“Who’s Nick?” West asks, curiosity coating his handsome face.
“No one,” I say. “Just an old friend.” I shrug and smile, but I know West can see through it. He watches me for a beat before Cade interrupts, and the guilt of my omission sets in.
“Well, we should probably get back to the station now. I just wanted to call West out. Thanks for the delicious stuff, Jade.”
I get off West’s lap and nod. “Of course. Please come back any time.”
“You okay?” West asks softly, noticing I’m a little fidgety since the phone call.
“Mhm.” I lean up on my toes and give him a soft peck. “Have a good day. I’ll see you later.”
“Okay. See you later.”
After the men leave, I go to the back and pull out my phone. Tuesday night after kissing West goodbye when he dropped me off, I got another text, so I forwarded it to Nick right away but haven’t heard from him yet.
Hitting call back, I wait with a bated breath as the phone rings.
“Jade,” Nick greets me.
“Hi, Nick. Have you found anything?” I ask, hopeful.
“I wish I had better news for you, Jade, but the truth is, whoever is sending these texts knows their stuff. It’s a burner, and I can’t get a cell tower ping from it. It’s like they have a blocker or something.”
My shoulders deflate. “It’s okay. Thank you for trying.”
“I won’t give up, Jade, okay? If you get anything more, just keep forwarding them.”
“I will.”
“Take care.”
“You too.” I end the call, scrolling to the text message on my phone, and feel the nausea roll through me as I read it once again
Unknown: Does he know that you’re lying to him?
I sigh, swiping the message away and tucking the phone back into the pocket of my jeans.
“You asshole.” I shove Cade as we exit the bakery and make our way back to the station.
“You’ve really been ordering coffee every day?” He laughs deeply. “Man. You have it bad.”
“Shut up,” I grumble.
“She’s good for you, brother. And I really appreciate what she did for Maysie. What’s her story?”
I rub the back of my neck as my eyes pull together, because the truth is, I don’t know it.
“I’m not really sure. All I know is that she lost her family in some kind of accident.”
“Wow. Poor girl.” He shakes his head, and at this moment, I’m hit with the realization that I still don’t really know her. Only the little pieces she’s given me. Which now that I think about it, isn’t a whole lot.
The sound of someone moaning for help perks my ears and pulls me from my thoughts. Putting my hand out to stop Cade, I halt and try to focus on the sound.
“Did you hear that?” I ask my brother.
He shakes his head. “Hear what?”
The moan comes again.
