that one different?”
“Oh, I almost forgot about that one. Yes, it’s a peanut butter treat for Titan. Is it okay for him to have?”
I nodded and swallowed a mouthful of goodness. “Yes, he’s had them before, and he loves them.”
“I know you said he’s friendly, but I think I’ll let you give it to him,” she said with a nervous laugh.
I took the treat from the box and held it out for Titan who swallowed it instantly. “Did you even taste it, boy?” I asked with a giggle.
Hilarie laughed, too. “I don’t see how he could have.” She glanced at her watch. “I have a conference call starting in five minutes. What time are you leaving?”
“I’m staying until the end of the day, just in case anyone has any last-minute questions about my previous patients.”
“Oh, good. I’ll come back and help you finish packing once I finish my call.”
“Thank you,” I said and hugged her again before she left.
With Titan sleeping in the corner of my office, I turned on some soft music and got to work. I was halfway through filling the third box when I decided to take a break. Yawning, I made my way over to the small sofa in my office. I collapsed onto the leather, closed my eyes, and fell into a dreamless sleep.
I don’t know if it was just luck or some subconscious instinct for self-preservation, but my mind seemed to wake up before my body did. The moment my mind was back online, I knew something was wrong. I was cold and lying on something that was decidedly not the sofa in my office. My head was throbbing, and my hands and feet felt tingly like they weren’t getting enough blood flow. That was when I realized my hands and feet were tied to something. Willing myself to maintain a steady breathing pattern, I cracked one eye open enough to get a glimpse of my surroundings, but I couldn’t see anything. Slowly, I opened both eyes and realized there was nothing for me to see because I was in total darkness.
Don’t panic.
Don’t panic.
Don’t panic.
No matter how many times I said it to myself, it didn’t work. After dealing with anxiety issues for years and years, somewhere along the way, I learned that sometimes it takes more time and energy to fight off a panic attack instead of letting it run its course. So, I surrendered to the panic, the fear, the helplessness, the overwhelming sense of doom. I cried; I writhed; I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I let it all happen, and when it was over, I started trying to figure out where in the fuck I was and what the fuck had happened.
The first thing that occurred to me was that Titan wasn’t with me. If he was, he would have tried to comfort me during my panic attack. How had someone gotten to me with Titan around? He was sleeping in my office when I fell asleep. That’s when I realized someone had drugged me, and likely Titan as well. Fuck.
Before I could analyze my situation any further, the door to the room opened, and someone stepped inside.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Carbon
I barreled through the front doors of the clubhouse and ran straight for Church. I called Duke first and told him to get his ass to the clubhouse and bring my sister and nephew. Then, I called Phoenix and told him I needed him to call an emergency Church. He didn’t ask questions and didn’t give me any shit about it. He just said, “Okay,” and disconnected the call.
When I arrived, everyone except Shaker was already there. I wasn’t going to waste time and wait for him. “I can’t find Harper, and I know something is wrong,” I blurted, trying to catch my breath.
Duke was instantly on his feet. “What the fuck do you mean you can’t find her?”
“Today was her last day at work. She was going to leave from there to come here. She should have been here over an hour ago. Her cell phone is going to voicemail, and she’s not answering her office phone. I had Judge tap into the camera feed at her house, and there’s no sign of her. We have to find her!” I screamed. I was losing my shit. After what had just happened to my sister and Harper having been kidnapped before, my mind was flooded with worst-case scenarios that could be playing out that very minute.
“Lock it down, Carbon. We’ll find her, but wrestling with you will take time away from searching for her,” Phoenix said sternly.