Logan Chapter 144

-Emory-

Logan and I wake up slower than normal the next day, feeling almost a little hung over. I guess dick drunk has its own consequences. Logan has three missed calls from last night, I have two. James didn’t try to reach me, clearly deciding that it wasn’t going to work after they’d all tried Logan. I don’t have any messages, but Logan has a lot. A couple from Ollie that amount to something like “Dude.”

Deek is fully panicking, and James left a simple text for us both- “Call me.” Logan and I look at each other, wide-eyed. We were doing so well! I thought we worked through everything that could be thrown at us- we got rid of the wolf rumors while actually finding a functional and loving relationship, I’ve pulled myself out of the criticism pit Cora forced me into, and yet here we have more shit on the shovel. It’s so frustrating to be close to what could’ve been termed a happily-ever-after. We have everything! We’ve come so far! James and Landon have been acting weird, sure, but nothing is perfect.

The phone rings on speaker as Logan opens a group call with all of the guys. Ollie answers first, and opens without a greeting or any pleasantries. “What the fuck are you doing with Cora?”

We make eye contact as Deek and Ollie talk over each other. I pick up my phone to try and reach Landon. Logan breaks into the chaos to get more information. “Wait, wait. Landon said he was trading off with Jeffries- Did he see anything? Has there been any news from him?” Landon left for his vacation days ago, so he probably doesn’t know anything, anyway. I would rather confirm that than leave a voicemail that he probably won’t see for another two weeks, though.

James, who has a security team answering to Jeffries right now, answers. “There hasn’t been movement in Cora’s apartment in several days. One of my wolves went to investigate and all the scents around her door are stale- if she’d been getting food delivered, her last one would have to have been a sizable grocery haul. She also would have to have been creating little to no garbage, as she hasn’t been taking it out and the shifter on scene didn’t smell an overwhelming amount inside.

“We were trying to alert you to these facts last night- it seems this morning that Cora had plans with a friend that she skipped out on. He called the police and they expedited the wellness check since she’s due for trial. They told her to stay close, and now she hasn’t. She’s missing.”

I feel a pang at that, and find myself hoping she’s okay, despite everything. She wasn’t a good friend, or even really a good person, but she was my friend for well over a decade. It’s hard to go from that to total enemies. Logan shoots me a look, almost a little disappointed in me, but he understands. “Missing? I didn’t give orders for anyone to grab her. Did any of you all? I can’t decide if it makes her or us look more suspicious.”

“Definitely us” Deek mutters.

Ollie is typing in the background. “The preliminary reports the police have running sound like they think she ran to escape trial. If we can keep it at that, we’ll be golden. They did a cursory search through her apartment and found no toiletries, no devices or chargers, and no perishable food. It looks a lot like she skipped out. Except for the fucking notes everywhere about how the werewolves are watching.” We all cringe at that.

Logan blows out a deep breath. I’m tentatively optimistic. “Well.” I say, hopefully, “she’ll certainly sound bonkers to any humans who investigate. Any wolves should be as determined as us that it gets looked over, right?”

I get sounds of reluctant agreement from everyone, and James breaks in with something the rest of us haven’t thought of yet. “As long as the police find her quickly or give up on her quickly without alerting the FBI, we’ll be safe.”

Deek blows a raspberry into his mic. “Cops here hate the FBI. We won’t hear from them. I say we believe she ran until we hear otherwise. If some fur-brained runt decided to try and “help” us by removing her from the picture, I’m sure we’ll hear about it very soon. Types like that always have to take credit for their grand ideas.”

After an awkward pause where everyone realizes that Landon’s vacation is now very suspiciously timed, Ollie delicately asks what everyone else is wondering. “Have… you all heard from Landon since he went upstate? I know the signal isn’t great at that cabin…”

Logan drops his head forward. “No. We haven’t heard from him since the night before he left. It was before dawn when he ran out the next morning.”

I guess we’d better get ready to talk to the police. At least we have the kitchen staff for alibis. Landon might even have an alibi set up, though the cops aren’t going to like that he’s out of town. I wonder if the police have any way to estimate when a person went missing? It might be especially hard for someone like Cora, who had become a shut-in for a good portion of time before she left.

I keep stacking hopes on top of hopes. I hope Landon didn’t kidnap her, but if he did I hope he was discreet enough that he won’t get caught. I hope that she’s okay, wherever she is, especially if she’s been kidnapped by a wolf. I hope that whoever took her will at least treat her humanely, even if it isn’t Landon. I hope that the cops don’t find any evidence of foul play. God, I hope it wasn’t Landon. That lovable idiot. His heart is always in the right place, but his brain just doesn’t make it into the barn some mornings. Logan slings an arm around my shoulders and kisses my head. *We’ll get through this just like everything else. We don’t even know for sure that she was kidnapped.*

We’re all thinking it, of course, but Deek is the one who articulates it this time. “Fuck.”