Page 58 of Claiming Ours (Anchor Bay #2)

We all filed out, each giving the others a nod as we broke apart and headed to our respective cabins—except Miles and Aiden, who lived together with Aspen.

Down the road, Oliver’s state-issued SUV disappeared, the roar of the engine slowly fading.

I shook my head while I walked, trying to piece together everything that had transpired in our normally mundane weekly meeting.

The necklace we found near the dead woman was Caroline’s.

What the actual fuck.

What did that mean? With all the rain, it could’ve ended up there from anywhere along that mountain range.

There was no doubt in my mind that Miles was already putting together a search team to target that area, hoping to find more traces of his friend—our friend.

Too bad the helicopter was unusable, or we could’ve used it to search the hard-to-reach areas.

My steps faltered at that thought. Glaring at the tips of my boots, I considered what West said to Langston about the helicopter being sabotaged.

Could whoever was behind all this be one step ahead of us—hell, maybe even two to three steps?

How the fuck could that happen? Didn’t experts say it took a while for someone to do something like this so seamlessly, not leaving any evidence behind—to be this good at stealing women without a trace?

Maybe it had been going on for way longer—years, even—before we put the disappearances together.

With that gut-dropping thought, I jogged the last stretch to the cabin, cleared the few steps to the porch in one leap, and slid the key already in my hand into the lock. But when I gave it a twist, it didn’t move, because the deadbolt was already unlocked.

I was positive I’d locked it on my way out, had even checked it twice to be sure. Fear slithered through my veins as I shoved the door open, the force causing it to bounce off the wall, cracking the drywall.

“Baylee,” I bellowed. After checking the main area, I spun on my heel and rushed to my bedroom. “Memphis.” His name echoed through the entire cabin.

Entering the bedroom, I stumbled to a stop at the sight of Baylee kneeling in the middle of the bed.

Alone.

Crying.

Her watery eyes met mine as those sad tears that ripped my heart open streamed down her face.

“He left,” she rasped, ice-blue eyes dipping to the rumpled spot on the bed beside her. “He’s gone.”

Careful to keep my approach slow and calculated, I made my way to the bed and sat on the edge. The second I opened my arms, she shuffled across the king-size mattress and curled against my chest.

Her small hand fisted the front of my shirt while I stroked a hand along her back, hoping to calm her enough to get the full story, because what she said made little sense.

The fucker was almost a stranger, sure, but I knew he loved the woman in my arms as much as I did.

So I needed to find out, really fucking quick, what happened so I could fix it.

Even if that meant kicking his ass and dragging him back here unconscious to make her stop crying. Damn, her tears gutted me.

“Tell me what happened,” I murmured.

Sniffling, she shifted to tip her face up to mine. “We were talking and laughing after you left for the meeting. Everything was fine. Then it wasn’t.”

“Did something happen?”

“He checked his phone, and it was like his entire demeanor flipped. He jumped out of bed and started throwing on clothes, all while deflecting my questions about what was going on.” Her lower lip wobbled. “What if he doesn’t come back?”

“Did he say anything when he left?” I doubted Memphis would leave her like this, even if it was some kind of emergency that needed his attention.

A sliver of worry seeped in, wondering if it had something to do with his past and addictions, but I quickly shoved that down. “Were you crying when he left?”

That would determine the level of pain I’d inflict on the asshole.

She shook her head. “These didn’t start until you came home.” I winced, hating that I’d caused her tears. “And all he said was there was something important he needed to do.”

“Did he say where he was going?”

She lifted a single shoulder. “Not specifically. He just said he was leaving. Liam, if he doesn’t come back… if he leaves me, us….” Fresh tears filled her lower lids. “Why would he do that?”

“He wouldn’t,” I said, feeling that truth down to my bones. “Which is why I’m going to find out exactly what’s going on.”

She pushed back on my chest and sat up straight. “How?”

“We’re a remote Alaskan village, Little Bit.

There are only so many places for him to be.

” Standing, I urged her to lie down and covered her with the quilts.

Placing a searing kiss to her forehead, I waited for her full attention to land on me.

“You stay here. I’ll figure out what’s going on. But have some faith in the guy. I do.”

“Why was he so vague, then? Why didn’t he just tell me what was wrong so I could help? I wanted to help, but he just?—”

I pressed a finger to her lips. “We’ll get it sorted, Baylee. I promise. Stay here while I go hunt—” Her brows flew up her forehead. “Find?” She blew out a relieved breath and smiled. “While I go find Memphis and get it all sorted. I’ll be back soon.”

Maybe with his head on a stake or dragging him behind me, but I’d be back.

“I don’t want you to leave me too,” she said, panic creeping into her voice as she clung to me.

It took me a few seconds to process what this was, because Baylee was normally an independent, strong woman who was perfectly okay being by herself. Then I remembered how I’d flinched when she mentioned being alone with other men, how that triggered me because of my cheating ex-wife.

“Baylee, I will come back.” Her breath hitched. “I’m not leaving you. Memphis isn’t leaving you. I can only imagine how his sudden departure and now me leaving, too, triggers you. But this isn’t like with Dean.” Her body trembled against mine. “We will come back, okay, Little Bit?”

After a few seconds of holding her wide-eyed, hopeful stare, she nodded and slowly loosened her hold on my shirt.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s just… it hurts here.” She pressed a fist to her sternum. “And my mind is spinning through a thousand thoughts a second, each worse than the last, and?—”

“It’s called panic, baby. And it’s totally normal after what you’ve been through. I’m sure whatever made Memphis leave so quickly made him forget that it would trigger you, make you think you were being left all over again.”

She released a slow breath and nodded. “How are you so calm?”

I huffed and ran a hand down my face. “I’m so far from calm, Little Bit, that I’m legitimately afraid for Memphis’s face when I see him.

” Her eyes widened in horror. “Just kidding. Kind of.” I winked and slowly stood from the bed.

“Close your eyes and think about all the dirty-ass shit we did last night instead of those other negative scenarios running through your head. We can discuss your favorite when I get back.”

Saying those last words had that lingering bit of fear and worry slipping from her face.

The second I turned to exit the bedroom, though, my reassuring smile slipped away.

My boots slammed to the floorboards with every heavy step, the anger mounting while visions of beating Memphis bloody played on repeat.

The first place to look was her cabin. If he planned to bolt out of town, which I still didn’t truly believe, he would head there to grab his gear.

As I jogged down the main road, my eyes locked on a figure holding a duffel bag exiting Baylee’s place.

“That motherfucker,” I snarled, picking up the pace.

Memphis didn’t see me until it was too late, and I crashed into him.

With a shout, his duffel smacked to the ground when we both collided with the wooden railing around Baylee’s porch.

Blood pounded in my ears while anger heated my veins, making sweat drip down my temples and soak the back of my shirt.

His voice went in one ear and out the other as I yanked him to stand and pulled my fist back, seconds from demolishing his too-pretty face. But the fucker did something I didn’t expect and struck first, ramming his knee into my balls.

I grunted, the pain shooting up my spine and down both legs, making my knees weak enough for my hold on his leather jacket to loosen. He spun away but didn’t go far. Gripping the now-broken railing, he bent over, other hand pressed on top of a knee as he sucked down lungfuls of air.

As the pain receded, his words slowly filtered through.

“…for her,” he spat. When he looked up, I almost stopped breathing at the devastation on his face. It was similar to Baylee’s earlier. “You have to understand. I have to go now. Right the fuck now.”

I held up a hand, making him pause when he reached for his bag. Standing to full height, grimacing through the lingering ache that spread from my balls to every damn cell in my body, I leveled an emotionless glare his way.

“Tell me why, and then you can go, because you didn’t see her crying just now.”

Some of the color drained from his face, and his gaze slid toward my cabin.

“Why? I just need to do something, but she can’t know. I?—”

“I will not stand here and explain triggers and what hers are. Fuck, think about it, kid.”

Understanding dawned in his eyes, and he cursed, but when he met my gaze, there was determination there. “She can’t know.”

“Why not?” I demanded.

“Because.” He blew out a breath and checked his watch. “It will kill her, and I won’t let anything hurt her like I know this will. I’ll tell you, but please, save her from this. You can’t tell her.”

My brows rose. “I’m listening.”