Chapter 7: The Empty Ambulance
Cole stood frozen beside the payphone.
The receiver remained pressed against his ear.
But the voice was gone.
“Nia?””
Nothing.
Only static.
Only the faint hum of the old phone line.
“Answer me.””
Still nothing.
Bear stepped closer.
“What happened?””
Cole slowly lowered the receiver.
His eyes were fixed on the road.
The ambulance was gone.
Not driving away.
Gone.
No flashing lights.
No siren fading into the distance.
Just an empty stretch of pavement where it had been moments before.
Cole looked toward the parking lot.
“The ambulance took her.””
Bear frowned.
“Then why do you look like that?””
Cole’s jaw tightened.
“Because Nia said we weren’t safe.””
A silence followed.
Eli stood several feet away, staring at both men.
“Is my mom okay?””
Nobody answered immediately.
That scared him more than any response could have.
Cole walked toward him.
“Eli.””
The boy stepped back slightly.
Not because he was afraid of Cole.
Because he was afraid of what Cole would say.
“Where did they take your mom?””
Eli shook his head.
“I don’t know.””
“Did she tell you anything before she passed out?””
The boy looked down.
“She said not to let anyone take me.””
Bear’s expression changed.
“Anyone?””
Eli nodded.
“She said if they found us, I had to find Nia.””
Cole felt his stomach tighten.
“Who is they?””
Eli’s lips trembled.
“I don’t know.””
The answer was becoming a pattern.
A child surrounded by secrets.
A woman disappearing.
A missing daughter leaving instructions from somewhere in the shadows.
Bear looked at the road again.
“We need to find that ambulance.””
Cole nodded.
But before they could move, the sound of a motorcycle engine interrupted them.
Both men turned.
A black motorcycle rolled slowly into the gas station.
Not Marcus.
Someone else.
A woman.
Black helmet.
Dark riding jacket.
She stopped near the pumps and removed her helmet.
Cole stared.
He didn’t recognize her.
But she recognized him.
Her eyes went directly to him.
“You’re Cole.””
It wasn’t a question.
Bear stepped forward.
“Who are you?””
The woman ignored him.
“You need to leave.””
Cole’s expression hardened.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
The woman looked at Eli.
Then back at Cole.
“Because everyone who stays gets hurt.””
Bear crossed his arms.
“You know something about Nia?””
The woman hesitated.
Just for a second.
But it was enough.
Cole saw it.
“You knew her.””
The woman looked away.
“I knew what she was trying to stop.””
Cole moved closer.
“What happened to her?””
The woman’s face tightened.
“She disappeared because she wanted people to think she disappeared.””
Nobody spoke.
The words made no sense.
Cole shook his head.
“That’s not an answer.””
“It’s the only answer you’re getting.””
The woman reached into her jacket.
Cole immediately tensed.
But she pulled out a small envelope.
She held it toward him.
“Nia wanted you to have this.””
Cole stared at it.
“How do you have it?””
The woman looked toward Eli.
“Because I was there when she wrote it.””
Bear’s voice dropped.
“When?””
The woman didn’t answer.
Cole took the envelope.
His fingers felt heavy.
Like he already knew opening it would change something.
Inside was a single page.
Three lines.
Cole read them silently.
Then his face changed.
Bear noticed.
“What?””
Cole handed him the paper.
Bear read:
“If Eli reaches you, do not take him home.
Do not call anyone you trust.
And do not believe the person who says they saved him.””
Bear looked up.
The woman was gone.
Not walked away.
Gone.
Because the moment they looked toward the road, her motorcycle was already disappearing into traffic.
Cole stared after her.
Then looked at Eli.
The boy was shaking.
“Am I the reason this is happening?””
Cole didn’t answer.
Because he had just realized something terrifying.
Everyone was protecting Eli.
Everyone was hiding Eli.
Everyone was afraid of whoever wanted Eli found.
And Nia had never told him to protect someone before.
Not like this.
May you like
She had told him not to trust anyone.
Even himself.
