Page 15

I was so happy to see my work week ending. It had been a highly satisfying few days. In addition to Beau and I becoming closer and agreeing to have a relationship, he and I found the missing family the next day after our camp-out. They’d been worse for wear, and we had to have a helo pick them up, but they all survived. The dad had taken a fall and ended up breaking a leg and an arm. His family was too scared to try to leave without him, and their radio died. They found out that a cell phone didn’t work in that area. Thankfully, they were able to make a shelter for the nights they were missing and not freeze to death or be attacked by a wild animal. They were fortunate.

When Beau and I returned to the command post after hitching a ride back on the helicopter, the others congratulated us. We accepted their praise with handshakes and shrugs. The only one who didn’t appear happy was Lennox. He’d kept trying to get me to talk on the secure channel after that first time, and I refused. His scowl when he saw Beau with his arm around me was dark. I made Beau stay away from him. I knew Lennox was looking for a fight. Becarra tried to give me the day off, but I insisted I’d finish out my work rotation.

I was thrilled to see it come to an end. It meant Beau and I had four solid days together. We planned to spend a portion of it furthering the hunt for my sister. The rest would be about us. We were going to her apartment here to see if that blouse was there. Unfortunately, the DNA found on it, the doll, and the blanket didn’t have a match in any system. It was too degraded and was inconclusive. That didn’t mean it wasn’t Kensy’s. There was just no way to tell. Dad was always adamant that we not allow our DNA to be registered anywhere that the government could use it against us. Yeah, he was a tad paranoid, but we humored him and did as he said. Now, I wish we’d done the ancestry thing just to see if there was other family out there.

Once we were done with her place, Beau and I would head to Virginia. It seemed the bosses at the Dark Patriots thought it would be a good idea for us to all meet and chat in person. While I’d been working the last day and a half, Beau had been hard at work walking through my sister’s life here. He’d visited her work and her apartment complex and talked to those she was close to. They had no idea that he was doing it to find her. He kept who he was under wraps. No one seemed to have any idea who would’ve taken her or why.

I was frustrated. Time was ticking away, and we were no closer to finding my sister. I knew it was stupid to hold out hope that she’d be recovered. I knew the stats on people who were taken and sold. Most died very quickly. Others were sold over and over, and finding them was a tangled mess. Others, even if found, came back broken and unable to survive. I knew all that, but I still held out hope. The stories Beau had been telling me about people he knew and the things they’d survived made me think there was a chance.

He was meeting me at my place after work, and we were headed to Billings tonight. He wanted to search her apartment, and I needed to see if that blouse was there. From there, we’d fly out to Hampton, Virginia, in the morning. That’s where the Patriots’ office was. We’d spend the next three and a half days there before returning next Tuesday.

Thank God we weren’t made to work over for any reason. I bid the others a hasty goodbye, and I was off. I knew I sped most of the way home. I was lucky I wasn’t pulled over. As I pulled into my driveway, I was happy to see Beau’s car. What I wasn’t pleased to see was another vehicle. I recognized it as well. It belonged to Lennox. What the hell was he doing here? I pulled my truck into the garage. We’d be taking Beau’s rental.

Not wasting time, I hopped out and hurried to the front porch. I’d seen both men standing there, facing off with each other. I guess I should’ve expected something like this. I’d ignored calls and texts from Lennox since the search for that missing family. I hadn’t mentioned to Beau that I was receiving them. I knew he wouldn’t like it.

I bounded up the stairs. Both men were glaring at each other, and the tension was thick in the air. It felt like they were about to throw punches. I didn’t want that. I knew Beau could handle himself. Lennox would think he was a more than adequate opponent. He’d be wrong—no need to humiliate him.

“Gentlemen, what’re you both doing on my porch?” I asked.

“You know why I’m here, babe. We have plans,” Beau said first, smiling.

Lennox’s scowl grew. “You and I need to talk, Keeley. Alone. It’s important.”

“Lennox, I have no idea what we have to talk about. If it’s work-related, I’m off duty. Anything else, I don’t want to hear.”

I walked between them to the door. If I got Beau inside, we could shut out Lennox, and he’d get a clue and leave.

I just inserted my key into the lock when Lennox continued. “Even if it’s about him? He’s not who he says he is. And you and I do have things other than work or him to discuss. You’ve refused to answer my calls or texts. Why? Afraid of what I have to say? This guy isn’t who you should be with. He’s an outsider with secrets. You and I make sense together, not him,” Lennox snapped.

As I was turning to tell him to leave, Beau beat me to it. He was behind me, but he stepped closer to Lennox, putting his face in the pissed-off ranger’s face.

“She doesn’t want to see or speak to you. Get a fucking clue and leave her alone. Stop with the calls and texts. As for who I am and what my secrets are, Keeley knows everything. We have no secrets between us. Who I am is none of your business other than from the standpoint that I’m with her. You’ll never be. Stop chasing a woman who doesn’t want you. Have some pride,” Beau taunted.

I knew that would push Lennox over the edge, so I quickly whipped around to the other side of Beau, placing myself between them. Beau grabbed a hold of me to move me, but I stopped him.

“Don’t move me. I need you both to listen to me. Beau, I can fight my own battles. Thank you for wanting to do it for me, but it’s not necessary. Lennox, the reason I haven’t answered you is that I knew you wanted to rehash old ground, and I don’t want to. We dated, and I ended it. There wasn’t enough of anything there to build on. I’m sorry if that hurts your pride, but it’s true. It won’t change. I want you to leave me alone. And I know all I need to know about Beau. Please leave. We have plans tonight.”

“I had a friend try to investigate him. If law enforcement can’t do it without running into barriers, then it tells you that he has shit to hide. He’s dirty, Keeley. You’re gonna end up hurt or worse.”

“Ah, so that’s what it’s about. You tried to dig into me and got stonewalled, did ya? Good. It’s none of your business,” Beau said with a faint chuckle.

“I’m not leaving until you let me speak to her alone,” Lennox demanded.

It was news to me that one couldn’t research Beau, but with his work, I shouldn’t be surprised.

Both of them stepped closer, and I was practically squeezed in the middle. If we had any chance of getting out of here and on the road to Billings tonight, I had to get rid of Lennox. I glanced over my shoulder at a seething Beau. You couldn’t see it on his face, but I felt it. I reached back and took his hand in mine. He smiled at me.

“Honey, I need to speak to him alone.” He stiffened. I gripped his hand tighter. “Get my stuff off the bed and into your car. This won’t take long. We’ll stay outside.”

Beau searched my face for a good minute before he eased away. “I’ll be inside if you need me. Just holler. Lennox, keep your hands to yourself, or I’ll remove them. You have until I finish getting everything situated, and then you’re leaving. We have places to be tonight.”

Before he went to the door to turn the key still hanging inside the lock, Beau gave me a short, though passionate kiss. I was off-kilter when he went to the door, unlocked it, and entered after breaking our kiss. As soon as the door was closed except for a crack, I knew I was on the clock. I looked back to Lennox, who was glowering at the door.

“Say what you have to say.”

“Keeley, I know you think we don’t have a spark, but we do. I didn’t do a good enough job showing you how I felt about you when we dated. I was taking it slow. I had no idea I was going too slow, and you took it to mean I wasn’t that interested. I am. I’ve been wanting to be with you for the past three years. If you give me another chance, I know I can prove it. I’m not some guy just looking for a hookup, and then I’m done. He is. A man like that, who’s only here for a short time, doesn’t want more. He’ll hurt you. I don’t want that. I’m seeking permanence, something a guy like him knows nothing about and doesn’t want. I won’t sleep with other women. I’ll be faithful to you. He won’t.”

“You need to halt right there. You can tell me about your feelings and wants. You can’t know his or mine, so don’t say anything about them. You don’t know Beau.”

I could tell he didn’t like my remark, but he fought back any negative replies and went with a basic one.

“Alright, then, I want you to be my girlfriend. I want to see if we can make this become more, as in marriage. I think if you give me another chance, you’ll find I’m the perfect man for you.”

“Lennox, you’re a good guy. I think there is a woman out there for you, but it’s not me. I discovered enough in those two months to know that much. You deserve to find her and not settle for less. I deserve the same.”

“It’s because we didn’t have sex, isn’t it? You think we aren’t compatible, but I can show you that we are. Send him away, and we’ll spend the night together,” he said.

His expression became heated, and he moved closer to me. We’d exchanged kisses when we dated, but nothing more. They had been pleasant but nothing earth-shattering, unlike Beau’s, which scrambled my brains. I held up my hands and backed away.

“Whoa, step back. We’re not doing that.”

“Why not? Don’t tell me you haven’t fucked him, and you’ve barely known him a couple of weeks,” he sneered.

“Whether I’ve slept with Beau is none of your goddamn business. But since you brought it up, I can tell you that within a few days of meeting him, I wanted to. The whole time you and I dated, I wasn’t tempted once to sleep with you. That says it all in my book,” I snapped.

He was making me angry, and my temper sometimes caused my mouth to say things I shouldn’t say. This was one of them, based on the fury that overcame him as his face flushed red. Lennox let out a soft snarl, and then he reached for me. I was ready to evade his grab and punch him if necessary, but the front door exploded open. Beau came charging out. He was on Lennox in a blink and then had him pinned to the porch wall by the throat. Lennox struggled to get loose, but he couldn’t. Because of the way he was gagging and turning colors, I knew Beau had a tremendous hold on him, choking him.

I put my hand on Beau’s back. “Beau, honey, let go of him. He’s leaving.”

“He was about to lay hands on you. No one, and I mean no one, touches you without permission. If they do, I’ll tear their fucking heads off,” he growled as he shook Lennox with the hand still choking him. Poor Lennox was turning purple.

“I get it. I do. He won’t touch me. Please, let him go. We’ve got to get on the road. Don’t let him mess up our time together,” I pleaded.

He stared hard into Lennox’s eyes for several moments before easing his grip. Lennox sputtered and gagged for a good minute before he tried to speak. Beau had moved so he could wrap an arm around me.

“I-I’ll leave. I hope you know what you’re doing,” he rasped out hoarsely.

Without taking his gaze off Beau, Lennox backed off the porch and walked to his car. He left so fast that the tires spun, sending gravel everywhere. I didn’t relax until his car disappeared from sight. Beau smiled like nothing was ever wrong.

“Let’s make sure you have everything, then hit the road. I figured we’d get food on the way or when we got to Billings. Our first stop after that is the apartment. After we’re done there, we’ll go to the hotel. I have our room reserved. The plane leaves in the morning at nine.”

“Sounds good to me. Let me do a final check, and then we can go.”

It wasn’t more than five or six minutes later that I was tucked in the car, and we were on our way. I put Lennox and his behavior at the back of my mind. Kensington was my focus, followed by Beau. Anything else would have to wait until later, or in Lennox’s case, until never.

???

We’d stopped not far outside of Billings and had dinner. After we finished, we continued and didn’t stop until we reached Kensy’s apartment. She lived in a smaller development. It was in a decent part of town, and the rent wasn’t outrageous. Since it was only her, she rented a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment. Anything she wanted but didn’t need handy, she’d left in storage at my house.

Opening the door after not being here for so long felt weird. Walking inside, I smelled the staleness of the air from being closed up. Hating the odor, I immediately opened the front and kitchen windows. I didn’t care if it was cold outside. It would at least be fresh air. Turning on the lights, the first thing I insisted I do was go to her bedroom and look for the blouse. I told Beau I could do it alone. He said if I needed him, just to holler. He would be checking out the kitchen and living room.

It was a combo kitchen and living room with a tiny breakfast nook where two chairs and a table sat. I heard him opening cabinets and drawers. I had no idea what he was searching for, but I left him to it. My feet dragged as I turned on the light in her bedroom and approached her closet. The most logical place to look first was there. It was the kind of thing you’d hang up. If it weren’t there, then I’d check her dresser to be sure.

I moved each hanger one after the other, thoroughly scanning each item. When I was done, I even looked at the closet floor and on the shelf above. It wasn’t there. My heart pounded as I closed it and went to her dresser. Again, I carefully rifled through each drawer, ensuring I checked every item in there. When I was done, I hadn’t located the blouse.

I went into her bathroom next. The cabinets turned up nothing. I was about to find Beau when my eyes landed on her dirty clothes hamper. Opening the lid, I saw it was half full. I hadn’t thought about washing them when I came here after the police released the apartment back to me. My hands shook as I removed the pile and began to go through it one by one. I dropped the ones I checked back into the hamper. I was almost at the bottom of the pile when I froze. There was the blouse. My heart sank when I saw it. That meant the one I found wasn’t hers. Kensy hadn’t been in South Carolina. Whatever happened there probably had nothing to do with her.

Tears filled my eyes. I tried to choke them back as I stumbled to sit on the toilet lid. I buried my face in both hands and cried. I thought I was being quiet about it, but I must not have been. Beau landed on his knees next to me and pulled me into his arms. He rubbed my back as he whispered soothing words in my ear. I didn’t even know what they were. I just knew they were to make me feel better. When the storm subsided, I was able to look at him. I knew I was a mess, but he didn’t seem to care. He gave me a tender, loving look.

“Tell me, what brought this on? Did you not find it?”

“No, I found it. It’s right there. I realized that meant she wasn’t in there. I was hoping it was hers because it meant we at least had a lead. God, Beau, I’m never going to find her, am I? She’s out there, either dead or living in hell, and I’m never going to see her again. Why did I let her move here? It’s my fault. I should’ve moved with her if she wanted to be here so badly.”

My misery turned to rage in seconds. I came to my feet and kicked the hamper across the floor. Next, I swept the items on the bathroom counter to the floor. I would’ve done more, but Beau wrapped me in his arms, lifted me, and took me out to the bedroom. He laid me on her bed and cuddled me. I beat the pillows with my fists and bawled. I even screamed a few times. By the time I calmed down, I was hoarse, my nose was stuffy, my throat was sore, and I was exhausted.

“How do you feel? Do you want to rage more?” he asked softly.

I shook my head. “No, I don’t. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Babe, do you think I didn’t do the same when my sister went missing? I did, and a whole lot more. If you need to vent, just let me know. I’ll be there just to support you and to make sure you don’t hurt yourself.”

I sniffed a few times, and then I was able to think. “Did you find anything?”

“I don’t know. I found a piece of paper tucked into one of the books on her kitchen counter. It fell out when I shook it. It has a name and phone number on it. It might be nothing, but I want you to look at it. If you don’t recognize who it is, then I’ll have the techs check into it. At this point, we’ll treat anything we find as a potential clue.”

“I agree. I didn’t find anything other than her blouse. Although, that reminds me. Let me up. I want to look at something.”

A thought had just occurred to me. He let go so I could get up. He slid off the bed, too. On her dresser was the small jewelry box where she kept her good jewelry. Her cheap stuff went into a different organizer. Opening her good one, I saw the few things Dad had gotten her over the years. There was the necklace I gave her when she graduated. In the lid was a mirror. I pried the mirror and the velvet lining away from the lid. Behind it was where she always would keep anything she wanted to keep private. I found folded papers there. As I removed them, the doorbell rang, causing me to jump.

“Shit, who could that be?” I asked as I grabbed my chest.

“Maybe a neighbor who saw lights or heard us. Let me go see who it is,” he offered.

“No, I’ll go with you. Just let me put this back.” I pressed the lining in place and tucked the papers into my back jeans pocket. As soon as we got rid of her neighbor, we’d read them. We went from the bedroom to the front entry, which wasn’t far. The bell rang again, and this time, whoever it was pounded on the door.

Beau squinted a peek through the peephole. He stepped back. “It’s a man in a suit. Stand back and stay behind the door. Let me see who he is,” he ordered gruffly.

As I stepped back, his hand brushed against the gun he was carrying. I had mine on me as well. I tensed as he opened the door a couple of inches.

“Yes, may I help you?” he asked.

“Yes, you can. You can tell me who you are and why you’re in this apartment. Don’t bother to lie and say it’s yours because I know it’s not,” a man’s voice said gruffly.

Something about it was familiar. Disregarding Beau’s orders, I moved enough to peek around him. When I saw who it was, some of the tension in me eased.

“Honey, it’s alright. He’s a friendly,” I said to Beau.

I moved out to the side so I could be seen. Beau opened the door a little more, but not all the way. Detective Chase stood there frowning. His frown eased a bit when he saw me.

“Detective Chase, what a surprise. What’re you doing here?” I asked. I wiggled my way past Beau so I was in front of him, facing the detective.

“Ms. Mills, I had no idea you were in town. How long have you been here?”

“We just got in this evening. I wanted to check on the place and make sure no one had touched it. You know how empty places can attract people. We were just finishing up,” I informed him.

“You didn’t say how you came to be here,” Beau said.

Chase was eyeing Beau, and he was doing the same back.

“A neighbor called in saying that there were lights on here and that they heard someone in the apartment. They were concerned since they knew it was empty. When the call came in and dispatch saw the address, they contacted me. I wasn’t far away. We’d hoped it might be that Ms. Mills’ sister had returned.”

“I wish she had,” I muttered.

“I don’t think we’ll be that lucky,” Beau said at the same time.

“May I ask who you are and what you’re doing with Ms. Mills?”

“My name is Beau. I work in private security. I’m assisting Ms. Mills in finding her sister.”

“Private security or an investigator?” Chase asked.

“A little of both, I guess you’d say. We do whatever is necessary to get the job done and to recover the person or item that’s missing.”

The detective asked, “Do you think you can find her when the police haven’t been able to?”

“I do.”

“Do you work alone or for a company?”

I wasn’t sure what was up with all the questions, but there was something about the way he asked and watched us that made me wary of saying much to Detective Chase. As a result, I kept my mouth shut and let Beau talk while I watched and listened.

“I work for a company. We’re almost done here. If you don’t mind, we want to do another walk-through before we leave. Since you’re here, have you found anything new about Kensington’s disappearance?” Beau asked.

I would’ve missed the tiniest twitch in his cheek if I hadn’t been so intently watching Chase’s face. Most people would say it was just an involuntary movement, but something told me it was more than that.

“I’m sad to say that we have not. I know that you don’t want to hear this, Ms. Mills, but if she didn’t leave of her own free will, the likelihood we’ll ever find her is zero. We’ll keep our eyes open and follow any lead, of course, but it’s been almost three months. I think you should consider letting her apartment go and moving her things. It’s only costing you money and keeping you from moving on.”

Detective Chase gave me a sympathetic smile, but there was something about his mouth that made me feel like he was trying not to grin. What the hell was going on? Where were these weird thoughts coming from?

“We’ll discuss it,” Beau said.

“Speaking of money, spending money on private investigators and such isn’t going to get you results, either. If the police, with all our resources, can’t find her, how can he? What did you say your company is called?” he asked Beau.

“I didn’t. Here, let me give you one of my business cards. Then we have to go.” Beau got a card out of his wallet and handed it to Chase.

Chase glanced at it, nodded, and then said before he walked away, “Have a good evening, folks.”

As soon as Beau shut the door, I went to speak, but he shook his head and put his finger up to his mouth. Wait , he mouthed. I did as he asked, but I was dying to tell him what I thought I saw and find out why he didn’t want me to say anything.