Page 77 of Blade

“How could she do that? She’s a grown woman now—and Grace has been living with her all this time!”

“Don’t think about that,” I say, taking her hand. “This is it! This is why Grace isn’t talking to you. We can use this to get through to her ...”

I’m about to tell Jolene the things we can say to get Grace to trust her, to trust me.

But then we feel a gust of cold air sweep through the room. And hear the front door slam shut.

Jolene and I run from the living room to the foyer, where the air lingers, spilling specks of fresh snow on the carpet.

“Grace?” Jolene calls out. She leads the way upstairs to the two bedrooms. Both doors are open now. Both rooms are empty.

Jolene is already back in the hallway, yelling her name louder. “Grace!”

“She wouldn’t go out in this storm,” I say.

But Jolene looks through the coats that hang on the wall.

“It’s gone,” she says. “Her coat is missing.”

I open the door, and we both look outside.

“There!” I point to deep footprints on the landing, leading down the three steps to the parking lot.

Grace is gone.

Jolene reaches for her boots, about to run out into the storm. I grab her arm and pull her back.

“Wait,” I plead with her. “The ankle bracelet will set off a chain of calls—to the DA’s office first, to Artis next. He’ll be able to track her.”

I pull out my phone and dial Artis’s number. Jolene watches with wide eyes that dart from me to the footprints in the snow.

Artis answers. It sounds like he’s in the car. “Where are you?” I ask him. He said he was going to see Dawn, then head home. That was hours ago.

“Tracking down loose ends,” he says. “What’s going on?”

I tell him what’s happened—Grace has left the condo. Gone out into the storm.

“I’ll call the monitoring station,” he says. “I’ll get her as soon as I have the location.”

I assure Jolene that Artis will find her, but she shakes her head. “I need to go!”

She’s exhausted from lack of sleep and worry. Not thinking straight. I grab hold of her shoulders.

“Jo—please. Stay here in case she comes back,” I plead with her, but I can see this isn’t enough.

“I’ll go look for her, okay? I’ll go.”

I slip on my boots and coat while Jolene watches.

I take her in my arms and squeeze with all my might.

“Find her, Ana. Promise me ...”

So I do. I promise her and rush off, wondering why Grace is running.

When I step outside, the wind rushes, pushing against me. I lean into it, headfirst, thinking about where she might go. Her words filling my head.

“It’s not safe here . . .”