Abby bit her lip, cursing the words she was about to say.
“Imagine if what, Abby?”
“If I was working with someone who might be wanted by someone else, you know, might have people looking for them and not in a good way. Would you want that person round me?” She felt like she was asking him to verify what he felt for her, as if she was fishing for a compliment.
Alex said nothing, just wiped his face with the back of his hand. “It would make me worried. I’d want to make sure you and your colleague were safe, and I’d be over-cautious. But more than anything I’d want to find out who was causing the problem and solve it so everyone could get back to normal.”
She nodded. “My normal isn’t here. I don’t know where is anymore.”
“Then don’t you need to decide where you want it to be? Don’t let things be dictated to you, Abby. You choose. If you want to stay here when this is all done then that’s what you should do.” He closed the distance between them. “I’d like you to stay here.”
She’d known him two years. She’d crushed hard on him for that length of time. That crush was evolving into something more.
“It makes me happy that you’ve said that.”
He nodded. “Then tell me you’ll think about staying here when we’ve found your sister. When you feel safe again. Because that’s going to happen. No question.”
“What about Zack?”
Alex shrugged. “Zack’s grumpy because he can’t just click his fingers and make the problem go away.”
“He can if I leave.”
Alex shook his head. “If the people who are involved in your sister’s disappearance know you’re here and you go, they’ll target your friends in Severton to find out where you are. And you don’t know anything, Abs. You think she’s gotten involved in something with Kenny’s gang and you’re probably right, but that doesn’t mean you have any more information, do you?”
She shook her head. He was right and that upset her to the core because all the digging she’d tried to do about the cult and Felley Manor hadn’t turned up anything useful. “I just think there’s something dodgy going on there. My gut tells me that something or someone there can tell me what happened to Tilly.”
Alex put his hands on her hips and held her firmly. His lips pressed against her hair and she felt a sear of heat from his body.
“One of the tech wizards who works for the police thinks your sister was treated at a hospital in May.”
The air was sucked from her body. Abby’s hands landed on Alex’s forearms, holding on as if she was about to fall.
“She sent the CCTV images over today. I found out about it when I went to Manchester, but I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure. It isn’t confirmed but the images now they’ve been cleaned up do look like your sister.”
Abby nodded, trying to fight back tears, not wanting to cry. Two years it had been since she’d been sure that Tilly was alive. Now she had hope.
“What was she at the hospital for? Was she injured?”
Alex shook his head, still holding her. “She had an appointment with a gynaecologist. That’s what Indy thinks.”
“Indy?”
“The computer person.” He swallowed loudly.
“They’re a hacker.”
“I don’t think she’d like that label, but pretty much.” His arms were wrapped around her now. “Abby, this information is still tenuous. Tilly might not want to be found. She might be involved in something that she can’t share with you. It might not be her after all. Please start to think about you and your future. You can look for her and remember her and stop putting your life on hold.”
She rested her forehead against his chest, the tears falling down, silently. ‘The money from the PI is back in my account.”
“There’s a surprise.”
“You knew about that too?”
“I have people, you know.” He stepped back, moving his hand so he could put a finger under her chin and lifting her head so she was looking at him. “Abby, you’re not on your own with this, you know.”
For the first time since she’d left everything, the weight that she’d struggled with on her shoulders felt lighter.
