Irresistible Boss Succumbing to Your Touch (Maria Anita) novel Chapter 3

Flavian’s POV

It was not time yet to pick up my little one, but I had this urge to go get her early. I missed her, and with everything that had been happening, I felt uneasy about her going to college, a place where I could not do much beyond leaving a patrol car at the entrance.

"What's wrong, big brother?" Lexie stood in front of me with her hands on her hips.

"Nothing, why?" I asked, raising my head. I was sitting in the living room with my face buried in my hands.

"Because you look tense and you're huffing." Lexie looked at me and sat down.

"It's all this stuff with Manu, Lexie, and her going to college at night. I won't lie, I'm really worried." I ended up confiding in my sister.

"We all are, but Manu is fine there. She has PH and the patrol car you left. But you seem more restless today than usual." Lexie quickly assessed me with the clarity of someone who knew me very well.

"Yeah, I am feeling restless." I reflected. "You know what, I'm going to pick her up early." I stood up decisively, and that's when my phone rang. "Detective Moreno."

"Flavian, this is Peter Hank, Manu's friend." That was it, I knew something had gone wrong!

"Where's Manu?" That was all I wanted to know.

"Flavian, I left her in the classroom to get us some snacks because she didn't want to leave the room." Peter Hank was nervous and speaking anxiously. "When I came back, I couldn't find her. Her stuff is here, but she's not. I've looked everywhere and can't find her. I even went into the women's bathroom. Flavian, something's wrong. I gathered her things, asked around, and nobody saw anything. I went to the administration, and they said she must be around here somewhere, but they wouldn't let me see the security cameras. I don't know what else to do."

"How long ago did you notice she was missing?" My head was spinning, I was freaking out, but I needed to try to stay calm to think and find Manu. In front of me, Lexie was already standing with her purse in one hand and my keys and wallet in the other, pushing me out of the apartment.

"About an hour." Peter Hank was in despair, I could tell.

"Damn it, PH, and you waited all this time to tell me!" I couldn't hold back and lost it, shouting into the phone like a madman. I felt the phone being taken from my hand.

"PH, it's Lexie. What happened?" While pushing me toward the elevator, my sister listened to the young man's explanations. "Wait for us at the entrance, we're on our way." Lexie hung up and handed me back my phone. "You made the poor guy cry!"

"Lexie, he lost Manu, damn it!" I exploded at my sister.

"Little brother, we're going to find her, but you need to stay calm." Lexie was right, but I felt my heart racing and I couldn't breathe, I started getting dizzy and lost my balance, slamming against the elevator wall for support. "Flavian, breathe! Look at me! Come on, inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth, slowly, come on."

My sister was right. If I lost it, I wouldn't be able to find Manu. I needed to maintain control - to hell with staying calm - but I had to keep my grip on the situation. I took a deep breath, and by the time we reached the garage, I had regained command of my actions.

"Give me the keys. COME ON, LEXIE!" I shouted. She jumped back and stretched out her hand to give me the keys.

While driving toward the college, I called one of the police officers stationed outside using the car's Bluetooth system.

"Peter Hank!" I called out.

"Oh, Flavian, I'm so glad you're here because they won't take me seriously," Peter Hank seemed exhausted.

"Well, they're going to take me seriously, aren't they, Dean?" I stared at the older man as Peter Hank stepped aside.

"Detective Moreno, what a pleasure to see you. How can I help?" The dean remembered me - excellent, it would save time with introductions.

"I just want to see your security cameras for now. And I want to see them now." I spoke quietly, but it sounded threatening enough to make the man in front of me shiver.

"O-of course. Please, come with me." He showed us the way, and we followed.

In the video room, we were shown the security camera footage from the hallway outside Manuela's classroom, at the time PH had indicated. We could clearly see a large, completely suspicious-looking guy emerge from behind a pillar after PH left the room, speak to a girl, appear to hand something to her, and then the girl entered Manu's room.

Shortly after, Manu left the room, and the guy tucked her under his arm and went down the stairs with her. We followed their entire path through the stairway cameras, and they reached the building's lobby, where we could see the guy putting a black hooded sweatshirt on Manu before leaving with her. The security guard was five steps away and looked in the opposite direction when he saw them. The outside camera showed Manu being pushed into a silver car with very dark windows and no license plate, which quickly drove away from there.

I slammed my fist on the table. I was about to lose my mind; I needed to find my little one quickly. I couldn't bear anything bad happening to her. I needed to take action - I needed to be the detective now, and I would be.