I'm Coming For You
HIARDIN'S POV
I stared at the river like it could give me answers.
The way the water crashed against the rocks, swirling and rising with the storm, it looked almost violent—like it had secrets. Like it had taken her and swallowed her whole.
But Ariana didn’t jump.
She wouldn’t.
“She’s not suicidal,” I muttered under my breath, fists clenched at my sides. “She wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t.”
I repeated it again—louder this time, like the words alone could ward off the demons circling my thoughts.
Behind me, the guards were still moving, flashlights bobbing through the rain. Roman spoke into his comms, barking out orders with urgency, but even his voice had a tremble in it.
I turned around and strode toward him. “Call the police.”
Roman blinked. “Sir?”
“I said call the goddamn police!”
He snapped to attention, nodding. “Right away.”
I pulled my phone out again, fingers slippery with rain, and dialed the one number I knew would pick up on the first ring.
“Hardin?”
“Ronny,” I breathed, my voice breaking. “I need you. Now.”
“What happened?”
“It’s Ariana. She’s missing. Her car’s here, engine running, phone inside. She’s just...gone.”
There was a sharp inhale on the other end of the line. Then Ronny’s voice dropped into that controlled, lethal calm he always used when the situation was dire.
“I’m on my way. Where are you?”
“Old Pine Bridge.”
“Twenty minutes. Don’t touch anything. I’ll be right there.”
The line went dead.
I tucked the phone back into my pocket and paced along the gravel, trying to keep my hands from shaking. Trying to stay upright when everything inside me felt like it was collapsing in slow motion.
This wasn’t just fear.
It was dread.
Heavy and all-consuming.
What if someone took her?
What if she cried for help and no one heard?
What if I was too late?
The lights from the patrol cars broke through the trees fifteen minutes later. Blue and red beams flashed against the rain-soaked forest like a warning. Officers emerged, umbrellas up, boots sinking into the mud. One of them approached me, badge glinting in the dim light.
“Mr Richard?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll need a full statement. Can you show us the scene?”
I nodded and led them to the car.
Her scent still lingered.
Like she was there.
Like she’d just stepped away.
God, I wanted to believe that. Wanted to pretend she was just beyond the trees, maybe crying, maybe angry—but alive.
But the longer this went on, the harder it was to cling to that hope.
Another set of headlights cut through the rain. A black SUV pulled up fast and hard. Doors opened.
Ronny stepped out first, his dark trench coat already soaked. His team followed, moving with grim determination. Ronny’s eyes locked on mine.
“Tell me everything.”
I did.
Every fucking detail.
From the phone call to the drive to the abandoned car. From the haunting silence to the river and the bridge.
“She didn’t take her coat,” I said, voice cracking. “Her phone’s still here. The keys were in the ignition. Ronny, she didn’t walk away.”
“No,” he agreed, eyes narrowing. “She didn’t.”
He turned to one of his techs. “Check for prints. DNA. I want everything.”
Another officer approached from the edge of the woods. “We’ve got security cameras at the gas station down the road. One points toward the turn-in here. Want us to pull the footage?”
Ronny nodded. “Yes. Do it now.”
We waited.
Every second that passed felt like a lifetime.
I paced back and forth, fingers flexing at my sides. My eyes scanned the woods again and again, begging for movement. A flash of fabric. A sign.
Anything.
“Hardin,” Ronny called.
I turned toward him.
He looked grim.
“Footage was tampered with.”
My blood turned cold.
“What?”
“The gas station camera. Someone wiped the last hour clean. The rest of the footage is intact, but between the time she arrived and now—it’s gone.”
I couldn’t breathe.
Someone had planned this.
Someone took her.
My knees almost gave out, but I grabbed onto the side of the car to steady myself. I couldn’t fall apart. Not now.
Ronny stepped closer, his voice low. “This wasn’t random. This was orchestrated. Which means she’s alive.”
My head snapped up. “You really believe that?”
He nodded. “If they went through the trouble of wiping the footage, they didn’t want to be seen. That means they’re hiding her. Which means we still have time.”
I wanted to believe him.
God, I needed to.
But the image of her trembling hands, that empty look in her eyes this morning when someone tries to kill her—it haunted me. What if she’d fallen into the wrong hands? What if she was scared and alone and calling my name somewhere I couldn’t hear?
“She’s strong,” Ronny added, like he could hear my thoughts. “She’s smart. And we’re going to find her.”
I clenched my jaw.
“I’m not leaving until we do.”
“We’re staying here tonight. I’ll have my team comb this place until sunrise. We’ll pull satellite images. Drones. Everything.”
I nodded.
The rain showed no signs of letting up, and the night pressed in around us like a predator. But I didn’t move. I stood right there beside her car, unwilling to leave the last place she’d been.
Because until I had her back—
There was no moving forward.
There was no peace.
Only war.
Only fire.
Only vengeance for the bastard who took her.
****
Hours passed.
The forest became a maze of flashlights and shadows. Mud soaked my boots. Rain soaked my clothes. But I didn’t care.
I couldn’t stop seeing her face.
Couldn’t stop hearing her laugh.
Couldn’t stop wondering if I’d ever hear it again.
Ronny came up behind me quietly, his tone softer now. “You need rest. Just an hour. Let us keep working.”
I shook my head. “No. If she’s out there, she needs to know I didn’t stop.”
He didn’t argue.
Just clapped a hand on my shoulder and turned away.
I looked out into the woods one last time and whispered her name.
“Ariana... please hold on.”
Because wherever she was...
I was coming for her.
And God help whoever got in my way.
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