The Lies I Believed

Secret Hideout

Asher

When I finally pulled up to the building, Jackson was fuming. I understand him completely, but we should all stay calm. If I can't get angry, then he has no right to get angry. Brad is an exception. He has a very good reason to be pissed off. He's stuck in New York, waiting for his daughter to return home. He can't do anything about her situation from there.

We got out of the car and stared at the place. Anyone could tell that it hadn't been used in a long time. It looked a bit too unstable. If Aaron brought Lexi to a place like this, then he had to have been extra careful. I wouldn't run in a building that looked like this.

"This is the place," Jackson muttered. "Let's go."

We joined Jenni on the front porch. She explained how they'd discovered where Aaron had claimed a room as his office. She'd called a few people to confiscate everything he'd left behind. I'm sure he left in a rush. That means they were here recently.

We finally walked inside and began exploring the place. I was afraid something was going to happen, if I didn't tread lightly. Jackson thought otherwise. He was practically stomping in and out of every room like he didn't have a care in the world. I worried for him, but I guess he wasn't fearing for his life right now.

"In here." He pointed into a room.

I walked inside and stopped short. "Ew, it reeks," I muttered.

"I know. It's been abandoned for years. I used to lead an organization before the NYIA."

"This is the room he was filming in?"

"Yup. There's the window. You see how there's barely a shadow being cast along the back wall? He was recording around this time. Of course, Lexi wouldn't have noticed the window. He probably had her blindfold every time they entered the room."

"Sometimes Lexi isn't that perceptive. If he's tried putting her in her place, she probably chose to ignore her surroundings."

"Then, he's definitely put his hands on her. Once you exert your dominance over a woman who's been hurt before, she settles back into her old ways."

"Which explains why she stopped looking at what was around her?"

"Precisely."

"We passed the room where he had been keeping Lexi," Jenni said. "I found her phone. Or what was left of it."

She passed me Lexi's phone. I grabbed it and stared at the shattered mess. He must have taken her SD card out and turned off her location. If he did that, then what was the point of taking it with him? I would have snapped the SD card in half and left it at that. Aaron does things weirdly.

"There has to be some way we can lure him out," Jackson grumbled. "Besides the files, what else do we have on him?"

"I don't even know the man." I shrugged.

"You have literally been no help since I got here."

"Well, I'm sorry! I can't think straight."

"Get a divorce!"

"No!"

"Jeez, guys. It's not that serious. Some people work well under pressure, others don't," Jenni said. "Jackson, don't be so hard on him. This is the first time he's ever truly cared about a woman."

"Shut up, Jenni."

"It's true, Asher, and you know it. Like you said before, you don't want to make a mistake. One wrong decision and she might end up dead for real."

"You don't think she's dead?" My heart began pounding in my chest. I need someone else to tell me Lexi isn't dead.

"As bad as Aaron probably wants to kill her, he hasn't done it yet. He has a schedule to abide by. I'm assuming since he gave you a deadline, he's gonna kill her soon. Give it till Saturday. Maybe Sunday. This is about to come to an end."