Possessive Doctor

“We lost her, sir. She was in her room. We were asked to attend to another matter, and when we returned, she was gone.”

“Asked by whom?”

“Your mother, sir.”

I stare at the two idiots for a long moment. I rub my temple then let out a breath. “Did she come to you directly?”

Johnson hesitates. “No, sir.”

“Okay. Let me rephrase my question. Who physically came to you and asked you to leave your post?”

“Your cousin, sir. Hannah. And her brother Collin.”

I turn away, shaking with rage. Hannah, too-fucking-smart Hannah.

Of course it was her.

“You’re dismissed,” I growl.

“Sir,” Patricks speaks up. I glance back and Johnson is giving him a dirty look but the man speaks anyway. “I saw them leave, sir. In a car, heading into town.”

“You fucking… saw them?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And you weren’t going to tell me?”

He hesitates. “No, sir. I wasn’t sure they had taken Amber. I didn’t know it was relevant.”

“You two really fucked up,” I say. “You realize that, right?”

“Yes, sir.” Patricks takes a step toward me. “I can help you, sir. Please, we can—”

“No,” I say.

“We can track the car.”

That gets my attention.

“Patricks,” Johnson hisses.

“What do you mean, you can track the car?”

“Everyone has a tracking device on their car,” Patricks says. “Your mother ordered it years ago. Whenever a member of the family is in town, we have a tracking device on their vehicle. She wants to know where you all are at all times.”

The implication hits me like cold water. I want to say that’s absurd, my mother would never do that, but no, that’s exactly something she’d do.

She’s controlling. She’s manipulative. And that makes a fucking ton of sense, looking back. I haven’t spent much time here around the house in years, but back when I did, she’d always seem to know when I was coming home late. She’s be awake and ready for me, almost as if she knew where I was and when I’d get back.

“I’ll deal with that mindfuck later,” I say, rubbing my temples. “Just show me how to track them.”

Patricks nods and step aside. Johnson makes a disgusted face. “I won’t be a part of this,” he says.

“What, you don’t want to fix your fuck-up?”

He looks away. “We were told to keep the system a secret.”

“The system,” I sneer. “Right now, it’s the only thing that can easily get Amber back. So you’re either with us or against us.”

He takes a step away. “I don’t want to lose this job,” he says.

“I think it’s too late for that.”

He clenches his jaw. “If I help, will you… keep me on?”

“What, you’re not going to give me some sob story about a sick mother or something?”

“No,” he says. “I’m not. I just need the job.”

“Fine. If we get her back before midnight tonight, you can keep your job. Otherwise, you’re fucked.”

He nods once. “Fine.”

They lead me away, down a few side hallways, and over toward my parents’ room. We end up on the winding, twisting stairway that leads into my mother’s studio.

“Of course,” I say as we step inside. “Of course it’s here.”

They ignore me. Patricks walks over to a group of paintings and moves them aside. Behind them is a little number panel I’ve never seen before. He types in some numbers then steps back.

Slowly, a small platform rises from the floor. The boards fold back and reveal a computer screen. Patricks begins to touch it once it’s high enough and no longer rising. The thing turns on and populates with a satellite map of the area.

“Every dot is a car,” he says. “Most of them are on the property. But one…” He trails off and moves the map. The dot is stopped on the far side of town. “One is right here.” He taps the dot and a little screen pops up with an image of Hannah’s car.

“That’s it,” I say.

“I don’t know if they’re still there, but the car is.”

“What do you know about Hannah and Collin? Do they have a place in town?”

“I’m not sure,” he admits. “She’s good about evading us. Quiet about it, too.”

I smirk at him. “Doesn’t take much with you two, does it?”

He glares back at me. “We’re trying here.”

I look away and feel bad for half a second. But then I remember Amber was taken by members of my own family, and these two clowns let it happen. So I don’t feel too guilty.

“Come on, let’s go.”

Patricks taps a few buttons and pulls out his phone. He takes a picture of the location then leads the way back out. Johnson follows, looking miserable, but joining in at least.

There’s a large garage on the far side of the mansion. I push open the door and step inside. The two security guys walk over to the lockbox that holds the keys and open it up. Johnson walks over and points at a nondescript black sedan. “We’ll take that.”