Alex frowned. He wasn’t so great with computers and technology, but he could still look at video footage with Remy and Max.
“Like maybe going to see Lacey and find out how she’s holding up?” Jayna suggested.
Alex immediately felt bad for not thinking about doing that himself, but then again, why would he? It wasn’t like Lacey would be very pleased to see him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“That’s the problem,” Jayna said. “You’re thinking too much. Look, Lacey might not believe it right now, but she needs you. When she figures it out, be there for her.”
Alex looked around the room and saw that Becker, Remy, and Max were all looking at him like they thought the same thing. Maybe they were right. Lacey would probably want an update anyway. And with Wendy there as a buffer between them, maybe things wouldn’t have to be awkward between them.
He stood and dug his keys out of his pocket. “Okay. Call me if you get anything.”
Alex spent the twenty-minute drive to Lacey’s apartment wishing he could tell her they had a lead on Kelsey. Hopefully, they would soon. The longer Kelsey was missing, the less chance they had of finding her alive.
He squashed that thought as he pulled into the parking lot of Lacey’s apartment complex. Lacey didn’t need to see the worry on his face when she opened the door.
Wendy was the one who opened it. She held her fingers to her lips as she motioned him inside. Lacey was sleeping on the couch, Leo curled up at her feet. She looked so fragile underneath the blanket.
“She fell asleep a little while ago,” Wendy said softly. “She’s exhausted.”
Alex nodded. “I’ll go, then. I just stopped by to make sure she was okay.”
He turned for the door, but Wendy caught his arm. “I’m leaving. You’re staying.”
Alex opened his mouth to protest, but Wendy was already grabbing her purse. “Everly stopped by. She told us a lot about werewolves and about your pack. Lacey dealt with it better than I thought she would, but go easy on her, huh? This has all been a bit much for her.”
Alex was glad Everly had decided to come over and talk to Lacey, though he was a little surprised that she’d been so forthcoming with the werewolf tutorial. No doubt that had been Cooper’s idea. Having recently learned that keeping secrets can come back to bite you in the ass, he’d probably thought it was best to get out in front of all this.
“You seem to be doing okay with it,” he observed.
“It’s easy for me.” Wendy shrugged. “I haven’t had the guy I’m sleeping with change right in front of my eyes, and it’s not my sister who’s missing.”
Alex couldn’t argue with that.
At the door, Wendy turned back to look at him. “Don’t let Lacey push you away, Alex.”
Wendy left before Alex could respond, which was good, since he had no idea what to say. Wendy was the second woman that night to insist Lacey needed him. He wasn’t so sure of that.
Alex locked the door, then walked into the living room. The blanket had slipped off Lacey’s shoulders, and he leaned over to adjust it. She groaned in her sleep and tugged it up under her chin. He smiled despite himself.
Sighing, he dropped into the chair adjacent to the couch, then sat there watching Lacey sleep and praying this all worked out. Not getting back together with her—he was pretty sure that ship had already sailed. But he didn’t want Lacey to lose her sister. The world had already been unfair to her, and he just hoped that God, or fate, or whatever power ran the universe let her have a pass on this. She’d already lost so much in her life. Losing Kelsey too would be beyond cruel.
Chapter 13
“Nicole isn’t in trouble, is she?” the dark-haired resident advisor asked with concern as she led Alex and Remy down the hallway to Nicole Arend’s room. Nicole was one of two RTC female students whom Becker discovered were also mysteriously missing.
“No, it’s nothing like that,” Remy assured the girl. “We’re just checking to see if she might have some outside involvement with another case we’re looking into.”
The girl eyed Remy dubiously but quickly forgot what she was going to say when he flashed one of his charming smiles her way. The flustered girl couldn’t get her set of master keys out fast enough.
Becker had called Alex at Lacey’s apartment that morning to tell him that buried among the forty students who’d dropped out of classes recently, only five of them—all young women—had left without coming in to talk to their advisors and fill out formal withdrawal paperwork in person. Four of those five had sent emails to explain their sudden disappearance.
“Guess who didn’t?” Becker asked.
“Abigail Elliott,” Alex said.
“Bingo. In addition to Kelsey and Sara, the other two girls who supposedly sent emails are Nicole Arend and Carla Jones. Nicole has a dorm on campus. Carla lives with three roommates at an apartment close to the school.”
