Tangled Hearts.

~Chapter 46~

~Colby~

The panic wasn't just in my chest—it was a goddamn beast clawing its way up my throat, squeezing tighter with every second Rae was gone. My hands trembled like I'd downed a dozen espressos, fumbling with my phone. The screen was a blur—not from the smudge of my shaking fingers, but from the saltwater I refused to shed.

"I'm calling 911," I rasped, barely a whisper, like saying it louder would make it real.

Corey's grip closed on my wrist, firm, steady. "Not yet. One last sweep. Colby, focus."

I inhaled, sharp and uneven. Blinked the sting from my eyes. "If she's not here, we call. Promise."

His face was taut, matching mine in tension. I nodded—but hearing those words didn't make the lump in my throat any smaller. I moved on autopilot, tearing through every corner of the house, shouting her name until my throat was raw and the silence answered back like a cruel joke.

Nothing.

Upstairs, I froze outside Blake's door. My kid was asleep. Innocent. His small chest rising and falling, untouched by this nightmare. How the hell did he sleep through the storm crashing down around us?

Jealous doesn't even begin to cover it.

Every closet, under every bed, behind every door—I looked. I knew she wasn't here. My fists clenched, nails digging into palms as bile roiled in my gut.

Phone back in hand, I tapped her name again. FaceTime. Ring ring ring. Each tone a dagger twisting deeper.

"Come on, Rae. Please." My voice cracked. Begging. I hated it.

Sam paced beside me, jaw tight enough to break teeth. "Maybe she's still shopping," he offered, voice hollow.

I shot him a look sharp enough to cut glass. "She always answers."

Corey tried to steady me. "She's gonna be okay, Colby."

"She's pregnant," I snapped. "She wouldn't just vanish."

But the phone stayed dark.

That's when panic curdled into something colder, darker.

Sam stepped up, hands solid on my shoulders. "Check Life360. Again."

My thumb swiped open the tracking app. The only time we ever used this thing was when shit went down.

Her location hadn't moved in hours.

The world tilted. My breath hitched. I dropped to my knees, pressing my hands to my face, trying to hold myself together.

Sadie nudged my arm, whining softly.

"Colby," Sam said, voice low. He rubbed slow circles on my back, but it was useless. I was falling.

Corey's voice cut through. "I'm calling 911."

Then—a knock.

My heart slammed like it wanted out of my chest.

I snapped upright, sprinting to the door.

Jake was there. Holding her. Holding my Raelyn.

"RAELYN!" The sound ripped out of me raw and broken.

Her clothes were shredded like someone had taken scissors to her body. Blood soaked the fabric that barely clung to her. Her lip was split, cheek swollen grotesquely. A deep, angry gash ran along her neck, sluggish blood trailing down.

Her arms? Bruises, cuts—like she'd rolled in glass. Her trembling bleeding hands clutched her stomach. Protecting our baby. My world.

Her eyelids fluttered weakly. "Col—" A breath. Then she slumped in Jake's arms, coughing hard.