He nodded. “Yes, sir. No problems other than some bum trying to sneak into the fitness room to shower.”
I stopped breathing. “The fuck did you just say?”
The guard shook his head. “Oh, he didn’t try to get on the elevator. Just creeping around the fitness room.”
All brawn. No brain.
“But you left the elevator to go throw him out?”
He swallowed as realization widened his eyes.
The elevator doors opened, and I rushed inside, giving him a burning glare before they closed again. I jabbed a finger his direction. “Don’t you fucking move. Because if anything happened to her, I swear to God, I will kill you myself.”
I quietly scanned the open space the second I stepped inside my apartment, looking for anything out of place. Dread sneaked in and coated my veins, freezing my bloodstream and chilling me to the bone with every step I took.
How could I have been so fucking stupid?
I should have taken the car and left Alec here. I should have made Tatum come with me, but I’d thought it was a trap.
And it was—just not for me.
I knew Dad was playing head games with me when I got the phone call. My mistake came in thinking his mind fucks were small ball. I assumed this was another paperwork trail he wanted me to chase, like the one he’d started with my trust. He wanted to keep my future dangling just far enough in front of me that I could see it but not reach it.
The thought even crossed my mind that maybe it was a lure. Maybe he’d stage a robbery-gone-wrong or some other fucked-up bullshit ploy to try to scare me.
I was ready for that.
I was wrong.
He had bigger plans, and they didn’t involve just me anymore.
Downstairs was empty. No sign of a struggle. Nothing out of place.
Before I reached the top step, my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and damn near cried when Tatum’s name flashed on the screen.
“I thought I told you not to leave, Little Troublemaker.”
“Yeah, well, we both know I’m shit at following directions.”
Lincoln.
Not Tatum.
It was Lincoln’s voice on the other line.
“Why the fuck do you have Tatum’s phone?”
“Why the fuck did you call her a troublemaker?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. I didn’t have time for this bullshit.
My bedroom was empty. The covers were still a tangled mess from last night and this morning. Her scent still filled the air. But she was gone. My heart tried clawing its way out of my chest.
I walked into the bathroom. “I have to go.” It was empty. The shower hadn’t been used.
“Wait. Where’s my sister?”
I gritted my teeth. “Good question. Why don’t you ask your piece of shit father and his new friend Khalid?” I said, then ended the call.