Snapper’s expression darkened. “Thatsonuvabitch.”
“I searched the whole house. He didn’t try to stop me.” I took out my phone and called Bas. He picked up on the second ring.
“Kick.What’s going on?”
“Have you heard from Isabel?”
“Not since before you two left for Paso Robles. What’s wrong?”
“She’s gone. I thought she might’ve come home, but I’m here, and there’s no sign of her.”
“I don’t know what to say.” He paused. “But whatever I can do, I will.”
“I appreciate it. I’ll update you when I know more. Hey, maybe try to call her. If she picks up, ask her to call me as soon as she can.”
“Will do, Kick.”
I hung up and stared at the phone in my hand. No missed calls. No texts. No sign that Isabel was anywhere at all.
“While you were talking to Baron, I asked Bit to check with Vader about any accidents. There haven’t been any.”
“That’s good, at least. But if not here, where the fuck would she go?”
“I have no idea. I don’t really know her. To be honest, I don’t know anyone who does.”
“What about Saffron?”
“One step ahead of you. I also called her while I was waiting, and she said she couldn’t think of anywhere.”
I had no idea where to search. Isabel could be anywhere—driving aimlessly along the coast, parked somewhere crying, heading back to Whitmore.
“Take me to Moonstone Beach,” I said after we got in his truck. If there was anywhere someone would go and think, it made the most sense.
Snapper didn’t question it. He just started the engine and drove.
Moonstone Beach satat the edge of the world, where the land crumbled into tide pools and the Pacific stretched toward the horizon. The wind coming off the water was biting, carrying the smell of salt and kelp. I climbed out of the truck and made my way to one of the large boulders that overlooked the sand below.
While I didn’t see my truck parked anywhere, maybe if I waited, Isabel would eventually come here too. It was the kind of place she’d be drawn to—beautiful and isolated, a place where she could disappear into herself without anyone watching. A place where the vastness of the ocean made human problems feel small.
I sat down on the damp stone and rested my forearms on my knees as I stared at the water. The waves rolled in, white-capped and relentless, crashing againstthe rocks below with a sound like distant thunder. Seabirds wheeled overhead, their cries sharp against the rush of the wind.
Isabel was out there somewhere. In my truck, driving God knew where, fleeing from the very thing she wanted most.
What Baron had said haunted my thoughts.She’s incapable of raising a child.
He was wrong. I knew he was wrong with every fiber of my being. But sitting here, alone, with no idea where the woman I loved had gone, doubt threatened to creep in.
What if all my promises to stay, all my assurances that I’d be there no matter what, couldn’t compete with a lifetime of damage? What if Isabel was too afraid to believe that anyone could love her the way she deserved to be loved?
The spray from the waves misted my face. I closed my eyes and breathed in the salt air, trying to steady myself.
I thought about finding her at Whitmore, sunburned and exhausted, with dirt under her fingernails and fire in her eyes. I thought about when she’d told me about the baby, when I’d held her hand and promised Iwasn’t going anywhere. I thought about last night—the fireplace, her whispered confession, how she trembled.
Shedidlove me. I knew that. Whatever fear had driven her away today, it wasn’t because she didn’t. It was because she did—and that terrified her more than anything.
I got out my phone, tried her number again, and got the same result.
“Isabel.” My voice cracked on her name. “I don’t know where you are, but I need you to know something. I’m not giving up. I don’t care how many times you run. I don’t care how scared you get. I’m going to keep showing up until you believe me when I say I love you.”
