I sighed and rubbed my forehead.“It’s just…” I trailed off.
Push stayed quiet.Waiting.God, I hated that he was good at this.
“When we were kids,” I finally said softly, “Erin and I got placed with a foster family in Tennessee for a couple of months.”
Push’s entire expression shifted immediately.“It was bad?”he asked quietly.
I laughed once without humor.“That’s one word for it.”
The memories clawed at the edges of my brain again, but I shoved them back down before they could fully surface.“We hated it there,” I continued.“By the time we finally got moved somewhere else, we swore we’d never go back.”
Push studied me carefully.“So you don’t think Erin would’ve gone there.”
“No.”I shook my head immediately.“Not willingly.”
Silence stretched between us for a second.The breeze lifted my hair while somewhere in the distance a tourist screamed loudly.
Push reached up and brushed his thumb lightly along my jaw.“You think Ron was lying.”
Not a question, a statement.
I looked down at the porch boards.“I don’t know.”That was the truth.“Maybe Erin said it to throw him off,” I said quietly.“Or maybe he made it up because he didn’t know what else to say.”
Push was quiet for another beat.“You wanna tell Anchor?”
I looked toward the clubhouse door.Toward the club that had somehow become mine too, without me noticing when exactly that happened.“I don’t know yet,” I admitted.
Because accusing someone based on a weird feeling wasn’t enough.
Not for me.
Not after years of PI work where instincts mattered, but proof mattered more.
Push nodded slowly like he understood exactly what I meant.“You’ll figure it out,” he said simply.
I looked up at him.“What if I’m wrong?”
“Then you’re wrong.”His fingers slid into my hair gently.“But if something feels off to you, I trust it.”
I stared at him for a second too long before finally exhaling softly.“God, you’re annoyingly supportive for a biker.”
One corner of his mouth lifted.“Don’t tell the guys.I got a reputation.”
I laughed quietly.
Push leaned down and pressed a kiss against my forehead before opening the clubhouse door for me.
“Come on, baby,” he murmured.“Take the day to think about it, and we’ll deal with Ron tomorrow.”
I walked inside beside him, but my mind stayed stuck on one thing.
Tennessee.
Either Ron knew more than he was saying, or Erin had been trying to tell somebody something before she disappeared.
Chapter Twenty-One
Push
