The search for twenty-one-year-old Mary Greenberg is still underway. There have been no new leads or sightings since she was reported missing just over one month ago.
A picture of a blond-haired woman with brown eyes and an innocent smile flashed onto the screen. My eyes went right to the image and got stuck there.
It wasn’t her face that held me captive.
It was what was hanging around her neck—a locket with a red gem in the center.
The girl in the picture on my phone was holding up a necklace exactly like the one on the TV screen.
What were the odds they would both have identical necklaces?
Two missing girls, one necklace.
There was something else I learned during my time at war. There were no coincidences.
I turned away from the TV and leaned against the bar, pretending interest in the card game. Casually, I pulled out my phone and called up the photo, staring hard at her image.
What’s your name? I finally texted. I needed a name to go with her face. It didn’t seem right that someone could affect me so much when I didn’t even know her name.
Honor Calhoun.
Honor. I liked that name. It was strong. It was unexpected. I wasn’t going to ignore those texts. I couldn’t. If I did, it would haunt me for the rest of my life. I didn’t need anymore ghosts.
I’m going to get you out of there, Honor.
It was a promise. It was a vow. I never broke a promise. And I never left a man (or woman) behind.
I’m scared.
Those two words did something to me. She could have said a million other things. But she chose those two words. Two words that made her even more vulnerable than clearly she already was. I swallowed past the lump in my throat as my fingers moved over the keypad.
I know. We’re going to figure this out.
What’s your name?
Nathan.
Someone at the table whooped with joy, and I heard the sliding of a pile of chips across the table. It was Lex. I felt my lip curl in contempt as my body filled up with suppressed rage and adrenaline. I could just beat her location out of him.
I had ways of persuasion that would surely work.
But something inside me whispered to hold back. That a beating was letting this sicko off easy. If what I suspected was true, then he hadn’t just kidnapped one woman, but at least two… and if he did it twice, I had no doubt there was a string of violated and dead bodies behind him and plans for more in the future.
This guy deserved something far worse than just a beating.
Besides, Honor had been stuck God knows where for God knows how long. She was probably cold and hungry, and from the looks of her, I knew she was injured.
I set the still full beer on the bar and tucked my phone into my pocket. “Sorry, guys, I gotta head out.”
“So soon?” one of the guys said, glancing at me.
“Yeah, someone from work texted me, needed me to fill in for duty tomorrow all day.” I lied. I didn’t have to stand duty for another two weeks.
“That sucks.”
“You’re telling me,” I drawled. That wasn’t a lie. Duty sucked. I had to go sit at the desk all day and night, do patrols around the facility, and answer the phone in case messages came down and needed to be passed to the higher ranks I worked with. It was boring. It was endless. It was part of the job.
“Gotta go get my beauty sleep,” I cracked. “I’ll see you next week? Same time, same place?” I asked, stopping beside the table and glancing at Lex.
“Absolutely, man,” replied Patton. He was the one who introduced me to these weekly poker games. I was starting to rethink my decision of ever coming.
“Just don’t let Lex bring the beer next time. We need that shit on time,” I said, grinning at Lex. I hoped it looked more friendly than I felt.
Lex grunted. “A guy runs late one time,” he muttered while he dealt a new hand of cards to everyone at the table. All the guys laughed.
“I sent you a text, man. Did you get it?” I said, watching closely for his reaction. I hadn’t seen his phone in his hands all night. Now I knew why. Part of me hoped he would pull it out of his pocket and check it for the missed message. Part of me hoped I really was wrong about what I was thinking. I couldn’t think of anyone who would want to be right.
He made a face, like he didn’t know what I was talking about. He reached around to his back pocket where I assumed he sought out his phone. I watched the alarm pass through his eyes as he patted his pockets a little more furiously.
Interesting.
He stood and reached into the front pocket of his jeans. They were empty too. His eyes flashed up, meeting mine. I recognized the look that lay deep within. Panic and fear.
Well, shit. If that wasn’t guilt, then I wasn’t a Marine. A little surge of unease rippled through me. Would he know Honor had it? Would he leave here and go seek her out? Would he punish her for what I said?