Freeing Destiny (Fate #2) (30 page)

“Sir? Sir! We’ve landed.” The same flight attendant who served my magic sleep potion was tapping my shoulder to wake me. When I came to, I noticed I was the only passenger still seated. The rest were piling out in a line to get their belongings and be on their way. That exact thought of getting to my destination—Stella—was what revived me from my woozy haze and lit a fire under my ass.

“Sorry. Thanks for a wonderful flight.” In one fluid motion, I stood, grabbed my carry-on from the overhead and nodded at the stewardess. I didn’t give her
or
her disapproving stare a second thought, but I bet she wouldn’t forget me for a while. I liked being the kind of guy to leave a lasting impression. It was fucking fun.

All fun aside, though, it was time to get to my girl. I turned on my phone as soon as I exited the jetway and waited for it to do it’s tormenting
search
thing. Why was it that when you were in a rush the fucking loading-circle seemed to taunt you? I shook the phone, waved it around in different directions as if that would help. When it finally updated, I ignored all the incoming messages and immediately hit the call button to reach Stella.

As I rushed to baggage claim, the phone rang over and over again with no answer. It was late, people were annoyed by my sloppy maneuvering, and I even managed to trip over a toddler who’d scurried a few feet from his mother. “Sorry, little guy. Watch where you’re going.” It was the nice way of telling him to get the fuck out of my way.

Finally at the luggage carousel and out of breath, I ended the call as it went to voicemail—again—and decided to actually check the messages I’d ignored. As far as I knew, her flight was on time, but while I was up in the air and out of reach I could have missed a million different phone calls and various scenarios for why she wasn’t answering. That was to be expected. Traveling during the holidays was complicated to say the least. Delays, layovers, bumps, you name it. Best laid plans were never my specialty. I almost expected to open my messages to find Nina, Gabriella, or Caleb telling me to stay put at the airport because Stella’s plane was right behind mine. Total possibility.

But what I didn’t expect was to be bombarded with tons of missed calls and almost a hundred text messages, all alerting me that no one had heard from Stella yet.

Panic coursed through my veins like wildfire scorching a forest. With my phone in a vise-like grip and my brain running a mile a minute, I searched for the nearest airport personnel to ask about Stella’s flight.

While I waited for the man to be helpful and point me in the right direction, I called Caleb.

“Thank God.” My best friend answered even before a complete ring. “Are you here?”

“Yes,” I barked. “Where’s Stella? Have you found her?” In the one second that passed before he answered, I said God’s name more than I ever have in my entire twenty seven years on this earth.

“No. We’re on our way to the airport to get you and try to figure things out. Relax. I’m sure it’s just a mix up. She’s probably still in flight and can’t answer her phone.”

“Caleb, this is crazy.” With my free hand, I raked my fingers through my unruly hair. “I’m fucking freaking out. What if—”

“Don’t even think like that. We would have heard if something awful—never mind. Don’t go there. Gabriella and I are on our way to JFK. Nina and Ryan are at our place making calls and waiting in case she pops up. Just . . . remain calm.”

How could he even suggest that? My gut told me something was wrong and I knew deep down it wasn’t just one of those moments when you allowed yourself to think the very worst and then it all washed away with a happy ending. No. I felt it. In my marrow, in the hollow hole that was my heart. Something wasn’t fucking right.

Three hours later

“What do you mean, she has to be missing for twenty four hours before you can put out an APB?” Gabriella screamed at the police officer who’d just showed up at their apartment.

The last few hours had been a nightmare, progressively turning into the most horrific, traumatic experience of my life.

She was missing. It didn’t matter that it hadn’t been a full twenty four hours. She was fucking missing. Gone. No trace of her. Her flight had landed on schedule. We were waiting for any information we could get on whether she actually boarded the plane, but everyone was so fucking uncooperative. In the time these assholes had to wait it out to do things by the book, my girlfriend, my beautiful, wonderful Stella, could have been chopped up into little pieces and floating down a river somewhere.

It was morbid. Fucking hyperbolic. Yes, I knew that. But my mind couldn’t go anywhere else. I hadn’t sat since I got out of the car almost three hours ago. My legs paced, aimlessly, my body attached to the limbs but only going with the motions. I was a goddamn wreck. We all were. There was no rhyme or reason for any of this.

A tap on my shoulder startled me from my diabolical thinking. “Hey, can I ask you a few things?”

Nina rested her hand on my shoulder and gave me a faint smile. There was nothing to smile about. She knew that. I knew that. She was probably trying to offer a glimmer of hope when all I could focus on was the darkness.
It’s always dark when the sun doesn’t shine.

Taking a deep, agonizing breath, I nodded. “Of course. What do you need to know?” I didn’t want to come off irritated, but I was. This wasn’t my fault. I wouldn’t be questioned like some suspect in her disappearance. I was just as worried as everyone in this apartment. If not more.

She pulled me into the kitchen, away from the mayhem. The cup of coffee she handed me had the aroma of pity. I didn’t care. I sipped that fucking mercy like it was salvation. No matter that it was way after midnight and coffee had no right to be served at this ungodly hour. I drank it knowing it would help keep me awake until Stella was back in my arms. Found. Not missing.
This is fucking crazy!

“Hey, calm down.” Nina must’ve sensed my mental breakdown. She rubbed her hand up and down the length of my arm. It did nothing to soothe me, but I took a deep breath anyway. “Can you tell me about your last few days together?” she asked on a condescending whisper.

“Don’t.” I winced.

She flinched away, confusion written all over her tired features.

“Don’t interrogate me, Nina. I’m not a criminal. I’m fucking worried sick. This shit today has taken years off my fucking life. Where the hell can she be, Nina? Where!” My voice cracked when I screamed. Warmth choked me; a lump of fear clogged my throat.

“Jack, I’m not—you think I’m
accusing
you?” Her hand flew to her chest, guarding her heart or her pride or whatever the fuck.

“That’s what it sounds like,” I snarled. “Was that your intention?”

“Of course not!” She threw her hands up in surrender. “I’m just trying to—I want answers just like you, Jack. I need to wrap my head around this. That’s all.” Tears rimmed her eyes. They were nothing like Stella’s. In fact, this was the first time I’d noticed how different this set of twins was. To the naked eye, they were identical. But not to me. To me, Nina paled in comparison to her sister. It wasn’t that Nina wasn’t a beautiful girl. She was. But no one was as stunning as my Sunshine.

Before the tears tornadoed into something worse, I yielded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a dick. Ask whatever you want. Whatever will help. We both have the same goal in mind. She needs to be found. Bottom line.”

Nina swiped the fallen tears from her face and cleared her throat. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but . . . did you two fight at all?”

What kind of question is that?
I ignored the stabbing sensation in my gut and tried to understand her motive. It wasn’t clear yet. My last nerve was being tested. “No, we never fought.” It was the truth. With limited time, it was a waste to argue over anything.

“Okay.” She seemed to mark that off her mental list and continued. “And you said she had no idea about you surprising her?”

“Nope. Positive she had no clue.” We’d beaten that to a pulp. Where was she going with this?

“Jack, is there any possibility that she ran away?” Her expression was pained as she asked it. I wasn’t sure if her show of discomfort was for fear of my reaction or hurt over not knowing her twin’s deepest thoughts.

Leaning closer to her, I placed my mug on the table with a loud thud. “Listen to me. She had no reason to run. Forget that idea and move on to the next so we can figure out where the hell she is.” I wouldn’t take one more second of her doubt. I couldn’t imagine what had changed in the last few weeks. Nina was my head cheerleader when it came to booking my surprise flight to New York. Now, her sister was missing and I was the enemy? “Can you get to the point, Nina? I can be of better use with the cop out there.” Frustration was building inside me like a boiling pot of poison. No one wanted to be around when it bubbled over. “She was scared, Jack. This was so fast and new and so different from everything she wanted. She never actually came out and mentioned doubts, but—I know her. Every intricate particle of her brain. I know you love her and I believe that she loves you deeply, too. But—”

“But nothing!” I stood from my chair and slammed the table with my hand. “Here. Look at this! Does this sound like a woman who’s scared? Do you still think she ran from me? That
I’m
the reason she’s missing? That I had anything to do with this fucking mess?” I thrust the crumpled piece of paper at Nina, watching her nose turn up and her lips curl. It was the letter Stella had left me. I’d held onto it as if it were the last piece of her I’d ever own. I prayed over and over again that it wouldn’t be, that I’d get her back. But if I never did—God, don’t fucking do that to me—at least I had this proof that she was happy, she loved me, she was ready to be with me forever.
I was her fucking Flame!

Upon unfolding the letter and reading it, Nina sobbed. “I’m so, so sorry, Jack. I didn’t mean to—” Her words became lost in garbles and wails. She rocked back and forth as she clutched Stella’s note to her chest. It was a lifeline. My lifeline had become hers too.

Bending down to stroke her back, I sympathized with her brokenness and offered the support she should have offered me. “Now that you have proof that we’re on the same team—are you ready to find your sister?” I ignored her excruciating moans because if I listened hard enough, let them creep inside, I’d crumble. I couldn’t do that. Not now. Not when Stella needed me to find her.

Before you can see the light you have to deal with the darkness.
I’d never felt so blinded by lack of brightness. But I couldn’t give up hope. I never would.