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At that thought, an ache pulsed from deep inside him. An ache Logan hadn’t felt in a long time.

He wanted what Ranger and Simmy had. What Duke and Andi had. Even Mariella seemed happy now that she was dating Jason Somersby.

But maybe that kind of relationship wasn’t in his future. If he didn’t save Morgan, then he had no hope of that possibility.

Because she was the only one he could even imagine being with.

Now she was missing.

A pang of regret spread through his chest at the thought.

He said a quick prayer, and then dug into his breakfast.

Duke, Andi, and Ranger all emerged from their rooms—the scent of breakfast probably drawing them out. Ranger informed them that Anastasia was still sound asleep.

While they ate, they discussed a game plan for today. Logan planned on trying to track down more information on Walsh. While he did that, Duke had insisted that Andi get some more rest. And Ranger said he’d be more than happy to help later. This morning, he was doing story time at Anastasia’s school.

Duke offered to accompany Logan.

He said Logan wasn’t functioning at full capacity.

Logan’s first inclination was to say no. Then he realized his friend was correct.

He was tired and operating on very little sleep. Living off of adrenaline and caffeine. Plus, his emotions were involved, and he wasn’t thinking as objectively as he would like.

“If you don’t mind, that would be great,” Logan finally said.

Before leaving, he left a message with Reeves. He needed to know if their theory was true and another dead body had been found last night.

He knew it was risky to ask her for help. The last thing he wanted was to get his colleague fired or for her to be put on some type of probation.

He waited to see if she would respond. If she didn’t within the next hour, then he’d move on to Plan B.

A few minutes later, Logan and Duke were in Logan’s SUV, and they started down the road.

They were going to Reuben Walsh’s house to see if he was home and to check out his place.

But Logan knew the truth already—the man was most likely dead.

Twenty minutes later, he and Duke pulled to a stop in front of Reuben’s small house. The compact, one-story home had the look of a place where someone just existed rather than lived.

There was peeling paint on the window trim, and the front porch sagged under the weight of accumulated snow andice. The mailbox tilted at an odd angle, and several Amazon packages sat abandoned by the door.

Everything about the place suggested someone who’d stopped caring about appearances—or maybe someone too distracted by other obsessions to notice.

Logan really hoped he might find some answers here. He was running out of both time and leads.

CHAPTER

FORTY-ONE

Logan had knockedon the door to Reuben’s house three times now, and no one had answered, even though his car sat in the driveway.

“It looks like he’s not here,” Duke said.

Logan’s jaw tightened. “I’m not surprised. But maybe a part of me was hoping we were wrong, that this guy was still alive. From all accounts, he usually works the night shift.”

“Looking for Reuben?” someone called beside them.