Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59120 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59120 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
“The only mistake,” she whispers, “is that I didn’t end you sooner.”
Travis
She’s never late.
Violet occasionally works longer, but not this long.
She always comes home.
After she didn’t answer any of my calls, I came to the office to track her down. When I arrive, nobody is there. I call Janice, no answer, so I call Haylee.
“Hi Travis,” she answers, her voice light.
“Sorry to bother you, Haylee. But I’m looking for Violet. She hasn’t come home.”
“She was at the office when I left. She said she had a lot of work to do. Have you called Janice?”
“Yeah, no answer. I’ll try again.”
I hang up and dial Janice once more, and this time, she answers. “Travis, is everything okay?”
“Yeah, but I can’t find Violet. Was she at the office when you left?”
“She was. She said she was working late. I told her to lock up, but I haven’t seen her.”
“Fuck,” I mutter, more to myself than her.
“Have you called her?”
I want to snap, of course I have, but I don’t. “Yeah, no answer. Not with her parents. Not with Reagan. I don’t know where she is.”
“Oh,” her voice sounds concerned. “Do you want me to come and help you look?”
That will go down well.
Not.
“Nah, it’s fine. I’ll keep you updated.”
I go up to Violet’s office and see that it is all locked up. She definitely isn’t here. I head back to my desk to get my work phone, because I left it here earlier. I pick it up and am about to put it in my pocket when I notice a message from Violet on the screen. She never messages this phone. Frowning, I open it and see she is responding to a message sent from my phone a couple of hours ago telling her I have a surprise and to meet me downstairs. I never sent that message.
Everything inside me goes still.
Someone sent that to her, to lure her out.
I get the hell out of the building, throw myself into my car, and speed toward the Chief’s house. When I arrive, the Chief and Bill stand on the lawn, hands on hips. They’re deep in conversation about something, but when Chief notices my face, his immediately becomes concerned.
“What is it?” he asks, the second my feet hit the grass.
“I can’t find Violet.”
The air around us thickens.
Chief and Bill both lock eyes on me, and the heat of their stares burns through me. A second passes, two, before Chief’s voice cracks like gunfire. “What do you mean, you can’t find her?”
My pulse is in my throat. “She was at work. I went by when I couldn’t get hold of her. She isn’t there. Can’t find her anywhere.”
Bill frowns, brows stitched so close they nearly meet in the center. “Have you called—”
“Everyone.” I pull my phone from my pocket, wave it uselessly. “Someone texted Violet from my work phone. Told her to meet in the parking lot for a surprise.”
Bill glances at Chief. “You didn’t send that?”
I shake my head. “Never touched the damn phone. Left it at my desk until an hour ago. Only saw the message when I went up there to check.”
A silence settles, the kind that feels like all the air has been sucked out of the night. Chief’s breathing is deep and ragged. “Who the hell would want to hurt her?”
My mind flips through possibilities. “I don’t—” The word dies on my lips. But I do know. Something cold trickles down my back.
Chief glares at me when my voice trails off. “Who has access to your office? Your phone?”
“Janice,” I force out. “It’s Janice.”
She is the only person outside of Violet who has the key to that office.
The only one who wants me.
The only one who couldn’t stand Violet coming back.
“Fuck,” I roar.
Violet was right, all along.
I didn’t listen to her.
I pull out my phone, trying to call Janice again.
She doesn’t answer.
Over and over, I call.
She ignores it.
“Get in the truck,” Chief orders.
I don’t argue.
I get in.
Chief’s fingers drum on the steering wheel as he speeds down the road, no doubt having no idea quite where he is going. “She’s been obsessed since you broke it off, am I right?”
I stare ahead, the road a silver thread unwinding into darkness. “She’s smarter than I gave her credit for,” I say, quiet. “I should have listened to Violet.”
Chief grunts, but he doesn’t make me feel any worse than I already do. “Where would she take her?”
I run through every memory, every conversation about family, about the city, about her sad, empty little life. I shake my head. “She’s a control freak. She wouldn’t risk public places, wouldn’t risk anyone seeing. She’s always worked late, stayed behind when no one else does. There’s a storage basement at the company’s warehouse. It’s the only place I can think of.”
Chief grunts approval. “Let’s go.”