He started to turn, and for a fraction of a second, Callie wondered if she could do it. But then the thought of Lock being attacked or killed flashed in her mind. The idea of never hearing his voice again…never seeing him…
She swung the big knife forward.
And at that exact moment, Antwan turned, eyes widening as he used lightning-fast reflexes to grab her wrist. “Callie—”
She swung her other arm, this time low, stabbing him in the side of his stomach and digging the smaller knife deep into his gut, then twisting.
He growled before swinging his elbow and making her world go black.
CHAPTER 32
Lock could barely breathe. Gone. She was gone. The words were on repeat in his head. It was like a nightmare he couldn’t wake up from.
Jesse lifted a phone from the bag. “This isn’t Antwan’s phone.”
Lock took it, noticing it was open to a photo album. His chest constricted.
Callie. Every fucking photo was Callie. Sleeping. Walking around town. Working in her studio.
Rage seared through his midsection, and he wanted to throw the goddamn cell. Either that or crush it in his fist. He probably would have if Eastern hadn’t taken it from his fingers.
His brother cursed under his breath when he saw the images. Jesse continued rummaging through the bag.
Lock couldn’t move. He’d put her stalker in the same damn house, right under her nose. He’dintroduced them.Asked him toprotecther.
“Who’s this?”
Lock turned at Eastern’s words and looked at the phone to see a photo of Antwan and a woman with green eyes and longdark hair. “Lola. They started dating in high school and got engaged a few years later, but she died of cancer four years ago.”
Jesse stepped forward. “They look the same.”
Lock frowned. “What?”
“I never thought about it before, but looking at her photo now…she looks like Callie. They have the same eyes. The same hair. The same build.”
Lock’s attention shifted back to the photo.
Was that what this was about?
“He used to talk about her sometimes,” Jesse continued. “One night he told me that when Lola died, a part of him died too. I always thought it was strange that he never mentioned Hollie. She died while they were dating too, but he never really expressed how he felt about that, not once in the two years since. Not like he did with Lola.”
“But he asked about Callie a lot over the years,” Lock said, almost to himself. “Out of everyone in my life, he asked about her the most. About whether she’d come home. Whether I knew where she was.” He’d thought Antwan was just being a good friend. He’d trusted him.
The rage on Jesse’s face mirrored Lock’s. They’dbothtrusted him.
“Any idea where he might have taken her?” Eastern asked, the only one with a semblance of calm in his voice.
Jesse frowned. “Antwan and Lola grew up not too far from here. North Carolina, I think. Maybe he has a place out there.”
“What was Lola’s full name?” Eastern asked, pulling out his phone.
“Hartford,” Jesse said. “Lola Hartford, and Antwan’s last name is Johnson.”
Eastern turned and called the station.
As Eastern spoke on the phone, a conversation with Antwan came back to him. About wanting to retire in the mountains withthe woman he loved. In a cabin with an open fireplace and only trees for neighbors. At the time, Lock had thought he was talking about a woman he hadn’t met yet. But maybe not. And maybe he already had the cabin…or had access to it.
“A cabin.”
