Garrett’s Destiny by Anna Blakely

Chapter 18

Eight days. It had been eight glorious, blissful days since she and Garrett had reunited. And boy, what she’d heard about makeup sex…

Holy multiple orgasms, Batman!

Everything she’d ever read about makeup sex was true. And then some.

Garrett had spent that first night making her scream so loud Avery was sure her neighbors were going to call in a noise complaint. And they’d been nearly as bad every night, since.

Either he’d stay at her place, or she’d go to his. She’d cook them dinner or they’d order in so they could eat in their underwear and then hop right back into bed—or the shower—for another round of mind-blowing pleasure.

They both still worked, of course. They’d kiss each other goodbye in the mornings, then again when they’d see each other at night. For Avery, it was like she’d gone from missing a part of herself to feeling so full of love and happiness she thought she would burst from it.

Not that she intended to stop.

No, life was good. Better than good. And she had a feeling it was only going to get better.

Avery smiled as she entered the parking garage located next to the building she’d just been in. One of the bigger companies she’d done some work for had called her this morning, asking if she’d come by and help show their new tech guy the basics of her accounting program they’d recently purchased.

Apparently, their former tech person just up and quit without so much as a notice, so no one had been able to train this new guy on the innerworkings of the set-up. Since she had the afternoon free, Avery had been happy to come by and do it.

Her heels clicked across the pavement as she made her way down the ramp to the level where her car was parked. Normally, she parked on the street, because let’s face it…parking garages are just plain creepy.

But the street crews were out doing their monthly cleaning, so she’d had to settle for parking in here.

Avery’s phone began to ring from inside her purse, making her jump. Damn, she thought she was getting better at that. She had been better. Especially this past week.

It’ll take some time, sweetheart. You just have to give it time.

Those had been Garrett’s sweet, caring words to her when she’d woken them both up that first night he’d stayed with her. She’d been having a dream—a nightmare, really.

They’d been back in that warehouse and that man was taking her from him again. She’d been kicking and screaming like she had that day, but in her dream, when Garrett tried to help her, he didn’t just get hit in the head with the gun.

He was shot and killed.

Through her sobs, he’d held her. Rocked her softly and whispered the most loving words she’d ever heard. Then he’d made love to her. Slowly building her up to that magnificent cliff, until they’d both gone over the edge together.

Pushing her irrational fears aside, Avery pulled her phone from her purse and picked up her pace.

“Hey, sis.”

“What are you doing tonight?”

Avery smiled at Alex’s typical non-greeting. “Having dinner with Garrett.”

“Of course, you are. Don’t you two ever come up for air?”

With a laugh, Avery started to feel around her purse for her keys. “I’m breathing right now, aren’t I?”

“Surprisingly,” her sister teased. “Fine. But I get you all to myself tomorrow night. I’ll even treat you to dinner.”

“Sounds good.”

“Catch you later. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

She’d barely ended the call when her phone rang again. This time, when she saw the caller’s name, she felt a little flip in her heart.

The same one she got every time Garrett called. Or smiled. Or touched her like he had in the shower that morning.

“Hey, you,” she answered with a smile.

“Hey, yourself.”

Would she ever get tired of hearing that rumbly voice of his? Nope. She didn’t believe she would.

“Where are you?” he asked. “Sounds like you’re underground.”

Avery laughed. “Because I am. I’m in a parking garage over on South Caldwell. I got an emergency call from one of my clients, and I had to come put out some fires. But I’m done and heading to the store to get stuff for dinner. Chicken and pasta sound okay?”

“Actually, that’s why I’m calling. We had a thing come up at work, and I’m not going to be done until later tonight.”

“Oh.” She did her best to hide her disappointment. “That’s fine. You coming over later, or do you just want to see what tomorrow brings?”

“I’d love to come over tonight, but it’s looking like you’ll be asleep before I get out of here. Want me to call you tomorrow? You can come to my place, and I’ll cook for you, for a change.”

“Okay.” Avery smiled. “Alex just called and was wanting to meet up for dinner, so I’ll call her back and let her know I’m free.”

“Have fun. And tell her I said hey.”

“I will.”

“Be safe, sweetheart. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“You, too. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Ending the call, Avery sent Alex a quick text with the change of plans. Her sister wrote back immediately with clapping emojis and instructions to pick her up in an hour.

Which was just enough time for her to go home, freshen up, and change into something a little less “worky”.

Avery slid her phone into her purse and pulled out her keys. Only a couple spots away from her car, she went ahead and hit the fob to unlock her doors.

And still, she was smiling.

It was ridiculous how utterly happy she was. Like deliriously, annoyingly happy.

This is it, Aves. This is what you’ve always read about.

This. Is. Love.

They hadn’t said the words yet, but she felt them. And for now, that was enough.

Lost in her blissful thoughts, she reached for her door and began to open it.

She should have been paying closer attention to her surroundings. She should have waited until she was locked away in the safety of her car to text her sister, instead of walking those last few feet with her head stuck in her phone.

If she had…if she’d been more aware of her surroundings, Avery would’ve seen the man coming up behind her. She would’ve seen him and been able to run or scream for help.

She could’ve called nine-one-one. Something.

But she hadn’t seen him. Not until it was too late.

A gloved hand covered her mouth. Avery tried to break free of the enormous man’s grip, but she was no match for his tight hold.

She felt a sharp prick on the side of her neck, followed by a cool, burning sensation. Avery didn’t even have time to think. Not about Garrett or Alex…or anything.

Because whatever was in that syringe worked fast. Damn fast.

And her eyes had already closed.

* * *

“I thoughtwe’d already decided not to work with the CIA anymore.” Garrett looked at his boss for clarification. “You can’t trust a fucking word those assholes say.”

His teammates muttered their agreeance, and even Owens showed a rare smirk. But then their boss said, “You’re not wrong, but in this instance, I don’t know that we have a choice.”

They’d been called in for a briefing on a situation, or rather an anticipated situation the government was preparing for in the middle east.

And apparently, they were being asked to work in conjunction with the CIA.

“Falcon’s right.” Apollo spoke up. “Our specialty is hostage location and rescue. Why are they calling us in on this now, when there hasn’t even been a single riot yet, let alone a hostage situation?”

“Because the powers that be want us to take a preemptive approach to this thing,” Owens explained. “And frankly, given the evidence and chatter the CIA has picked up so far, I can’t say I disagree. Now, I know we’ve been over all the intel once already, but I’d like to go through it again. Just so we can—”

Garrett’s phone began to ring, cutting through whatever else Owens was about to say.

“Shit. Sorry, Boss.” He glanced down and saw a number he didn’t recognize. Tapping the screen, he sent the call straight to voicemail, then turned the sound off completely. “Thought I had it on silent.”

“As I was saying, I’d like to go back over the intel to look for anything we might have—”

“Sir?” Ashely, their front reception manager, beeped in through the office’s intercom system.

Owens visibly tampered down his frustration. “Yes?”

“Sorry to interrupt, but there’s a call on line two for—”

“Take a message and tell them I’ll call them back.”

“Actually, Sir, it’s for Mr. Morgan.”

Garrett’s ears perked up. “Me?”

“Yes. It’s a woman and she sounds upset. She says it’s an emergency.”

“Did she give you a name?”

“Alex. Alex Webb.”

Shit.

“I’ll take it in my office.” Standing, he shot Owens a glance and said, “Alex is Avery’s sister. They were supposed to have dinner together, and—”

“Go.” Owens nodded. “And let me know.”

Heart pounding, Garrett tried not to overreact. Given the way Alex acted the first time she was here, it was quite possible her idea of an emergency was nothing more than a blown fuse or a flat tire.

But something in his gut told him this was more than that.

Not bothering to shut his door, he raced to his phone, picked up the receiver, and tapped the line.

“Alex?”

“Garrett? Oh, thank God. I tried c-calling your cell…your number was in her ph-phone, but you didn’t answer, and—”

“Alex!” Garrett said the woman’s name sharply. “I’m having a hard time understanding you, so I need you to take a breath and tell me what’s wrong.”

She sniffed, and goddamn it, that wasn’t a good sign. The woman was crying. Like breath-hitching, couldn’t hardly speak crying.

“She’s gone.”

Her whispered words came out so low, he almost thought he’d imagined them. “What do you mean, she’s gone? Gone where?”

“I don’t know.” She started to cry again but cleared her throat and kept on. “We were supposed to meet for dinner almost two hours ago.”

Made sense. Avery had told him she was going to make plans with her sister since he had to cancel theirs.

“When she was late, I didn’t think much of it. But after an hour went by with no call or text, I got onto that one app that lets you track your friends or family…you know the one I’m talking about? We signed up for it together like a year ago so we’d always be able to find each other in case of an emer…gen…cy.” She started to cry again.

“Alex, honey, I know you’re upset, but I really need you to tell me everything you know.”

Doing his best not to panic, Garrett scribbled notes on the back of an envelope as she relayed what she knew.

“When she didn’t show up, I called her and then texted. I kept trying, but she wouldn’t respond to either one. So, I looked at the app. It showed her in a parking garage uptown.”

“Off of Caldwell,” he nodded.

“Yeah.” Alex sniffed. “How did you know?”

“When I called earlier, she was walking to her car.” But fuck, that was two hours ago. “Is the app still showing her there?”

“It is, but that’s because her phone’s still here.”

Here? “Alex, are you in the parking garage now?”

“Yes.”

“And Avery’s phone is there, but she’s not?”

“No.” He could hear her fighting through another round of tears. “I found her purse and keys on the ground near her car. Her phone was still in it, and her driver’s door was barely open. She’s not here, Garrett. I think…I think someone took her.”

Oh, God. I can’t lose her again.

Forcing himself to focus, Garrett said, “Alex, listen to me. I need you to hang up and call the police.”

“I already did. Right before I called you.”

“Good girl. I’m heading to you right now, okay? So just stay where you are, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Garrett, I’m scared.”

“I know, honey.” His heart felt like it was being ripped out of his chest. “I am, too.”

After telling her to text him with the actual address—there were several parking garages along that particular road—Garrett ran back to the conference room to fill Owens and the others in on what had happened.

“Avery’s been abducted.” He’d just blurted that shit out like it was nothing.

All eyes flew to his.

“What?” Apollo’s dark brows became furrowed.

“Again?” Bones sounded as shocked as he felt.

Even Digger joined in with a “What the hell?”

But it was Owens who kept a cool head. “What do we know?”

After quickly relaying everything Alex had told him, Garrett informed his boss he was heading to her last known location.

Without even asking, the team got up to join him. Owens gave them a nod with the order to keep him apprised of the situation.

“Anything you need, Falcon.” His boss gave him a somber look.

“Thanks.”

And with that, Garrett turned to leave, knowing his team and his boss had his back. As always.

Several traffic violations later, he and the others were pulling into the garage where Avery had been when they’d last spoken. The area near her car was blocked by several Charlotte PD cruisers, as well as an unmarked department-issued vehicle.

Thankfully, Owens had a close working relationship with the department heads, so Garrett and his team were met with very little—if any—resistance when they arrived on the scene.

“Alex!” He ran to Avery’s sister the second he saw her.

Unlike the feisty woman he’d met a little over a week ago, this Alex looked broken and lost as her face crumbled, and she threw herself into his arms.

“They have no idea where she could be.”

“Shh,” he did his best to console her. Meanwhile, he was struggling not to break down into a puddle of tears, himself. “We’re going to find her, Alex. I won’t stop until I find her.”

“I know.” She sniffed and pulled away. Wiping her face dry, she straightened her shoulders and said, “It has to be them, right? The ones who took you guys before?”

He hadn’t thought the person or people behind their abduction in the DR would’ve risked following them to the States, but…Alex was probably right. Two abductions this close together couldn’t be a coincidence.

“What did the police say?”

Alex relayed what she knew. She’d given her report. The cops had taken pictures of the scene, and were collecting evidence, including Avery’s purse and phone. And they were going to access the garage security footage to see if they could get a look at whoever had taken her.

Other than that, all they’d told her was to go home and wait for their call.

“I can’t just sit on my ass and wait for more evidence to fall into their laps, Garrett. We have to do something to find my sister.”

“And we will.” He promised her. To Digger, he said, “Get Shadow on the line. Have her access the cameras in here. See what she picks up.”

With a nod, Digger got to work contacting Shadow. The man may be the team leader, but this job was personal.

Avery was his woman. His to cherish and protect. She was his future.

Damn right, he was going to find her. And then he was going to destroy the person who thought they could touch what was his.