Chapter 117

No one even dared to breathe. Captain Whitlock’s words sent a shock to the room, and no one wanted to acknowledge what he said. Things were just cranked up to 100, and no one knew what to do about it.
“Holy shit,” Will finally said. “This is proof. This is proof that Grace is involved.”
“The drugs she planted in your car,” Alex realized. “She got them from your uncle.”
“It’s more than that,” Captain Whitlock said. “He’s a suspect in several large cases in Singapore and here. A few people tried to bring him in. Those people disappeared. It’s clear that you’re his actual target, Will.”
“How do you know this?” Alex asked. “I’ve had people tailing him, and he’s not made any movements.”
“You’re right,” Captain Whitlock agreed. “I sent in an agent to try and gather some inside intel.”
“That must have been hard. Robert is paranoid as fuck,” Will scoffed.
“Yeah, I wish you would have told me that. Well, anyway, I sent the agent in with the catering vendor. We switched them out with someone that had already been vetted. It almost didn’t work, but somehow, we were able to get in undetected. Then we called in a threat on the building and had it evacuated for an hour. My agent then went into his office and what he saw was bad.”
“What did he see?” Sabrina asked.
“He’s been tailing you for months, Will. He lost track of you when you took off for paternity leave, and that’s when he decided to proceed with this plan. He’s using your girlfriend as bait. He wants to kill you. And he’ll kill her, and anyone else he has to so he can get to you.”
“No,” Sabrina gasped. Her heart stopped in her chest. The image of her best friend, sprawled on a floor and covered in blood flooded her mind.
“And you’re right. Your ex-wife is involved.”
“I fucking knew it!” Sabrina cried. Angry tears spilled from her eyes as she slammed her hands on the table. “That crazy, evil bitch! I’ll rip her apart myself!”
“Will, I know you want to be out there, looking for your girl.”
Spencer bristled every time Captain Whitlock referred to Emma as Will’s girlfriend. It grated along his nerves like sandpaper across skin.
“But you have to be careful,” the captain continued. “I suggest that you stay put. As far as I know, he doesn’t know where you are. You need to keep it that way. I’m assembling a team of officers. Just say the word and I’ll send them to you. You have to stay out of the search.”
“Thanks, Captain,” Alex answered. Will was frozen in stunned fury. “We’ll be in touch.”
“I was also able to confirm your other friend was there as well. A Miss Jessica Royce.”
“Shit!” Sabrina whimpered.
“We’ll get your friends back,” Captain Whitlock assured them all. “And the people responsible will pay for what they’ve done.”
Captain Whitlock hung up. Alex held Sabrina as she cried into his chest.
“I’ll kill her myself,” she wailed. “She’ll regret the day she ever dared to touch my friends. I fucking swear it.”
The room spun around him and every breath he took was like knives in his lungs. Will’s chest got tighter and tighter as though a hand was wrapped around his heart. He could hear his blood in his ears, rushing in like angry waves in a storm. He shot up and rushed out the door. The shouts from his friends were drowned out by the tempest raging inside of him. A hand on his shoulder startled him.
“Where are you going?” It was Spencer.
He was surprised to see Will’s expression. There were tears in his eyes, but his face wasn’t sad. It read of rage and desperation.
“I have to find her,” Will answered. His voice was thick and heavy.
“You heard what Captain Whitlock said. He said you had to…”
“I heard him!” Will yelled and pushed away from Spencer. “He said that I’m the target! And that Robert is hurting Emma because he wants to hurt me! This is happening to her because of me! This is my fault. I can’t sit around and wait for someone to save her.”
“You’re scared,” Spencer said.
“Of course, I’m scared!” Will shot back. “The mother of my child, the woman I love is in danger!”
Spencer stared at him. Every hope he once had to be with Emma deflated.
They heard a small gasp behind them. They looked back and saw Sabrina at the doorway, her hands over her mouth.
“I knew it,” she whispered.
“Knew what?” Will asked.
“Do you have any idea of what you just said?”
Will replayed his words in his mind, and his eyes went wide when he realized what he said.
“It’s true,” he said. “I love her.” He’d never been able to say those words out loud before. A small part of pride impeded him. But it was mostly fear. He was afraid that be saying it out loud, he would be exposed. She could take those words and hurt him with them. But now, there was a new fear. One that overrode everything else. It was the fear of losing her. The thought alone left a giant, gnawing wound in his heart.
“You’re not the only one that loves her,” Spencer said. “I’m worried for her too. But where will you go?”
“Anywhere. Everywhere! I will tear this whole city apart to find her.”
There really is no hope for me, is there? Spencer thought. He sighed with the all the weight of his love for Emma, knowing that at this point that she would never be his.
“When we find her,” Spencer choked. “She’ll ask for you. How do you think she’ll feel if something happened to you because you tried to save her? You need to be here. For when she comes back. She’ll… want you.”
“He’s right,” Sabrina said. “I want to tear everything apart to find her too. And Jess. Those are my best friends out there, okay? Those are my sisters. But we have to do this the right way. If we run out into the world right now and mess up somehow… it could be bad for them. And what if something happens to you? Think about Lizzie.”
Hearing his daughter’s name defused him and the storm settled a bit. He had to keep a level head. Shame filled him for not thinking of his daughter.
“We haven’t slept, and we’re really frazzled right now. We’re not thinking straight,” Spencer said, putting his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Let’s wait for the captain’s people inside.”
“Right,” Will managed. “Is she awake?”
“The babies are still sleeping,” Sabrina answered as Will and Spencer walked back into the house. Her eyes were red rimmed and puffy. A thick, crocheted blanket was draped over her shoulders. It cocooned her, a shield protecting her from the reality of the world. She was smaller beneath it. Smaller in general, Will thought. It wasn’t right. Sabrina was fire personified. And she looked extinguished.
Alex had set out food in the dining room for everyone. He encouraged everyone to eat.
“It’s clear that no one is going to sleep. We should at least have some fuel in our system.”
“Good idea,” Sabrina said, smiling at him. He opened his arms for her. She rushed into him and buried her face in his chest. Will and Spencer watched the moment, and each of them felt a pang of jealousy. It was such an innocent display of intimacy. Both longed for the same woman, but one of them knew he would never share a moment like that with her.
Time trickled by, like thick sand in an hourglass. The sunrise found them seated at the dining room table, picking at the remnants of the food Alex had laid out for them. After the first bite, Will found he was ravenous and devoured about half of it on his own. At around six in the morning, a knock came at the door.
“That must be Whitlock’s people,” Alex said. “Thanks for coming… Holy shit,” he said, as he opened the door. “No fucking way.”
“What’s wrong?” Will asked, coming to the door. He eyes went wide as he saw who was there. “Well, fuck.”
“Long time no see, boys,” Captain Damon Whitlock stood in the doorway. His imposing size taking up the entire frame.
“Oh my,” Sabrina said as she walked over to see what the commotion was. Damon Whitlock was a mountain. His long, dark, shaggy, shoulder length hair hung loose around his shoulder. Equally dark eyes lived in a face that looked like it was chiseled from marble. His dark skin absorbed all the light around him. His hands were as large as saucers. A dark shirt stretched across the vast expanse of his wide chest.
“Are you all going to stare at me, or you going to invite me in?”
“What are you even doing here?” Will asked. “I thought you were sending people.”
“I am. They’re right behind me.” He stepped to the side and there were three people behind him. “But, with everything going on, I feel involved, and I couldn’t leave you hanging. I’m going to see this through.”
“Thanks,” Will smiled warmly at him.
“Come on, then,” Alex said. “There’s some food in the dining room. You can set up in there.”
“You must be Sabrina,” Captain Whitlock said as he saw her.
“It’s nice to meet you, Captain Whitlock.”
“Please, call me Damon,” he winked at her.
“Hey!” Alex called out. “No flirting with my wife!”
“You always did have good taste in women,” he laughed. “If things don’t work out with that one, give me a call.”
Sabrina was flustered at his boldness but couldn’t help but laugh.
“And you must be Spencer,” he said, shaking Spencer’s hand.
“Thank you for helping us, sir.” Spencer said.
“It’s my pleasure,” he smiled. “That’s enough for the cozy chit chat. Come one guys,” he motioned his crew to come forward. “Set up everything up. We’ve got work to do.”