Still Waters (Lover's Lake)

"Tatum with you?"

I was trashing the house, turning over the couch, slamming every cupboard, looking for any sign of the woman who’d completely captured my heart.

“Is that blood?” I asked Malik when I finally took in their condition. “Somebody want to tell me what the fuck is going on?”

"We just got back. Walked up the hill. Trashed the car. They sent out a scout,” Malik said between winded pants. “Hopefully, we made it here before they did,” Malik said, his hand on Trudy’s back.

“Fuck me!” I roared. I’d never felt so desperate and it was my own goddamned fault for being irresponsible.

I pulled out my phone and texted the guys we had around the property. We had five or six men stationed at different checkpoints, including some in Lamoille. “Checking the perimeter right now. If they’ve got Fio, I’m fucking taking them all out.”

I felt like I was going crazy. If anything happened to her, if anyone touched a fucking hair on her head, I would tear them limb by limb.

"I can't find her, Malik. We were working on separate systems and she set up code to keep hers going and then ditched us. I fell asleep. By the time I went to check on her, there’s no telling how long she’d already been gone.”

“You were supposed to watch her, dude,” Malik said before muttering, stupid fuck under his breath.

If I wasn’t so scared out of my mind about something happening to Tatum I would have broken his fucking jaw, but right now all I could think of Tatum out there on her own. Alone, scared, in danger, or worse.

I knew in my bones that there would never be another woman for me. Tatum was it and if I couldn't salvage this catastrophe, then that was the end for me.

“Fuck, could the hired security detail be double crossing us?” Malik asked. He’d finally stopped talking to Trudy who was putting me on edge with her crying. She seemed like a nice lady, but right now I couldn’t deal with anything other than finding Tatum.

“Not a snowball’s chance in hell. Tatum works for herself and herself only. I’ve been following Fio for years. She’s a loner with no affiliates.”

“I think I know why she left,” Trudy suddenly said.

Both Malik and I turned to her.

“Sorry for butting in. I think Tatum was falling for Rafa and that’s why she ran. I could see it in her face and I think she probably just got scared. With a background like ours, you can’t blame her for taking off.”

“Fuck!” I exclaimed and punched the wall leaving a hole in my wake.

Malik was doing some shit in the kitchen and then he took Trudy upstairs. I felt like the whole world was ending before my eyes. Even with all the evil that had befallen my family in the past, I’d never felt the severe dread that darkened my horizon like it did in that moment. Thinking that Tatum might be in danger had me dry heaving in between texts to the security agents.

“She may have left on foot. I’m going after her,” I hollered up the stairs.

Just as I was about to head out and look for her by myself, Malik ran down the stairs. “You better not think of going anywhere without me, little brother.”

“I can’t lose her, Mal,” my strangled voice pleaded.

“I know. Let’s go kick some ass and get your girl back.”

“You’ve got tracking on her phone right,” Malik asked as we ran through the woods. My phone rang as soon as he asked the question.

“She’s about a mile ahead,” I said, running with Malik trailing behind me. I prayed it wasn’t just her phone and that Fio was still attached to it. The tracking device showed her in the woods we didn’t know what it would lead to but I didn’t care. I just wanted Tatum in my arms, safe. It dawned on me that it could be a trap, but at this point, I would run into a burning building if it meant I could see her again.

“What’s the ETA?” Malik asked me.

I glanced down at the tracker. “Three minutes or so if we keep our pace.”

Then I saw her platinum blond hair, it was like a beacon of light in the darkness. As we approached, I could see that she was tied up, but standing on her own account. I felt my heart calm down and quicken all at once, glad she was safe but furious that she was tied to a tree by these assholes. I felt a scream rising in me again as I watched the three men circulating her. I pulled my gun out, not caring about being careful just wanting to rip their heads off their bodies.

Malik grabbed me and tackled me as easily as he did when we were kids. Then he basically sat on my chest to hold me back.