Chase clenched his fists. “Like I told Cash, I’m responsible.”
“I disagree that you’re responsible,” Chloe replied.
“The Spatafores are responsible,” Teresa said.
“Even so,” Chloe said with a worried expression, “I can’t imagine you looking the other way now that she’s missing.”
“No. I sure as hell won’t look the other way,” Chase growled. “I just pray to God they haven’t left the Springs.”
“Richard will find out where they are,” Chloe said reassuringly.
Teresa nodded. “I doubt they would leave their businesses on such short notice.”
“That’s true,” Chloe said. “I can tell you one thing, Jade is as crazy about you as you are about her, Chase.”
“Crazy in a good way and not the way Bob told me that private investigator tried to make you believe,” Teresa said as she set a hearty breakfast in front of him. “Eat.”
“Whether or not she’s crazy about me is beside the point,” Chase said, picking up a fork. “The Spatafores are predators. And Jade is their most prized capture.”
The women agreed as they all put their heads and clues together in concern for Jade. Chase finished eating and glanced at his phone to see what time it was when a text came through from Bill, who he explained was Jade’s next-door neighbor.
“Bill says a woman in a gray, uniform-like dress let herself into Jade’s house, so obviously they have the new house key she had made. The woman came out with a big trash bag and sped off in an older model Audi sedan.”
“Clothes and shoes,” Chloe said.
“Underwear and other personal items,” Teresa guessed.
“Thanks for the breakfast and conversation, ladies,” he said, sliding off the barstool and heading out of the kitchen. “Gotta go.”
“Where are you going, Chase?” Chloe asked.
“Town,” he called over his shoulder.
“Wait for Cash or Bob,” Teresa suggested.
“They’re busy branding.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Jade awakened when a blonde in a gray dress burst into the bedroom. Jade vaguely recalled being introduced to the woman, who looked to be in her mid-forties.
“Please remind me of your name,” Jade said, groggy and struggling to sit up.
“Greta! Same as last night!” the woman snapped and dropped a black trash bag inside a closet. “Get out of bed. He’ll be here soon.”
“Who?”
Greta didn’t reply and left the room.Did I spend the night here, Jade wondered. Where washere? She did seem to recall falling asleep in this bed. How did that happen? She swung her legs over the side of the bed, comforted by the fact she was still wearing her royal blue dress. She saw a bathroom across the room and made her way there. Realizing she needed a monthly feminine product, in a well-stocked cabinet underneath the sink, she found a certain kind.
I’ve never even used…a certain kind of monthly feminine product. That was true, but who in the world would she have confided that to? With no other option, she was surprised at the ease and lack of discomfort.I’ll pull out before—No, don’t. It’s not the right time of the month.
Where was this coming from? Drawing a blank, she washed her face and hurried back to the bedroom. Taking a comb from her purse, she ran it through her hair. No sooner had she slipped on her red heels than she heard a male voice on the other side of the door. Franco? As he knocked, he entered the room. No surprise there. Though she had repeatedly asked Franco not to do that, he had done so at the front door of her house. Thus, she’d changed the lock.
“Good morning, my dear,” Franco said. “You look well rested.”
Jade felt anything but. “Why am I here, Franco?”
“Time for tea and breakfast.”
