‘What? No. Where did she go?’
‘If I knew I’d fucking be there.’
‘Calm down. Did you two have a disagreement?’
‘Fuck, no. Everything between us is fine. I had to go out for a short time, and when I returned, she wasn’t here. She’s not answering her phone. What if they have her, Rupert?’
‘Shit. I haven’t heard anything. I’ll head over to the house and see what I can find out.’
‘I’ll meet you there.’
‘No,’ Rupert snaps. ‘If they do have her, we need to be smart about this. Going off all half-cocked isn’t going to get us anywhere. It’s only going to put Jade in more danger.’
‘Fuck.’ He’s right, but sitting around and doing nothing when she could be in danger isn’t an option.
‘I’ll call you back once I’ve scoped out M’s. Call me in the meantime if you hear from her.’
Ending the call, I place the phone in my pocket. I close my eyes and chant a silent prayer: Please let her be okay.
Thank fuck Josh soon arrives to stop me from heading over there, because that’s exactly what I want to do. I haven’t stopped pacing. There’s still no word from her. Rupert calls to tell me she wasn’t at her apartment when he went there to check and that he was heading to M’s house. I call Theo as soon as Rupert confirms Jade isn’t at her apartment. He’s the only other contact I have for her, and when I tell him she’s vanished, he offers immediately to help.
Everything in me wants to go over to M’s and tear that house apart until I find her, but what if she isn’t there? I don’t want to alert M to the fact that Jade may be somewhere alone and vulnerable, even though my gut tells me she is behind this. Jade wouldn’t walk away from me, I know it.
When Theo arrives, Josh and I leap into the car with him to drive blindly around the city, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. My heart picks up whenever I see someone with long brown hair, but it drops the minute I realise it isn’t her.
It’s no fucking use—we won’t find her this way—but I feel powerless doing nothing. If she’s not at M’s, where the fuck is she?
I feel like I’m going out of my mind.
It’s some ungodly hour in the morning when Theo, Josh and I finally give up and head back to my house. I tell Josh and Theo to go home, but they refuse to leave me alone. I appreciate that. We brainstorm ideas for a few hours, but it’s futile. We have no leads and nothing to go on.
Josh and Theo fall asleep on the sofa, but not me. As exhausted as I am, I can’t sleep. I won’t rest until I have her back. I clutch my head in my hands as images of her flood my mind. I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t find her soon.
What if I never find her?
I’m jolted from my thoughts by my phone. Looking down at the screen, I see it’s Rupert calling. I hope he has some good news.
‘Brock.’
‘Rupert, do you have anything?’
‘Yes.’
My adrenaline picks up and I bolt upright in my seat. ‘You found her?’ I ask hopefully.
‘I think so.’
‘What do you mean you fucking think so?’ I snap. ‘You either did or you didn’t.’
‘Calm down.’
‘How the fuck can I calm down? Where is she? Is she okay?’ I’m usually in control, but right now I’m a fucking mess.
‘It only dawned on me a few hours ago to do a track on her phone. I had a program installed when I was looking after her. Just in case something ever went wrong.’
Jesus, why didn’t I think of that? ‘And?’
‘M’s address came up.’ I fucking knew it.
‘I’m coming over there,’ I say standing.
‘No.’
‘You can’t fucking stop me, Rupert. If she’s there, I’ll tear the place apart until I find her.’
‘Listen,’ he says, and I can hear he’s trying to remain calm, ‘her phone is there, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she is. Use your common sense. You can’t come over here like a charging bull. It won’t do her any good.’
‘So we’re going to just sit around and do nothing?’ Like hell. She’s not safe with that woman and Rupert knows that as well as I do.
‘This is exactly why I didn’t call you earlier. You’re too emotionally invested. I have a plan, but you need to trust me on this.’
I rub my hand over my face in frustration. He’s right, I’m no good to her like this.
Get your shit together, Weston, your girl needs you.
I’ll hear him out, but if I’m not happy with his idea I’m going to take charge. Situations like this are what I do for a living.