Judah walks into the kitchen, meeting my eyes and immediately becoming our take-charge President. “Give me what you have so far.”
I run down what has transpired since I woke up and my phone call with Ellen just now. Judah pulls out his phone, clicks on a few things, then holds it out in front of him, on speakerphone.
We hear it ring several times, before a woman’s voice comes on the line. “Hello, Priscilla?”
“No, ma’am. My name is Lukas Freidman, I’m trying to reach Primo Pipilini.”
Her voice catches, “I’m his wife, Eve. I’m sorry, we are in the middle of a family emergency—”
“That’s what I am calling about. I’m with Garrett Havlin, Priscilla’s boyfriend.”
“Where is she? Do you know what happened to her?” She cries into the phone.
“Where is my daughter?” A deep voice roars over the line.
“Pip, this is Lukas Freidman, Judah from Golem Guerillas.”
“Do you know where she is?”
“We were calling hoping you might now.” I answer him. “My name is Garrett Havlin, Priscilla’s boyfriend. She was supposed to come over last night but never showed. I haven’t been able to reach her on her cell phone, and I’ve been by her apartment and called the hospital where she works. I can’t…I can’t find her.”
“She called me last night…” He begins, his voice haunting. “I could hear her scream and cry out.” I slump into my seat, my cheeks wet with tears. Zeb and Judah each grab a shoulder, lending me their support. “She wouldn’t answer me, I stayed on the line hoping, then the call disconnected. I called the police, but her phone is off and it’s not bouncing on any towers and the fucking find me app isn’t working.”
“Sir, my name is Asher. I’m the Sergeant at Arms and head of security. Did you hear anything on the call that might indicate where she was?”
“No.” Primo’s voice is hoarse, and I can hear Eve crying in the background. “I told the police everything I knew. Do you know how she might have gone home last night? What route? I didn’t know what to tell the police when they asked.”
I clear my throat to answer, “There are a few ways she could get here. Do you have the number and name of who you spoke to on the force?”
He relays the information. “Primo, I’m going to text you our address, if nothing else, why don’t you and your wife start making your way up here, while we canvass the area.” Judah says, taking control of the situation.
“Yes. That’s a good idea. We will leave in a few minutes. Thank you for calling me. We need…please find her, find our Principessa.”
I text everyone, telling them to meet us in synagogue. Within 15 minutes we are all present, even Benji, pouring over maps on the computer and printed, trying to figure out what route she might have taken to come here. After divvying up the possibilities, we take off in pairs, leaving Sim and Benji behind to meet Priscilla’s parents.
“All the breath in my lung will not sustain me if I cannot find her. The beating of my heart will only serve as a reminder that it beats for no one if she is not found. Lead me to her, let her be alive when I find her. And show no mercy for the soul of whoever hurt her when I deliver them to your door.”
“Amen, brother. Let’s ride.” Judah claps my back and off we go.
Ephraim 21.
We ride for almost two hours, finding no sign of her. My brothers check in regularly, Sim marking off what we have searched on the map at the clubhouse.
“Issachar and Dan, you two are closest to the last couple of roads she could have taken from the hospital. Check them out and report back.” Sim says over the comms.
“On our way.” Dan responds immediately.
Judah and I are stopped on the side of the road and my skin is itching in anticipation. We have searched nearly every street between her hospital and the clubhouse. Nothing.
“We are gonna find her. Elead needs his mame.”
I don’t respond, I can’t think of anything to say. Minutes that feel like hours later, screaming comes over the comm. “We’ve got her. Oh fuck! Iss call an ambulance, now!”
“Where are you?” Judah asks calmly.
He and I race towards the address, making it just as an ambulance arrives on the scene. Her car is on the side of the road, hazard lights flashing, her passenger side window is busted, but otherwise her car looks alright.
It’s the sight on the other side of the car, in the grass, away from passing eyes, that brings me to my knees. My b’shert is lying still, her chest barely rising, her face beaten beyond recognition, her long blond hair matted in dirt and blood, her body covered in wounds. My Golem Guerillas t-shirt she pilfered the only reason I can even identify her at all.
“No, no, no.” I just keep whispering it over and over again, as I stare at her near lifeless body.
The paramedics break through my brothers and start working, while I kneel on the ground, feet away, feeling my heart crumble in my chest. I turn to the side quickly and vomit. Judah and Issachar grab my arms and hoist me into the air. I’m carried to the ambulance as Judah explains that I am her boyfriend and need to be with her. After a quick back and forth, the paramedic pushes us aside so they can move her into the ambulance.
“Sorry, her injuries are too substantial, we can’t have anyone in the rig.”
I watch as they drive off, unable to move. “Primo.” I whisper, catching Judah’s attention.
“Sim has already relayed the info; they are taking her to her hospital. He is driving her parents there, and Prospect is picking you up in a cage.”
“She was barely breathing.” I bite back a sob. “I can’t lose her.”
“She’s a tough girl, and she loves you.
