Page 122 of Steel

“Yeah. I chased them down, but they got away. That was a couple weeks ago when I went and grabbed Zorro. I thought someone might have been in the house. Maybe I stopped them before they could break in, but I just sensed someone might have gotten inside. Plus, Jasper mentioned the previous tenants had trashed the place. I thought maybe they might be involved. Maybe they left something. Did you see anything?”

She shook her head. “No, but I haven’t had the time to search a couple boxes that I found in a closet. Maybe there’s something of value inside. Why not knock on the door?”

“Maybe they thought you might turn them in.”

“Interesting,” the chief said. “Jasper didn’t really say much about his tenants. However, I’ll have another chat with him. All he said was that the tenants moved out at least a week before Ms. Livingston moved in.”

I remembered Jasper mentioning the timeframe. “Interesting. I swear I noticed lights on days after he thinks they moved out. Just thought of that. They were on when I was called to the big fire in California.”

“Well, there won’t be any fingerprints, but I’ll see if anyone else had a call about the house or did a drive by. If you think of anything else, just drop by the precinct.” The chief nodded to both of us. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” she said, immediately leaning over the table. “Why didn’t you tell me you thought someone was inside the house?”

“I didn’t want to worry you since there were no obvious signs other than Zorro was intent on remaining by the front door growling.”

She looked away briefly. “He did that a couple times. Including the night we found him. He just sat by the door and growled. Do you think there’s any chance these kids nicked the wires on the Jeep?”

Another type of ache formed. “If I find out they did, they will suffer.”

She slipped her hand across the table, wrapping her palm around mine. “You should have told me. I might seem fragile to you, but I assure you that I’m not.”

“Lady. You are without a doubt the most resilient woman in the world. Strong too. A little too much for your own good. That’s why I need to keep you under control.”

“If I remained, that’s what you’d do, keep me under control?”

I leaned as far over the table as she was. “Brat, I’d ensure I had full control over you. Every. Sweet. Inch.”

“Mmm… You know how to push a girl’s buttons.”

“Funny, I was just saying that. Well, a guy’s, but you know what I mean.” Damn it. When I heard my phone at this time of night, it usually meant there was a fire I needed to get to. “Hold on.” When I noticed Josie’s number flashing across the screen, my stomach coiled. “Josie. What’s going on?”

“It’s Damon. I don’t know what happened. I just went to the kitchen.” My sister was close to being hysterical.

“Calm down and tell me what’s going on,” I instructed, shifting my grip until I had my hand wrapped around Violet’s. Her eyes were wide, her chest heaving.

“He seemed fine, but after he asked for something, when I returned, he’d left. I did look for him.” Josie moaned.

“Alright. You did the right thing. We’ll be right there.”

“What is it? What’s wrong with my baby? What?” Violet gasped, squeezing my fingers.

“He walked out of the house and Josie can’t find him.”

CHAPTER 27

Steel

By the time we made it back to the cabin, a group of people had already arrived. Along with four officers, there were five other jumpers, Axe included.

“What happened?” Violet asked, doing her best to remain calm. She immediately locked eyes with my sister, who was also trying her best to hold herself together.

“He asked me if I’d get him some chocolate milk and I agreed. He was watching a movie. I had to mix it. When I came back, he was gone. He went out the back door. I looked for him for several minutes before calling Steel. I’m so sorry. I had no idea. He was fine. Please forgive me, Violet.”

Violet shook her head, moving closer. “I don’t blame you, Josie. I blame myself. I knew better than to leave Damon alone when he’s so distraught.” When she tossed me a look, there was no doubt who she intended on blaming and I understood why.

My chest felt as if I had a thousand pounds crushing my sternum and I had no idea what to say. Axe walked closer while the officers were already putting together search equipment. Which we all had. If anyone could find the boy, the jumpers could.

“I found this in his room.” Josie handed her what appeared to be a paper note pad. As soon as she did, she lowered her face into her hands.