He wrapped things up around five thirty, stood, and tossed a file with his finished paperwork onto Rafe’s desk. “My stuff is all done. Catch you tomorrow.”
Rafe checked his watch and then glanced up, his eyes narrowing. “You heading out already?”
“Yeah.”
His partner leaned back in his chair, a slow grin spreading across his face. “Huh. Look at that. Guess the eternal bachelor finally has somewhere better to be. Good for you.”
Brian didn’t bother answering. He flipped Rafe off on his way out, earning a laugh and an obscene gesture in return.
Outside, he rolled the windows halfway down, letting the fresh air scrub away the stale coffee and office smell that clung to him. A duffel bag sat in the back seat with a clean shirt, jeans, and sneakers, so he wouldn’t have to waste time swinging by his condo.
Time with Tess always felt short. Lately, there never seemed to be enough hours in the day to spend with her—and he wanted every one of them.
Daylight still ruled the sky as he drove. Traffic thinned as Elizabeth City fell behind him, the road stretching out in long, familiar lines.
At a red light, he grabbed his phone, pulled up his ongoing text chat with Tess, and tapped the keyboard.
On my way. Need anything besides pizza?
When the light turned green again, he still hadn’t received a reply.
He wasn’t worried. She was probably home already—tossing a load of laundry in or jumping into the shower, her phone left wherever she’d dropped it when she walked through the door. Tess wasn’t glued to it the way some people were, especially when she was trying to decompress after a shift.
He still had to stop at Basil’s in Whisper to grab the pizza he’d already called in anyway. He wouldn’t pull up to the beach house until around six thirty, so she had plenty of time to text him back if she needed him to pick up anything else.
By the time he hit the highway that led onto the Outer Banks, the knot that had lived at the base of his neck for most of the day had loosened a little. He could already picture Tess’s smile when she opened the door—like it’d been forever since she’d last seen him.
It was a stupid thought—too big for that early in their relationship—but it landed solid anyway.
A little while later, after picking up the pizza, he pulled into the driveway and parked beside Tess’s empty spot. That was odd. She knew he was coming over—if she’d needed to run out for some reason, she would’ve called or texted. Wouldn’t she?
He killed the engine, grabbed the thin box off the passenger seat, and took the steps two at a time before knocking on the back door. Footsteps pounded quickly across the floor inside—then the lock clicked, and the door flew open.
Andy stood there.
The kid’s face was pale and drawn, his eyes wide and glassy, like he was fighting not to bolt or break down. His hoodie was twisted tight around one elbow—the fabric stretched and wrinkled as if it had been yanked, then wrapped around again and again. His breathing was shallow, his chest rising too fast, and his free hand hovered near the doorframe like he didn’t know what to do with it.
Every instinct Brian had went from casual to razor-sharp.
“Hey,” he said slowly. “You okay?”
“No.” Andy’s voice cracked on the single syllable. “Something’s wrong. Very wrong. With Tess.”
Cold slid down Brian’s spine. He stepped inside, letting the door swing shut behind him, and tossed the box on the dining table. “What do you mean? Where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Andy said, the words tumbling out as he ran his fingers through his already unruly hair. “She called—then someone else called—and I didn’t know what to do and?—”
A jolt of terror hit his chest, sharp and immediate. He locked it down because he had to figure out what the hell was going on. “Andy. Slow down. Start with Tess.”
The kid nodded, his breath stuttering. “She called from an unknown number. She didn’t say where she was—she couldn’t. She just said, ‘Do what they say, Andy. Don’t call the police.’” His voice wavered. “She sounded scared. Like she was forcing herself to stay calm. And then I heard a man in the background, and the call just... dropped.”
The room seemed to tilt. Brian grounded himself—feet planted, breath steady. Unknown number. Short call. No police. Male voice in the background. He focused on the details and refused to panic. That wouldn’t help Tess.
He tried to keep the fear out of his voice—her brother didn’t need to hear it. “Okay. What happened next?”
“My phone rang again,” Andy rushed on. “From a different number. It was Diego. He said he has her. Said if I want her back, I have to do exactly what he tells me. No cops. Not even you.”
Diego.
