“Evie?” he repeated. There was a faint shuffle of papers on the other end. “Och, aye, after the museum incident, Chloe was insistent her sister was still inside the museum but there was no trace of her. She filed a missing person report a day or so later.”
No trace of her. Chloe missing. What the holy hell was happening?
Brianna clutched the phone tighter. “So, detective, you’re telling mebothmy sisters are missing in your city. Is that right?”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “Aye.”
“And what are you doing to find them?” she demanded, her mother instinct suddenly kicking in. She shot to her feet, pacing the small area in front of her beach chair.
“Well—”
“It sounds like a whole lot ofnothingto me.”
“Miss Sinclair, I assure you we’re doing everything we can to find them. But there aren’t a lot of leads—”
“Well, that’s not good enough. They’re my baby sisters and you’re telling me they vanished without a trace?”
“I—”
“Save it. I’m coming to Edinburgh.”
Her finger jabbed the end-call button with unsatisfying force, her chest heaving. She stared at the surf, the sunlight scattering across the waves glistening glass. Something inside her snapped, sharp and final, as she made the sudden decision.
The undeniable idea struck her like lightning. Go to Scotland. It wasn’t a whim; it was a pull deep in her gut, an unshakable certainty. If she didn’t go, regret would claw her forever, like it had when she ignored Evie’s call begging her to come. That raw and relentless regret still ached. Like a wound refusing to heal.
She hadn’t thought of Evie and Chloe until today.
Why now? Why today?
There wasn’t anything significant about the date. It wasn’t the anniversary of her parents’ death. It wasn’t anyone’s birthday.
A shout broke through the rush of waves. Her head snapped to the left. Grayson sprinted up the beach, his hand lifting in a quick wave.
The unease didn’t fade, even after making her decision to leave. It coiled tighter inside her chest, demanding she check on Evie and Chloe. She sucked in a shaky breath, willing herself to focus, but her thoughts scattered. Before she could gather them, Grayson appeared.
“Hey, babe,” he said on a pant. When he realized something was wrong, his brows drew together. “You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I need to make a phone call.”
Never mind she still held the phone in her hand as she spun and bolted up the beach toward the house, leaving Grayson behind without a second thought. Her feet pounded against the sand, her breath coming fast and sharp. She burst through the back door, barely registering the cool air inside as she dropped her icyglass onto the nearest table with a clatter. Sand scattered in her wake, but she didn’t care.
In her guest room, she ripped off her wide-brimmed hat, tossing it aside without looking. Here, in the solace of her room, her stomach tightened as she scanned the screen—no missed calls. A sharp ache of dread pierced her chest as she jabbed Evie’s number. It rang once, then went straight to voicemail.
“It’s Brianna. Call me back!” Then she hung up.
Her hands shook. Why, she didn’t know. But a sudden panic settled in her chest, making it hard to breathe. She dialed Evie’s number again. Again, it went straight to voicemail.
She stared down at the phone as if it were the problem. She sent a text to Evie that simply read,are you all right?
She peered at the message for the longest moment, waiting to see if she would type back. Hoping the tiny three-dot bubble would appear.
Nothing.
She didn’t want to call Chloe. They hadn’t spoken in a long time and the last time they did they’d argued. But shehadto call her. Opening her contacts again, she scrolled through until she found her and then punched the mobile number to dial.
It rang four times, then the voicemail picked up. “Hi! It’s Chloe. Leave a message!”
Brianna hesitated. “Chloe…it’s Brianna. Listen, I know you probably don’t want to talk to me right now, but I feel like something is wrong. Are you okay? Where’s Evie? I can’t get her. Call me back.”
