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“Fight? No fight. Not sure what makes you think that.” Did he hear anything we talked about?

Jeff uncrosses his legs and slouches further down like he’s settling in for a long stay. “I don’t know. It looked intense from where I was.”

I laugh. “And where was that? I didn’t see you outside.”

He scratches his ear. It’s one of his tells. He’s getting ready to pounce. “Oh, you wouldn’t. I was in my car.”

He didn’t hear us then. Relief washes over me like a retreating tide, taking away the worry with it. I grab a couple of files and tap them together on my desk. It’s more subtle thanget the fuck out of my office, but still pretty obvious I want him gone.

“She said the same thing. No fight. She’s a pretty little thing, isn’t she? If you’re not together, is she single?” Jeff smirks.

I won’t take the bait. I drop the files on my desk. Recline again. “How long have we known each other, Jeff?”

“I’m not doing that math, but since middle school, if my memory serves me right. Over twenty years, I reckon.” A smooth smile follows.

I stand up, brace myself on the desk, and lean in. “Have I ever volunteered information I didn’t have to or gossiped about anyone in those twenty-plus years?”

“Nope. You’re still the same old good boy, Jake. Never tell lies, never tattletale, never say a word if silence will do. You’ll be taking a lot of secrets with you to your grave.” It doesn’t sound like a compliment. He gets up then and glances at my desk. His eyes widen, and he shakes his head.

Fuck! Emily’s case file.

He looks at me with pity. “After all these years, you’re still looking for her?”

I loathe the bitterness rising in my chest.

He walks to the door. Stops. “Why? Some cases can never be solved. Past time you let it go. It can only bring more pain. Emily is gone. Forever.”

I bite my tongue to keep from cussing him out and prove him right in one thing. I let silence be my answer.

Chapter28

Avalon

I don’t rememberthe drive back to the apartment. My mind is a hurricane of thoughts. I wasn’t prepared for Jake’s reaction and never expected him to take the revelation of how we originally met the way he did. But it was more than that. I kick off my shoes and drop onto the couch.

The bathroom door opens, and Lynn steps out wearing my robe, followed by a cloud of steam. “Hey, you’re back. How did it go?”

I meet her eyes.

She rushes over and sits next to me. “What happened?”

My shoulders go up, I open my mouth, and nothing comes out. I get up, walk to the fridge, and get a bottle of water. Drain it. Toss the empty bottle in the trash.

I stare into nothing. “I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure it out. One minute we were making out like teenagers, the next he’s walking away because he can’t deal with the reasons we’ve been brought together—the missing women.”

Her hands go up. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up a minute.”

“What?” I force myself to focus on her.

“Go back to the part where you two are making out like teens. Let’s start there and leave nothing out.”

Oh, Lynn. I try to smile, but my lips tremble—I press them together and lift a shoulder instead.

She crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow.

I’m not getting away without telling her something. “I don’t know. One second, I was knocking on Jake’s door, the next, the door was locked, and he had me against it, and his mouth was on mine. And…” My face heats at the memory of that kiss, the grinding, the orgasm. Nothing like that has ever happened to me before, at least not without a lot more foreplay.

“And?” Lynn waves her hands at me, fully invested in finding out as much as she can.