Page 28 of Spotted at Lighthouse Bay (Spotted Cottage #4)

This made no sense. Cliff, Flex Knock, IronClad Elite. There was no connection. There couldn’t be.

And yet.

Rick got down to street level, his breath catching in his chest. No one had come after him, but his nerves were still fried from the morning. He needed a moment to think.

There was a coffee shop across the way. Coffee would help. Maybe decaf. Something hot, though.

He tossed a look over his shoulder before jogging over.

How was it possible that Cliff was in charge of IronClad Elite, yet he was associated – or maybe even in charge of? – the company that had come after Addy’s mom?

He kept repeating it, over and over, trying to hold both ideas in his mind. When he thought too long about one, the other toppled out. It was impossible. He couldn’t accept it.

The door to the coffee shop was eight feet tall and made from a stark, black metal. It was cool in his hands as he pushed it open.

The shop was local. No branding. No frills. The floors were a rich, earthy hardwood. The walls had canvases and framed pictures with price tags. Roasting beans drifted through the air. The jagged edges of his breaths evened out.

He ordered a decaf latte. Addy had put him onto lattes. She liked to get whipped cream on top.

He skipped the whipped cream. The barista served it in a round, nearly overflowing mug on a wide saucer. A pair of shortbread biscuits balanced on the edge.

Food. That was interesting. He was supposed to eat after the panic attacks. “I’m sorry,” Rick said, pointing at the glass case, “can I also get one of those sandwiches?”

The barista nodded. “No problem.”

He found a seat with a view of the door. No one had followed him. Had Cliff even recognized him? It seemed unlikely, but not impossible. Running out of there probably hadn’t helped his case.

He pulled out his phone. Nothing from Addy. He hadn’t expected her to talk to him after he’d disappeared like that. Rick shrank into his seat. She must think he was being unkind on purpose.

Not that he was losing his mind.

It was time to call her and tell her everything. If they were going to figure this out, they would figure it out together.

“Hi, you have reached Adelaide. I’m so sorry I missed your call… “

He hung up. She was probably angry at him. She had every right to be.

Rick hung up and typed out a text.

Hey, about earlier. I didn’t want to leave. I had to, and I am so sorry. I’m coming back now and I’ll explain everything. I have something else I need to tell you, too. Please call me. It’s important.

She would respond, even if she was angry.

In the meantime, he needed to reach out to his buddy about Cliff. Rick found his full name on the IronClad Elite website. He typed up an email between bites of sandwich, promising to repay the favor in any way if he could expedite the information.

It took about twenty minutes to pull together his email and send it out. By the end, there was still no word from Addy.

Rick shifted in his chair. A queasy wave hit his chest. Addy wasn’t one to hold a grudge. It wasn’t like she was on her phone all the time, but she was attentive. She said it was her duty as a mom, a habit she couldn’t break.

He got up and cleared his table. It wasn’t time to panic yet. He’d done enough panicking today.

By the time he stepped outside, his buddy had already answered. “I’ll have this back to you in an hour.”

It was good to have friends.

Rick caught a cab back to Lake Union and booked a return flight to San Juan Island.

Still nothing from Addy. He hated the panic attacks. They were humiliating and all-consuming but, on top of that, they threw him off. He didn’t know when to trust his instincts. Was she in trouble? Was it instinct or more panic?

Something was off. He called the tea shop and Eliza picked up.

“Hey, is Addy around?”

“No, I haven’t seen her all day. Is everything okay?”

“Ah, I hope so,” Rick said, scratching the back of his neck. “I had some business in town and I haven’t been able to reach her.”

“Do you want me to run over to the house?”

He looked down at his hands. Was it unbelievable that a woman could be so angry at him that she wouldn’t speak to him? Was he being paranoid, or was this real?

Rick didn’t care if he seemed paranoid. All he cared about was Addy’s safety. “If you don’t mind.”

“I’ll call you back in five minutes!” Eliza said before clicking off.

Boats drifted on the lake. A yellow plane landed on the surface, then sputtered to a stop. Sailboats stood idly. There wasn’t enough wind to move them.

Everything was painfully slow today. He tried to pull up Addy’s location on his phone. It showed her as offline. Her last known location was in the middle of the ocean.

That didn’t make sense.

His phone lit up. He grabbed it after one ring. “Hey.”

“She’s not at the house,” Eliza said, breathlessly. “Joey was there, though. He said he flew her out to Bellingham. “

Ricks heart dropped. “Bellingham? For what? “

“He didn’t know. Is that bad?”

Rick took a shaky breath. “Any time your aunt goes out to Bellingham, it’s bad news.”

Eliza laughed. “That’s true.”

“Can you tell Joey to hang around for a bit? I’m flying back to the island now, then I’ll need a ride to Bellingham.”

“No problem!”

He hung up. It was time to get onto the plane, but he needed to make one more call. “Mia, do you know where Addy is?”

“Uh, I might,” she said slowly. “Aren’t you with her?”

“I’m not.” He heaved himself from the dock and into his seat. “I need to know where she is. She’s not answering her phone.”

“I’m so sorry!” Mia’s voice cracked. “It was my idea.”

“Tell me everything. I’m going to find her.”

He slammed the plane’s door shut. His mind was focused. He wasn’t going to lose control again.