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“He’s gone.”
Amy stood from the couch and walked over to her husband, placing a hand on his arm.
“What are you talking about? Who’s gone?”
“Mike,” Steve said, his voice faint. “Mike is gone. I don’t even know when he left. I guess when we were unloading groceries in the garage? Shit, I don’t know. But he’s gone. I looked everywhere upstairs. He left his wallet and phone. We have to find him.”
If what Grant had told her about Mike being responsible for Lane’s death, then her friend might be on the run. If he was having some sort of mental break with reality, he could be a danger to himself or others.
The sliding glass door open, and Trey popped his head in, holding up his phone.
“Grant just sent a text. Mike is at your house, Mia. I think we should head there now.”
None of this made any sense, but one thing was for sure. This Mike wasn’t the man she’d thought she’d known.
She was going to apologize to Grant, and hope he’d forgive her.
* * *
Grant was angry and frustrated but not with Mia. He was mad at himself. He shouldn’t have expected her to believe him about Mike when she was so close to him and Lane. They were her family. He wasn’t some guy she hadn’t known long.
Sure, she loved him, and he loved her. But family was…deep. If she’d told him that his brother Ace had offed Cassie, Grant wouldn’t have believed it either. Not in a million years.
She wasn’t going to simply buy into Mike killing his own wife, especially as his motive was sketchy as far as Mia was concerned. If she didn’t believe he was her stalker, then she wasn’t going to believe he’d eliminate his wife, either.
But he did believe it. There were too many weird coincidences. His cynical cop gut was talking, and he was listening.
If Mia needed time to wrap her mind around it all, he didn’t blame her. He’d give her whatever time she’d need. What he was asking of her wasn’t a small thing.
He’d pulled out his laptop and was beginning to delve into Ellers’ background when there was a knock on the door. Looking out the window, he was shocked to see that it was Mike. Apparently, the man had been released as he wasn’t in a hospital gown any longer, instead dressed in a baggy pair of shorts that looked too big, a t-shirt, and a pair of flip flops.
Grant quickly sent a text to Trey, letting him know that Mike had shown up here. Did his brother Steve know that?
He had a feeling that Sheriff Wallace either already knew or soon would as he’d said that his men were going to keep an eye on Mike once he was out of the hospital. It wasn’t unusual to follow a suspect for a time after a crime. Often their actions incriminated themselves.
Opening the door, he tried to give Mike a welcoming smile. He’d been hiding his real thoughts from suspects for years, but this home invasion had hit closely since it involved Mia. He didn’t want Mike to know just how disgusted he felt just being in his presence.
Of course, there was the small chance that this was all just a huge misunderstanding. Grant had a silver of hope that Mike was innocent, if only for Mia’s sake. Maybe all of this was simply a weird misunderstanding.
“Hey, Mike. We didn’t expect to see you. We thought you’d be resting at your brother’s place.”
“I was, but I really needed to see Mia. Can I come in?”
Grant stepped back and let the other man enter the house.
Mike was a bit pale, a bandage on his forehead, and the scratches and cuts on his arms red and angry. His gaze darted around the living room, zigzagging from one end to the other, and he shuffled his feet as if he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be there. His face was covered in sweat, and there were a few sweat patches on the t-shirt as well. Had he walked there? It was only about a mile and a half from what Mia had said, but it was a warm day, and the guy had been stabbed last night. Whether by himself or someone else.
“I need to see Mia.”
Okay, Mike had thrown out the social niceties. He wasn’t going to pretend that he liked Grant.
“She isn’t here. She went out for a drive to clear her head. I don’t know when she’ll be back.”
This wasn’t what Mike had wanted to hear apparently. His formerly pale face turned red, and his lip curled in derision.
“I know you’re lying. Go get her. I need to see her.”
“She’s not here,” Grant replied firmly. “You can see for yourself that her car is not in the driveway. She went for a drive. Listen, you look dead on your feet. How did you even get here? Did you walk? You need to be careful. Why don’t I drive you back to your brother’s house? I’ll send Mia a text and she can meet you there.”
