Chapter 42

"Goddamnit!" Kaelo shouted from Jadon's passenger seat. From the corner of his eye, Jadon saw the man frantically grab the Oh-shit handle in a death grip before throwing him a glare.

"Are you trying to kill us?" Kealo demanded through gritted teeth.

Jadon scoffed despite the fury coursing through his blood. He focused back on the road just in time to swerve around a large pothole, never slowing down. It earned him another muttered curse from his passenger and honking from the vehicle he had nearly collided with in the other lane. It all washed over him like background noise.

"Seriously, man. This isn't the Indy 500," Kaelo pressed. "And if you kill us, you can't run in and rescue the damsel in distress. Broken bones don't make good heroes."

"You didn't have to come," Jadon reminded the man. Actually, Jadon hadn't even realized his friend had followed him out of the office and down to his car until the passenger door swung open with enough force to stop him from stomping his foot on the accelerator and tearing out of the car park like a bat out of hell.

Jadon was both glad and frustrated his friend had followed him. Glad because he knew he wasn't alone, but frustrated because Kaelo hadn't shut up about his driving since they left his office.

But Jadon couldn't slow down. His mind kept replaying how smooth and soft Tapiwa's skin had been under his fingers when he touched her in the backseat of his car before his imagination jumped in and tried to drive him insane as he imagined what her father had done to her with a damn belt.

Fury made his fingers tighten around the leather of the steering wheel dangerously. He quickly overtook the delivery truck in front of them. Luck was certainly on his side because traffic was lighter this time of day. Not that the man next to him appreciated that.

By the time Jadon parked outside of the library where Tapiwa worked, he was certain Kaelo had puked in his mouth at least twice. His friend looked a little green as he slowly stumbled out of the car and followed Jadon into the building.

Just like the first time he had sought Tapiwa at work after he saw the pictures, Jadon stormed into the dim building that smelled heavily of ancient books with only one thing in mind: to set eyes on the woman. But unlike the last time, he didn't see her. Actually, he didn't see anyone.

A little unsure of how to proceed, Jadon froze, a deep frown between his brows. When he had stormed out of his office, he hadn't considered the possibility that Tapiwa wouldn't be at work. He should have, considering she was possibly injured, but he hadn't. Maybe he hadn't wanted to think about it because it meant he had no idea where to find her if she wasn't here.

Seconds ticked by and nothing changed. Jadon turned to Kaelo, about to tell the man they should check the back. Someone had to be there if the front door had been left open. He didn't get to make a sound.

"I will be right with you," a male voice called out just before the sound of approaching footsteps reached them.

Jadon's mood plummeted further. He had a feeling he knew who was coming before the man rounded the corner and came into view. He wasn't wrong. It was Neo, Tapiwa's co-worker who had been very touchy with her the last time Jadon had been here.

Their mutual dislike was immediately evident when the man spotted Jadon. He dropped the casual smile he had been wearing and Jadon could have sworn the man actually snarled at him before he seemed to remember himself and schooled his features.

With a few steps, Neo was in front of them. He stood, feet apart and arms crossed over his chest. There was the slightest widening of his eyes when he took in Jadon's bruised face, but even that was gone in a blink of an eye.  "What can I help you with, gentlemen?"

Despite the words, Jadon was sure Neo didn't want to help them in any way. Luckily, he didn't care about the man's issues. They weren't there for him. "I'm here to see Tapiwa. Is she in today?"

Neo's nostrils flared. "I believe she asked you to leave the last time you were here."

Jadon didn't have time for this. He huffed out a breath and took a step toward the man but Kaelo's hand quickly stopped him from going further.

"Look, man," Kaelo started, addressing Neo. "There is a lot more at play in this matter than you are aware of so if you could just get back there and call Tapiwa out, we would greatly appreciate it."

"Who the hell do you people think you are?" Neo exploded. His arms dropped to his sides, hands clenched into fists. "Tapiwa wants nothing to do with you so you should just leave before I call the police and get you all arrested for harassment."

Every word that fell out of Neo's mouth was like sandpaper to Jadon's nerves. The urge to punch the idiot and demand to know where Tapiwa was bubbled up in him and almost spilled over. Lucky for Neo, Kaelo was still trying to play the diplomat.

"No one is harassing Tapiwa. We are only concerned about her wellbeing. Is she in today?"

"No," Neo stated flatly. "So, you two should just turn around and leave."

Somehow, Jadon made it back to the car without punching Neo's teeth down the man's throat. It was a close call, though. Jadon doubted he would have held on if not for Kaelo who grabbed him and refused to let go until they were out of the building.

Seated now in his passenger seat because apparently, Kaelo couldn't take another round of his driving, Jadon took out his phone and dialed Tapiwa's number. It didn't even ring.

"Fuck!" Jadon slammed his fist against the dashboard and threw the phone into the cup holder.

"Give me the number," Kaelo demanded, grabbing his own phone.

It took him a second to gather himself and pick up the phone again. Jadon gave his friend the number and then waited tensely as they both listened to the ringing tone until it cut. She never picked up. Jadon thought he was going to lose his mind. What if Tapiwa was in a worse state than they thought and she couldn't get to her phone? Was she admitted to a hospital or in some abandoned building too injured to move and find help? The possibilities all ran through Jadon's mind, each uglier than the previous one.

Thankfully, before his mind could get lost down the very dark tunnel, Jadon remembered that he wasn't so helpless in the situation. He just needed to make another phone call.

With renewed focus, he dialed a new number and quickly brought the phone to his ear, ignoring Kaelo's curious gaze.

It only took two rings before the person picked up the call.

"Hello, stranger," a female, sweet voice drawled.

"Vicky. How are you?"

Jadon caught the moment Kaelo made the connection. His friend's eyebrows ran up to his hairline. In the next heartbeat, Kaelo mouthed 'No!' and made a cutting motion in the air. Jadon ignored him.

"I didn't think I would ever hear from you," Vicky said with a chuckle. "I'm surprised you didn't delete my number."

"I don't delete numbers," Jadon answered. It was just something he never did and it had worked in his favor more times than not.

Vicky chuckled again. "Good to know. So, how are things?... How are the guys?"

Jadon shot Kaelo a look. The guy glared daggers, his jaw so tight Jadon worried for the man's teeth. "The guys are fine," Jadon said, looking Kaelo in the eyes, just to mess with his friend for a bit. After all, he still owed the guy for the date with Melody. Things had gotten wild the past few days but he hadn't forgotten.

Still, he had a more pressing matter he needed to handle first so he spared Kaelo more torture and cut straight to the point.

"Uhm, Vicky, I'm sorry to do this, but I didn't call just to say hi. I have a favor to ask and it's kind of urgent."

A long-suffering sigh filled his ear. "I should have known," Vicky said with a hint of disappointment which thankfully quickly disappeared. It was one of the traits he had liked about the woman. Too bad no one else did. "Alright, tell me what you need."

"Thank you. I need you to track the GPS location of a phone number."

Silence.

"Vicky?"

"You are not turning into a stalker, are you? Coz' let me tell you, that would so not be sexy."

Jadon released a short chuckle. "No. Nothing like that. I'm just worried a friend might be injured and in trouble and I just need to find her."

The sound of fingers tapping in rapid-fire across a keyboard immediately filled the background. A few seconds later, Vicky asked for the number, and then Jadon waited as she did her thing. He didn't dare look at Kaelo. He could already feel the palpable heat of the man's rage against his skin, he didn't need to confirm it.

It took Vicky less than five minutes to have a location. Thankfully, it wasn't that far from where they were.

"Thank you, Vicky. I owe you."

Vicky chuckled but this time it sounded forced. "Yeah. Sure. Listen, Jadon, it was great hearing from you but I have to run now. Good luck finding your friend." Then she was gone, not giving Jadon a chance to say more. He was okay with that.

Not wanting to waste a second more, Jadon gave Kaelo the address but was forced to look up when the vehicle didn't immediately start moving. He arched his brow. "Problem?"

Kaelo's jaw dropped. For a long beat, he seemed speechless. Then he snapped his mouth shut and just shook his head. "No. Huh-uh. I am not touching that one. Let's just forget about it." He finally turned the engine on and started backing out of the car park.

"Are you curious?" Jadon couldn't help but ask.

Kaelo shook his head. "Curiosity killed the cat, haven't you heard? Anyway, even if I had to be curious, I wouldn't be about her. I would be curious about your true motives toward Tapiwa. What's your end game, man?"

Jadon immediately frowned and looked out the windshield toward the road ahead. If only he had an answer for that. "Not sure yet."