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thirty

Miles

I ’m in my car, not even caring about the game. As soon as Doug said the words, I was running.

She’s gone.

No. She’s not gone. She wouldn’t leave like this. Not after everything we talked about. Not after all the fucking promises made.

She said she’d come to me. She said she wouldn’t leave.

I slam my hand on the steering wheel, pissed that my worst fucking nightmare is coming true.

My phone rings and I pray it’s her, telling me where she is and to come to her. It’s not. It’s Mrs. Hendrix.

“I had to go,” I say quickly.

“I understand that, but we have a small issue.”

Of course there is. This entire day is coming unraveled. Why not have my job be part of it? However, everything else in the world could crumble, and this is where I would need to be. I need to get to her place, sort out what the hell my brother-in-law thinks is happening, and fix it. “There is an emergency, Lois. I have to deal with it.”

“Okay, Miles , I’m just telling you that the sheriff is upset. I explained there was a situation, but he’s saying if you’re not back in an hour, he’s going to demand we forfeit based on the agreement that both school principals were in attendance as a show of strength. I don’t want to try to explain what will happen if that happens.”

“I’ll be back within the hour. I just ... I need to do this. ”

“All right. I’ll stall and give you that hour.”

My foot is heavy on the accelerator, and what should take me fifteen to twenty minutes to get there, takes ten. When I pull into the driveway, Doug is outside with the front door open.

I’m out of the truck, rushing to where he is, ready to search and find her.

“Miles!” he calls, but I shove him aside and enter.

The minute I do, my heart stops.

There is no way to deny what he said is true. Every item that was in this house is gone.

It’s empty.

No couch. No dishes. No tables or chairs.

It’s like she was never even here.

“I’m sorry, man,” Doug says from behind me. “I know you said this was possible, but I didn’t think she’d leave like this.”

I can’t speak. My head is spinning, and all the fucking conversations play like a loop in my mind. The way she laid with me, telling me she loved me. How she looked at me after we’d made love. The self-defense lessons and how she seemed like she was trying because she wanted to stay and fight.

I shake my head. “No. There’s no way she just left like this.”

He comes around, looking at the empty house. “I’m not sure what else this could mean. It’s all gone.”

I walk through the rest of the house, looking in Kai’s room, then the bathroom, hers, out to the backyard, where the fucking tree in a pot sits.

I call her phone again, but it goes to voicemail.

“Penelope,” I say, my voice cracking, the pain of her name slicing through my heart. “I don’t know where you are or why you left. I don’t know if it’s because you got scared and we were moving too fast or you’re in trouble. Just know that I’m not giving up. You may have broken your promise, but I’m not breaking mine.”

I clench my jaw tight, wanting to scream and fight the fucking world, and at the same time, not being able to deny the truth.

Penny left.

She’s gone. Kai is gone.

Everything is fucking gone .

And my heart feels like it’s been ripped from my fucking chest.

I go back to the school, watch the rest of the game, don’t give one shit about the score, and after the crowds file out without a goddamn war, I’m ready for my own.

Doug is watching me carefully, probably worried that I’m going to fly off the handle, but instead of anger and frustration, which I definitely felt when I got to the game, now I’m just strategizing.

How do I find someone who doesn’t want to be found?

Someone who has an entire group of people who do nothing but hide her?

Hell, I don’t even know what her real name is.

Fuck.

All I know is that her brother is in Virginia Beach and works for a security company.

I need to make calls and find out how to reach Quinn. I need to gather what intel I can find and go from there.

“I see your mind working,” Doug says.

“I’m going to find her.”

He opens his mouth to say something and then closes it. I wait, knowing Doug can’t keep quiet for too long, and then he sighs. “I’ll do whatever you need.”

“I need to find her brother.”

Doug nods. “Okay, and how do you want to do that? All you know is his name and that he’s in Virginia Beach.”

“I know.”

“Okay, so what’s the plan?”

I turn and glare at him. “I don’t know.”

Doug puts his hand on my shoulder. “Listen, I know you’re upset, but let’s reach out to some guys from our unit. A lot of them went out to work with private companies. You never know, maybe they know someone or something. Let’s start at the beginning.”

I barely get the next words out, my heart in my throat. “What if she doesn’t want me to find her?”

“Then you cross that bridge when you get there.” He squeezes once. “Come on, let’s get to work.”

On my way out of the parking lot, I find Lachlan, Everett, and Killian standing by my car.

“What’s going on?” Everett asks.

“Penelope left.”

“Left town?” Lachlan asks.

“Yes.”

Everett comes forward. “Bro, I’m sorry. I really thought ...”

“I’m going to find her,” I tell him resolutely.

“Okay.”

“Something scared her off, and I’m not going to just let her go. I love her and I’m going to find her.”

Lachlan gives me a sad smile. “I know you will, Miles. We’re all here for you no matter what.”

Then I remember Lachlan has strong military ties in Virginia Beach. His father was a captain, and Ainsley’s father was an admiral. Both of them probably know people down there who were SEALs and can help.

“I need your help, well, your dad or Ainsley’s father.”

“What?” Lachlan asks. “How can we help?”

“Her brother, he was a SEAL and lives in Virginia Beach.”

Lachlan lifts a hand. “Dude, there are millions of people down there and ...”

“He works for a security company. His name is Quinn. He has a best friend, Liam, I think.” I rack my brain, trying to come up with something more. “His wife’s name is Ashton. Please, just ask him. He works for a company there. They are all SEALs. Please.”

“Okay, I’ll call,” Lachlan says. “I can’t promise anything.”

“I know. We’re making calls too. I need to talk to her. Even if it’s just to say goodbye.”

If she wants to leave me, I want to hear it.

It’s now almost midnight and I can’t sleep. I throw on my hoodie and walk up to Penelope’s house.

It’s dark, quiet, and empty—just like I feel .

I miss her.

I don’t know when she left, and all I want is to hear her voice and for her to let me make it right.

I walk inside, looking around, somehow hoping the furniture magically reappeared. It didn’t.

How the fuck did she leave me so easily?

All she had to do was tell me that moving in was too fast and she wasn’t ready. I would’ve slowed down, but she gave no indication that it spooked her.

I walk out to the backyard again, going to the tree I gave her, wanting her to plant roots in Ember Falls and watch something grow together.

Seems her putting it in a pot said it all.

She didn’t want that, she couldn’t give me more than just a small space to grow, and she outgrew the container we were in.

I kick the rocks in the back, watching them scatter around, hating how they mirror my thoughts.

Each memory that replays causes another tear at my soul. I let myself love her, telling myself that even if this happened, I would be grateful for the time we had.

She warned me. She told me that one day this eventuality would come and she’d have to choose Kai’s safety over her own wants and needs. Even knowing that, I can’t give her up.

I need to find her. I promised I would never stop searching, and I won’t.

Exhaling deeply, I look back at that tree in a pot, symbolic in so many ways.

Then my phone rings and I see Lachlan’s name.

“Hello?”

“I think I found her brother.”

“I’m on my way.”

Time to get some answers and find Penelope.