Officially, Mayor Carlos Solis had been arrested on unknown charges that a grand jury had indicted him on and was awaiting his trial when he committed suicide. It obviously made him look guilty that he committed suicide, but with the case completely sealed, there was no way of knowing what happened or why. I was beginning to think that this gang’s MO was making murders look like suicides. Part of me wondered if his suicide was a cover up for his death, or if he had really faked his own death and was still out there somewhere.
Shit. Shiloh’s brother committed suicide too. Was…was that a coverup? Had they…No. Shiloh had told me that she witnessed his suicide.I pushed past the nausea of that possible reality and refocused on my research.
There was a plethora of rumors online about bribes, campaign fraud and one outrageous claim that he had been charged with ordering too many deli sandwiches from Marley’s Sub Shop. Clearly, that last one was just a gross attempt by the sub shop at using the buzz of the arrest for promoting their sandwiches.
My research was a dead end. Short of asking Sebastian’s mom for details about this gang, that I didn’t even know the name of, I was stumped. Maybe if I hadn’t been spending my time day drinking, I would have been more aware of what myfamily was dealing with. I would have been aware of the fact that my brother-in-law believed my girlfriend and her brother had been murdered.
And for him to be right? Fuck, it made me want to scream. How could I have been so blind to what was happening? To the fact that she was in grave danger?
Was she still living in fear?
Was she safe here in Anchorage?
Did this gang know that she was alive?
Had she been testifying against the mayor?
How did she get involved in the first place? Her brother? Her dad?
Was it drugs? Was she working for them? Or was it just wrong place wrong time, and they were threatening her to keep her silence?
There were too many fucking questions, and my head was a mess. And there was no one that I could even talk to about any of this. Well, except for Jae. But he wasn’t going to let me vent. He was too hung up on the fact that I wanted anything at all to do with Shiloh.
I couldn’t sleep all night. My brain wouldn’t fucking stop replaying every bad scenario it could concoct. With sleep deprivation and the anxiety of waiting to hear from Shiloh, I made the idiotic decision to show up at her workplace. I didn’t know her schedule, but they opened just before seven in the morning.
There was no one to stop me from parking across the street in front of a bus yard. No one to stop me from sitting there and waiting, hoping that she might arrive right at opening time.
It was raining and with the cloud coverage, it actually made the morning darker than usual. I put the car in park and cracked my windows, trying not to look overly suspicious sitting in my car and staring straight at the gym.
I didn’t have to wait long. A blonde woman in athleisure wear parked near the entrance and walked around to the side of the building, presumably to open it. I watched as the lights inside the building turned on and after several minutes the front doors were propped open. Not even twenty minutes passed before several more cars filled the lot, but they were patrons, not Shiloh.
I waited another fifteen minutes before pulling up the gym’s phone number and dialing. My leg bounced as the line rang.
“Grip Lab, this is Lottie, how can I help you?” The voice was bright, and I found myself stumbling over my words.
“H-hi. Yeah. I, um,”Fuck, fuck, fuck. What was I going to say?I pushed the ballcap higher up on my head and tugged at my cropped curls. “I was calling to speak with Emory. Is she in today?”
“She’s not here. But I’m sure I can help you. What is it you were speaking with her about?” she asked, seemingly unfazed by my request to speak with Emory.
“Uh, my brother was in the other day and had told me that he spoke with her about the gym and membership. I was hoping to speak with her about joining and if you offered any family discounts or something.” I slapped my forehead and internally groaned.
“Oh. For sure. We offer a five percent discount for any additional members in the same household. Unless they’re a minor, which would be a different monthly rate for kids based on number of days a week they plan to attend classes.”
I felt bad wasting her time, so I told her I’d think about it. I ended the call right after and slumped down into my seat.
“Shit!”
I knew it was sheer desperation that made me think they’d have given me her schedule over the phone. But I was at a totalloss as to what the hell I was supposed to do. She still hadn’t reached out, and I was beginning to think the absolute worst.
Other than driving around, hoping to spot her, or staying parked here and stalking her workplace until she hopefully turned up, I was out of options. I unlocked my phone and tried to call her again. But like the fifty other times I’d called, it went straight to voicemail.
I slammed my head against the headrest, wincing at the dull pain that shot through my already aching head. I let my eyes close, and I tried to force myself to take a few deep breaths. My whole body had been tensed since she’d stormed out yesterday, and I was going to lose my mind if I didn’t get my shit together.
???
My body jerked awake, a sharp pain shooting from my ear down to my shoulder. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and gingerly rolled my neck out. I immediately tapped my phone, and my heart jolted at the time. I didn’t waste a second as I quickly swiped to read through my messages. There were only seven, all from Jae.
Fucking hell. Where the hell is she? It’s midday. Had she took off last night? Was she gone forever? Would I ever see her again?
