Sin

I was frustrated and angry. Physically putting distance between Taylor and I should have fixed the problem, but it hadn't. She was all I could think about. I dropped my head into my hands and rubbed them over my face. It didn't help that every time I closed my eyes I saw her smiling at me and I felt guilty for leaving abruptly the way I had. Granted, I'd been clear that things between us were over, but packing up and leaving had been going a bit overboard.

When I'd packed my stuff, I'd had no intention of ever going back. Now, sitting in the house I'd bought for my mom, I knew that I had to go back. I couldn't run away from the problem. The only way to deal with it was to face it head on. I eyed the offending folder that still lay on the coffee table. I hadn't been able to open it up and look at what it held, but I had a pretty good idea since I'd lived through all of it—stuff I wasn't proud of.

Feeling agitated, I stood up and began to pace the room.

She'd told me that she hadn't read the folder and I believed her because, if she had, I was pretty sure she wouldn't have wanted anything to do with me. I wouldn't have had a chance to tell her that we were over; she would have told me to leave if she knew. I'd never wanted to erase my past as badly as I'd wanted to when I'd first found out about the murder of Taylor's parents. It was only a matter of time before she found out. I thought about coming clean with her, but I wasn't sure she would want to ever see me again after that.

My phone began to ring and I pulled it out of my jeans pocket. I'd expected it to be Taylor, but it was Slater.

"Hi," I said as I answered the call.

"You need to get your ass back here," he instructed forcefully. He sounded upset and it wasn't like him.

"What's wrong, man?" I asked, knowing my best friend well enough to know that something was going on.

"Look, there's no good way to say this..." he said and I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"It's Taylor," he admitted.

My heart stopped beating for a split second as I felt the fear crash over me like a wave.

"What happened?" I said tightly, already having every worst-case scenario cycling through my mind.

"She's gone," he revealed, and I felt my legs weaken and I slumped down in the chair.

"What do you mean she's gone?" I asked, my voice already thickening with the emotion I felt. I'd asked the question, but I wasn't sure I wanted the answer.

"She's missing," he said softly.

"How long?" I asked, my mind already jumping to the next action I needed to perform.

"A day," he answered. It was already too long.

"I just found out from Jordan," he added.

"I'll call you back," I told him, trying to ignore the fear I felt. I disconnected the call, not giving him a chance to say another word. I searched through my contacts on my phone and dialed a number.

"Yeah," the guy answered.

"You still tailing the guy I asked you to?" I asked urgently as I ran a hand through my hair.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Does he have a girl with him?" I asked, and I held my breath.

"No," he said and I felt my world begin to disintegrate around me.

Caleb didn't have Taylor; he wasn't the stalker. I'd put my guy on the wrong guy.

Fuck!

"You need me to find someone for you?" my guy asked on the other side of the call.

"Yes," I answered, hoping that it wasn't going to be too late. I gave him Taylor's name. He was good—he wouldn't need any more details than that to be able to gather the information he needed.

"How long has she been gone?" he asked.

"A day," I answered.

I heard him sigh on the other side of the phone. Twenty-four hours was too long already.

"You know the odds are she is dead already," he said aloud, which is what I was already thinking.

"I don't fucking care, I want you to find her!" I yelled, not wanting to believe for a second that she might not be alive.

"Sure, boss, I'll find her," he assured me before disconnecting the call.

I began to pace. My shock and fear turned to anger. I called Slater back.

"What happened?" I asked, trying to mentally prepare myself for what I was about to find out.

I didn't understand how she could be gone with a bodyguard glued to her side. How on earth had the guy gotten to her with Matthew around? He was the best that money could buy—I'd checked. It had been the only reason I hadn't hired a bodyguard myself.

"She was with Matthew," he began to explain. "He was driving them to the movies."

I held my breath.

"A car hit them from behind and knocked Matthew out. By the time the ambulances arrived, he was conscious but Taylor was gone, as well as the car that hit them," he finished explaining.

It was unbelievable that the guy had gone to those lengths to get her. I didn't want to think about what he would do to her if he was capable of that.

"Was she hurt?" I asked, feeling the fear clog my throat.

"We don't know," he replied. "Her blood wasn't in the car, but that doesn't mean there weren't any internal injuries."

I began to pace again, not knowing what to do next. She could be seriously injured and in the hands of some crazed stalker.

"I'm on my way back," I informed Slater. I had to get back.

"Sin," Slater said, stopping me, "it wasn't your fault."

He knew me too well. I pressed my lips together, trying to stop myself from arguing about it. It was my fault. If I hadn't left, I probably would have been with her and I might have been able to stop him from getting her.

Twenty-four hours. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to push away the voice in the back of my mind that told me she was probably dead already. I would never forgive myself for abandoning her.

"I'll see you soon," I told him before I ended the call.

"You leaving already?" my mom said as she walked into the room. Her face was pale and she looked tired.

"Yeah, I have to go," I said as I walked down the hall to the room I'd been using.

I got my duffel bag and just started shoving stuff into it. My mind was trying to process everything I'd just found out while trying to concentrate on getting my stuff together so I could get back and find out what was happening.

Did the cops have any leads? Had anyone witnessed the accident? Did they have a description of the car?

I got my leather jacket and put it on. If I hurried, I could be back in an hour. When I reentered the living room, my mom was sitting in the chair.

"I have to go," I told her as I walked to her and dropped a kiss on her cheek.

"Okay, baby," she said, giving me a weak smile. It was still hard to link the person she was now with the mother she'd been to me growing up.

I found my mom's nurse in the kitchen.

"I've got to leave. Keep an eye on her," I said to her. She gave me a brief nod.

"You don't have to worry, Mr. Carter," she assured me kindly. "I'll look after your mom."

"Thanks," I replied before I left. I hurried to my car and as soon as I got into the driver's side, I shoved the duffel bag onto the passenger seat.

I started up the car and prayed that Taylor was still safe. I broke nearly every speed limit, and within forty minutes I was pulling up outside Taylor's apartment.

I felt a nervous fear engulf me as I got to the door of the apartment and knocked.

Matthew opened the door and looked surprised to see me. A large surgical pad covered his forehead.

"Have you found her yet?" I asked as I stepped inside. The look in his eyes made my chest hurt. It felt like a steel grip around my heart.

"No," he said, shaking his head. He dropped his gaze to the floor.

I took a couple more steps before I saw Connor sitting in one of the sofas with his head in his hands and Jordan sat beside him, trying to comfort him.

Jordan looked like she'd been crying.

I didn't want to be around them. It was like they were convinced she was dead already and I wasn't going to give up that easily, not until I saw it for myself.