“You fixin’ to fight me?” Harris asks, then shakes his head and turns his focus to Jasper. “Blade, get your brother out of here before he talks himself right into a demotion. Or a suspension. Or both. Austin PD is taking over the case.”
“Like hell they are,” I grit out. “Those jackoffs wouldn’t know a clue if it jumped out of the ground and bit them in the ass.”
“You’re on thin fuckin’ ice, Stone,” Harris warns. “This wasn’t my idea. Orders came all the way from the top.”
This can’t be happening. APD will shut us out before we know what hit us. Grace will be one woman in a sea of missing persons to them. But here, she’s family. To me…she’s everything.
“Chief—”
Jasper grabs my arm. “Harris ain’t got a choice. And neither do you, dumbass. I’m taking you home. We’ve been up for almost forty-eight hours. We ain’t worth spit to Grace without some sleep.” He’s calm as fuck, which sets me off even more.
“She’s out there somewhere,” I spit through clenched teeth. “She could be hurt. Or…worse.”
“Aaron.” Jasper tightens his grip until I meet his gaze. Fuck. It’s like looking in a goddamn mirror. His hair’s a little lighter, and he favors a full beard while I shave every couple of days. But we’re more alike than not in every other way. Down to my haunted look reflected in his eyes.
He’s followed every lead right along with me. Called in favors at APD, even the FBI. I know he’s right. But how can I sleep when I don’t know if Grace is even still alive?
“I’m goin’ back to the trail. We missed something.”
I pull my phone off the charger and check it for the thousandth time. No messages from Grace. And worse…no ransom call.
“The only place you’re goin’ is home,” Jas says. “Hand over your keys. I’ll drive you and bunk at your place tonight.”
“I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Oh no?” His brows shoot up. “You’re holdin’ that phone upside down.”
Fuck.
I’m worse off than I thought. Suddenly, I can’t string two words together without feeling like I’m clawing my way through quicksand. My shoulders slump as I follow Jasper out to my SUV. One of Grace’s sweaters is still in the passenger seat, and I clutch it so tightly, the fibers stretch almost to their breaking point. She’s gonna tear me a new one if I ruin it. I’m half tempted to rip it to shreds so she’ll come back and do just that.
Instead, I hold it to my nose and inhale deeply.
Jasmine and gardenia. She’s worn the same perfume for our entire relationship. It’s my favorite scent in the world. What if I never smell it on her again?
“AJ, we’re gonna find her.” The strain in Jasper’s voice isn’t reassuring. I’m usually the one who talks to victims and witnesses when we work a case together. My brother ain’t a people person.
“She’s been missing for thirty-one hours.” The lump in my throat threatens to choke me. “We don’t know if she’s even still in the country. Whoever took her ain’t interested in ransom. They would’ve called me already. Released their demands to the media. Something.” My tears spill over. “What if she’s already dead?”
“She’s not. You’d know. You’d feel it,” he says.
Would I? We’ve been together so long, we can finish each other’s sentences. But soulmates? Neither of us ever put much stock in the concept.
I close my eyes, picturing her and Belle as they lounged in bed Saturday morning. The soft smile curving her lips. The light in her eyes.
Did I tell her I loved her before I left?
Fuck.
I didn’t.
Please, God. If you’re up there, bring her back to me. Give me a chance to be a better husband. To tell her—to show her—that I love her. Every damn day.
I haven’t prayed in over a decade, but now it’s all I can do. That…and hope somewhere out there, she’s doing the same.
The rest of the drive passes in a blur. Light spills from the front windows of the house, and it takes me a full minute to remember that McGrath kept Belle overnight, handing her off to one of his State Trooper friends early this morning. The woman brought the dog back here so she’d be somewhere familiar.
As soon as I step over the threshold, Belle bounds through the house, her nails scratching noisily across the tile. She skids to a stop and whines once she sees Grace isn’t with me.
