“Where are you parked?”
“At the end of the driveway.” His eyes narrow. “Why?”
“Let’s go.”
I stalk past him, not giving him a chance to say anything as I exit the house, once again dialing Jessica.
“Trouble, pick the da?—”
The soft ringing of a phone makes me go rigid, and Nico slams into my back.
“What the hell?—”
“Shh!” I hiss, scanning the area. I remove my phone from my ear and follow the ringing.
It doesn’t take me long to find her phone lying on the gravel road. I crouch down and pick it up, my smiling face on her cracked home screen staring back at me.
“Call Mae.”
Nico curses under his breath but quickly does as I said, putting the call on speaker. Mae picks up after just two rings. “If you’re calling for a booty call, I’m going to have to disappoint?—”
“What do you know about Aiden?” I interrupt, not in the least bit interested in their little games.
“M-Matthew?” Mae stutters, clearly surprised. “What the— Where?—”
“Aiden, Mae,” I grind out. “What do you know about Aiden?”
“Don’t be an asshole,” Nico mutters, glaring at me.
“You don’t tell me what to do when my girlfriend is missing and there is a lunatic on the loose!” I throw back at him, my fingers clenching hard.
“Jessy is missing? What?—”
“Yes. Focus, Mae. Aiden. What can you tell me about him?”
“Umm… Not much? I talked to him a few times. He seemed fine.” Mae lets out a nervous huff. “I always teased Jessy that he has a crush on her.”
That ringing in my ears intensifies. “A crush? How long has this been going on?”
“Yeah, I mean, she never looked at him that way if that’s why you’re asking. He’s always been just a friend for her…”
“How long?”
“I don’t know. Since they met. It was a few years ago. He transferred here from Montana… No, wait. I think it might have been Colorado. He helped Jessica when she changed her major. That’s how they met.”
“Fucking hell.” My heart is thumping so hard I think it might burst. I glance at Nico, a trace of the panic that’s been building inside me reflected on his face. “He has her.”
“Who has her?” Mae asks. “What is going on? Where is Jessy?”
“The fucker has her.”
I turn around, trying to figure out what to do next.
How to find her.
Ihaveto find her.
Nothing else is an option.
