I studied him. For a moment, I saw the boy I used to know. The one who always seemed a little bit lost. The one who found meaning in fighting until his knuckles were raw and bloody and his bones were breaking.
His voice was low, but powerful when he continued, “The last few years before he disappeared, things got worse than ever. He was becoming obsessive and I didn’t want anything to do with him anymore.”
“What was he obsessive about?”
He looked away, but not before I caught a glimpse of something in his eye. Guilt.
“I don’t know.”
“I think you do.”
The bridge of his nose wrinkled; his gaze slowly came to meet mine. He looked miserable as he softly admitted, “Skye.”
I froze. My mind started to whirr. “Skye?” I repeated.
Ash looked back down at the table and took another gulp of his beer. “She might have physically left his house, but she never left his mind. He was always keeping tabs on her in some way or another. Watched every episode of her show. He was talking about going to the city to see her, but that’s where I put my foot down. I couldn’t let him do that. I told him it was time that he left her the hell alone, and he wasn’t happy about it.”
I gaped at him. “And that was the last conversation you had with him before he went missing?”
He nodded solemnly. “Yeah. We had it out, and then I left for the bar. When I came home the next day, he was gone. He seemed to take some of his things with him, like his suitcase and some clothes. I thought he’d come back, but when he didn’t, I got worried and filed a missing persons report. I never heard from him again.”
I stared at Ash, heart pounding at the information I’d learned.
Her father had never really let her go, even after all that time. My stomach soured. There was a possibility that Charles Adler was really gone for good.
But there was also a chance, no matter how small, that he was still out there waiting…and watching.
14
Skye
Ifloppedontothecouch,letting out a long breath. Closing my eyes, I tried to let my muscles relax. Emersyn had recently left, and I was soaking up the few minutes of solitude I’d have before Fox showed up. He was already on his way, and apparently had something important to talk to me about.
It had been a long day working on the documentary. Part of me was more interested in learning about the Shadow Stalker than ever before, but my brain had been going full speed for days, toiling with so many unanswered questions and terrifying possibilities that were intensely personal. I was exhausted.
My work had always felt like a lifeline. Something I could hold onto and focus on when my life was falling apart. It was what I needed at times when I felt so lost.
Now, I was damn tired.
I fisted my hands, wincing at the pain that shot through it. I opened my eyes and glanced down at my bandaged palm. The image of Fox bandaging me up last night surfaced in my mind. I tried not to lingeron the vision of his half-naked chest, the mural of tattoos he wouldn’t talk about. The sight of his bruised and scabbed knuckles.
My teeth sank into my lower lip. It would take a lot to get used to sleeping with Fox under the same roof.
My phone buzzed with an incoming text.
I’m here… Don’t freak out.
I frowned at the message from Fox. I was in the middle of typing a reply, when a knock came on the door and a key turned in the lock. Fox popped his head in, looking slightly disheveled.
I cut him a suspicious glare. “Why would I freak out?”
He winced. “Look, it’s not my fault. I didn’t tell her what was going on.”
My heart rate kicked up as I jumped to my feet.
A muffled female voice drifted in from outside, but I couldn’t hear clearly. Fox entered the house, holding the door open behind him. I froze, every muscle in my body locked up as Raleigh Ramsey sauntered inside, a large picnic basket in the crook of her arm. She was almost exactly as I remembered, except for the streaks of gray in her hair and the extra fine lines.
She smiled brightly the moment she saw me. I wasn’t sure exactly what I expected, but it wasn’t this.
