Secret Haven (HIATUS)

Chapter 13~ Yuck!

"She couldn't have just disappeared into thin air!" my boss shouts, standing up from his seat and throwing his hands up in frustration.

"Sir, we've tried everything. She's covered all of her tracks. It's like she never even existed!" I exclaim, looking through Sarah's file.

"Alright, then let's go through what we know. There has to be some sort of clue as to where she went," he says, slightly exasperated.

"See, that's exactly what we thought at first. But, when we looked through all of the information we have on her, it all proved to be useless. We searched her old house, and nothing came up. It was completely empty!" I pause, taking a deep breath.

Mendoza starts pacing behind his desk, his hand reaching up and rubbing his goatee absentmindedly.

"All we know is the name and age she gave us, her old house address, and she's in a relationship with Jordan. Oh, and trust me when I say that Jordan was thoroughly interrogated. When I say he didn't know anything about her whereabouts, I mean it. In fact, he didn't know anything at all. When we told him what happened he seemed just as shocked as we were."

My boss sits back down in his chair, mumbling profanities to himself. I continue to go through the information we have on Sarah, the room silent after my update.

"Get out," he says sternly, looking at the other people in the room. "I need to speak with Layla. Alone."

My co-workers shuffle out of the room, leaving me alone to deal with whatever my boss has in store for me. I walk over to the seat across from him and sit down, crossing my legs. I look at him questioningly, leaning back in my seat.

He sighs and gives me a tired look. "You were the closest to her. You didn't notice anything off?" he asks, rubbing the stress lines on his forehead.

"See, that's the weird part. She was acting weird, which is why I agreed to go with her that night." Not exactly the truth, but he doesn't need to know that. "The Sarah I know would never beg someone for something, especially me."

"How did we miss this? It's been right in front of us this whole time. The missing shipments, her record files disappearing, the shady past," he says, swiping the blueprints off of his desk.

I don't respond, unsure of what to say. He continues grumbling to himself, seemingly forgetting I'm still in his office.

I mumble an apology and exit his office, glad to be out of the dreary space. I sigh to myself, wondering how Sarah managed to disappear off the face of the planet.

Ignoring the curious stares from my coworkers, I walk around to the back of the warehouse, heading into my office.

On the way, my phone alerts me of a new audio file from David's living room.

Shutting the door, I throw my jacket on the back of my chair and unravel my headphones, playing the audio file.

"Mom, I already told you. I have no idea what happened with the fight," David says, the sound of a door shutting echoing in the background.

It's silent for a moment before David speaks again. "I don't know who she was. I tried locating Egor but after the fight, he disappeared. I thought that since she was his fighter, he would at least know who she was." He pauses, listening to the other caller. "I know you know what happened. So help me if you don't tell me what you did." The person on the other end seems to say something that David doesn't like, because he scoffs angrily and takes a deep breath. "Fine, I'll do it. But don't you dare bring UCLA into this."

The audio ends and I sigh.

On a random impulse, I decide to check the tracker I had placed in David's jeans, expecting it to be at his house. I'm shocked to see however, that it isn't in his house, but in a rather secluded spot at the entrance of the southern forest.

The tracker was designed to self destruct when put through the wash. The fact that I'm still getting readings from the tracker means that David hasn't washed his jeans since our encounter at school. Yuck.

I grab my jacket off of the back of my chair and rush out to my car, putting the key into the ignition and speeding out of the parking lot.

Since I was fairly close to the forest, I arrived in about 15 minutes, occasionally checking the tracker on the way. Parking on the other side of the lot, I'm surprised to see that no one else here.

I expected tourists and I'm not sure if their absence makes my job easier, or more difficult.

Creeping into the forest, I remain conscious of my surroundings, aware that this is a spot that I can be easily ambushed at.

I walk towards David's location, dodging behind trees. I see David with his back to me, looking eerily calm.

"Here I thought you would never show up," he says, his tone a mixture of irritation and amusement.

My blood runs cold.

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I really enjoy writing, even if it isn't very good. I still appreciate the support and views(: Remember to comment, vote, and follow me!

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