“Yeah, I thought so too,” Roman says.
I keep watching, noticing she’s on her phone but that she didn’t call me or any of the girls. Was she talking to Paul? Finally, she removes the phone from her ear and turns around as if starting back to the club.
“She’s coming back,” I say in relief.
Then, like a scene from a horror movie, I can only watch with dread as a van pulls up beside her. I want to yell at my best friend to keep walking, to go into a store or run away. But it’s no use.
I know what’s going to happen before it even does, but that doesn’t make it any less disturbing when the men grab her, forcing her into the van so quickly no one around seems to notice.
“Oh god!” I say as I cover my gaping mouth and tears stream down my cheeks when the van speeds away with Tessa inside. “She’s gone!”
“We’re going to find her,” Roman says, but his words don’t give me even a shred of hope. How can he make such a ridiculous promise when we have no clue who those men are, where they took her, or-or what they’ve done to her? And what they’re doing to her right now as I sit here, unable to do a goddamn thing to stop it!
“We will find her,” the arrogant bastard says again.
“How, Roman? You’re not omniscient!” I say as I jump to my feet and pace around the bedroom floor. “You don’t know any more than I do about where she is or who has her!”
“Not yet, but I will,” he says when he stands up and blocks my path. “Do you hear me, Charlotte? We will find her.”
“When? Tonight? Tomorrow? Next week? It’s already too late! She could already be…”
“It’s not too late.” He cuts me off before I can voice the worst imaginable thought. “You need to stay optimistic here, okay?”
“How? How can I stay optimistic? My best friend is gone, and-and right now the most god-awful things imaginable are probably being done to her, and it’s all my fault! I brought her here. I’m the one who suggested we go to your stupid club last night, and now she’s gone and may be hurting all because of me!”
“This isn’t your fault,” Roman says as he grips both of my shoulders tightly. “The only person or people to blame are those fuckers in that van! But you can bet your ass that I will find them and make them pay for this!”
“Don’t make promises to me that you have no possible way to keep!”
“You haven’t known me very long, but I always keep my promises. It’s only been a few hours. My guys and I will track down the van and find her even if we have to knock on the door of every hotel on the goddamn strip”
Now, seeing the determination on his face, the hardness in his eyes and stubborn jut of his chin, I want to believe him; that he cares and that he’s going to do everything he can to help us find her.
“Th-thank you,” I say before I bury my face in the front of his shirt and the first of many sobs erupt.
How could this happen? I should’ve kept a better eye on Tessa. She shouldn’t have ever left the building without one of us, true, but we had all been drinking, me less than everyone else, which is why I should’ve noticed when she left and went with her.
“I know what you’re thinking, Charlotte,” Roman says when he wraps his arms around me and rubs his palms up and down my back. “But if you had gone with her, then both of you would probably be missing right now.”
Maybe so, but maybe not.
I stand there in his arms for god only knows how long, crying while he keeps me upright. Before, when I knew Tessa had disappeared, I couldn’t figure out what to tell her fiancé. Now, with what we know, how the hell am I supposed to tell him that the woman he loves to death was taken by a group of men?
“How about I get one of the girls to come in here and sit with you?” Roman asks when he guides me to the bed and urges me to take a seat. “I need to fill the rest of the guys in. They’re waiting for me back at the clubhouse right now so that we can get to work.”
“I’m going with you,” I tell him.
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am,” I say as my fingers wipe away the dampness from my cheeks. “I have to do something. I can’t just sit here! Please!” I look up at him and beg him to bring me along; because if I have to just sit around in this house, unable to do a fucking thing, I’ll lose my mind.
“Fine, but we need to leave soon.”
“Okay. Thank you,” I say when I try to stand up from the bed and Roman grabs my arm to help me stay steady. “First, though, I need…I have to call Paul.”
“Who?”
“Tessa’s fiancé,” I answer. “And then I need to tell the other women what you found out.”
“Tell them and then tell them to go home,” Roman suggests. “If this happened to Tessa in my town right in the middle of the street, then it could happen to them too. I have a feeling it’s not the first time those assholes have grabbed a woman. Send them home.”
“The girls won’t like that, not being here to help...”
“Too bad. I’ll close this entire fucking town to everyone if I have to until we find her. Convince them to go home and stay safe, so I have a few less things to worry about. Because when I find out who these people are, we’re going to war until every single one of them
