AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I cleared my throat. “He went on a trip to South America. Guyana was his first stop. A few days in, he disappeared. And since it’s been a few months, they closed the investigation. I went out there to try and find him.”
“By yourself?”
I nodded, knowing even before I’d left the States that it was a stupid idea. But I’d been stubborn enough to still do it. Not that it did him any good. He was still gone.
“That was reckless,” Gunner unhelpfully jumped in. “You should have hired someone.”
I rolled my eyes at him, thinking he might get that reaction a lot. “Don’t you think I would have tried that? But first, who’d be crazy enough to go to South America to find a missing person? Actually, don’t answer that one. And second, that would have cost more money than I have.”
I had a nice little nest egg saved up. I’d been planning on buying the apartment I lived in. But most of that money was now gone, thanks to my wild-goose chase. And now I was back to where I started, only more jaded and wearier.
Gunner sighed, then mumbled something that sounded like “I’m going to regret this” under his breath before directing his attention my way again. “I’ll get one of my guys to look into it. More times than not, there’ll be an electronic trace. Nobody just disappears. You probably didn’t look in the right place.”
I wanted to snap something back at him, but his offer was generous. So instead of telling him I did the best I could, I thanked him and accepted his help.
We played Uno for the next hour, Sofie winning every game. By the end, she’d warmed up to me and was consoling me when I pretended to be upset about losing.
A knock sounded on the office door, and an unfamiliar guy came in. He wore the same tactical gear that everyone but Freya and Sofie seemed to be wearing.
I had to admit, they looked impressive. And I could picture Lucius here.
“Dalton,” Gunner greeted the new guy, then pointed to me. “This is Everleigh. Can you get her set up? And I want eyes on her at all times.”
Not sure what that meant but going along with it for now, I stood up. “Thanks so much for taking my mind off everything.” I waved at Sofie. “I want a rematch, little lady.”
She giggled again and held her hand out. “Deal.”
I took her little hand in mine, surprised that someone her age would shake on a deal.
Freya got up as well. “Make a list of what you need for the next few weeks, and I’ll get it for you.”
I knew this wasn’t just going to be for one week.“That’s a very generous offer that I’ll take you up on. Thank you.”
She waved me off. “I know what it’s like to be stuck in a place with only the basics.”
I smiled at her, the first genuine one I’d managed in a while. “I appreciate it.” I turned to Gunner, who seemed to be deep in thought. “Thanks for all your help.”
He nodded at me, and I left with Dalton. We drove about an hour out of the city, and since I’d never been to Illinois, I had no idea where we ended up. It was a nondescript small town with a row of shops and not much else.
We eventually stopped in front of a cute little house on the outskirts of town.
Dalton showed me to my room, dropping my bag inside. “Someone will stay with you while you’re here. But there are cameras on the outside and in the living room and kitchen. I’ll take first shift, and then we’ll rotate. Yell if you need anything.”
“Can I call my friend and parents?”
Dalton nodded and pulled out a cell phone. “This is a secure line.”
I accepted the phone and dialed Thea’s number. Lucius had given me my phone back but asked me not to use it for a while, so I hadn’t spoken to anyone since I left Guyana.
She picked up on the fourth ring. “This is Thea.”
“Thea,” I pushed out, my voice shaky.
“Everleigh, is that you?”
“Yes.” I took a deep breath. “I’m back in the States.”
“I was so worried about you. I even reported you missing, but nobody took me seriously. After all, you took an extended leave from work to go on vacation. Are you okay? What happened? And why didn’t you call? You promised.”
