That just didn’t happen. He wouldn’t leave them willingly, but it was starting to sink in that he had. Now it was driving Nova insane that he couldn’t locate him. The injustice of it burned in his gut and had him rubbing at his eyes to fight the sting in them.
He was able to find a solution to every problem except the most important one.
Now sick to his stomach, Nova reached for his phone and looked in vain for a call he might have missed even if he’d been carrying it like a lifeline for two days. He checked his texts, seeing a new one from Tino.
Answer my calls, asshole. People around here look at me like I just clipped their dog. Miss home.
He groaned, wondering which of them had it worse, Tino, who was stuck in Hicksville with a town full of people who blamed him for losing their local lawyer, or Nova, who was dealing with the start of a Moretti family civil war.
Even as he pondered it, his phone rang. Seeing who it was, Nova answered hopefully, “Hey, Conner.”
“Hear anything?”
“If I heard something, I would have told you.”
“Did you trace his phone?”
Only a million times.
“ The phone’s off,” Nova reminded him. “Have you tried Jules’s phone again?”
“It’s still off.” Wyatt sighed, sounding as lost as Nova felt. “I should’ve told her
’bout the baby. If she’d known, she wouldn’t have left.” 316
“We all got shit to feel guilty about.” Nova lit a cigarette and blew the smoke out casually. “Hey, Garrett Shaw, how come your town’s treating my little brother like shit?
I’m not too happy with Tino right now, but I don’t like your hick neighbors picking on him either.”
“What’d you just call me?” Wyatt asked, the raw shock reverberating through his voice.
“Nothing, it was an obscure jab,” Nova said with a wince. The exhaustion was making him forget himself. “Those Heroes of Sapphire County books, they remind me of you.”
“How so?”
“The kid’s named Garrett Shaw. You’re named Wyatt Conner.”
“That comparison don’t make a lick of sense.”
“The comparison makes perfect sense. Pat Garrett’s a famous lawman just like Wyatt Earp.”
Wyatt was silent for a long moment, before he said in surprise, “I never thought of that.”
“Garrett’s father is the sheriff of Sapphire County. Your father was the sheriff.
He’s got a twin sister and you got a twin sister,” Nova went on, sort of enjoying the distraction. “And it’s more than that—Sapphire County, the descriptions, they’re dead-on for your town. The author must have used Garnet as inspiration. I’m not even gonna get into her pen name, but I’m pretty sure she borrowed your life too. Only the guy in the books is a friggin’ superhero. You’re just an asshole.”
“Thanks, Moretti. The feeling’s mutual.”
“You should sue T.C. Rennoc for stealing your life,” Nova told him seriously.
“The bitch has made a billion dollars off that series. They’d probably settle out of court just to shut you up.”
Wyatt laughed. “Don’t tell my sister that.”
317
“If I could find your sister, I would. The similarities are uncanny. If I thought you knew how to read, I’d tell you to pick them up, but they’re making a movie. So—”
“I’ve read the books, motherfucker,” Wyatt snapped at him. “I know more about them than you do.”
“I doubt that.” Nova snorted, not trusting Wyatt enough to tell him the entire story was embedded in his brain. He wasn’t even sure why he was spending this much time on the phone with this asshole to begin with. “You know, I’ve talked more to you in the past two days than I have with my own brother.”
“That is disturbing,” Wyatt agreed.
“Course, I’m pissed at Tino right now.” Nova took another drag off his cigarette.
“And you’re the only guy getting less sleep than me.”
“That’s true. I’ve considered just putting something across the wire, but—”
“You’d lose your license if you did that,” Nova finished for him. “She wrote you a note. Tino saw her driving after they dropped off the Ferrari. She left on her own free will. There’s no evidence to prove otherwise, and you know it.”
“I can’t do it unless I have a reason to believe she’s in danger.”
“But you don’t.”
“Damn it, Moretti!” Wyatt growled, the edge to his voice sharpened with worry and exhaustion. “You can’t tell me your brother left for nothing. You know shit you aren’t telling me.”