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I sigh. “I know, I just… I want to be able to help him with the stuff I know is on his mind, but I can’t if he never talks to me about any of it?”
“Maybe you’re helping bynotmaking him talk about it. Unless we’re talking about things that directly affect you or threaten what you have. I say chill. Have fun. The rest will fall into place. And if it doesn’t, we can just kick him until it does.”
“You have issues, woman,” I laugh even though the niggle of unease in the back of my neck stays right where it is. “But I think you’re right. I just need to trust him, if it had anything to do with me, he’d tell me.”
“Agreed. Now, do you feel like punching stuff?” She scrunches her eyes, nodding before I even answer. “Me too. I’ll get some gloves.”
Mylo
I’m already pulling my cell from the side pocket of my gym bag as the door slams closed behind me. Jaynee finally called me back and I missed the call. But the message told me everything I need to know. Banks has gone AWOL. He’s been fucking AWOL for a week, and she just found out this morning.
Which means one fucking thing. I swipe up her details and hit call.
“Mylo,” She answers on the first ring.
“Where have you been, Jay?” I bark, then instantly rein it in. This isn’t on her, it’s on me. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all week.”
“I took the kids to the cabin. Switched my phone off. I’m so sorry, Lo, I had no idea. He was fine when I left. A little quiet after you canceled on breakfasts with us when you were over, but he was fine. I swear he seemed fine.”
“How long has he been missing?” I force my voice to stay calm as I make quick work of retracing the route me and Kenzi ran to get here from our place, the sun beating down from a cloudless sky, sweat prickling over my forehead and along my hairline.
“A week. The day I left was the day he didn’t show up to work. Mylo, I’m sure he’s okay. He’s probably just—”
“He’s here, Jaynee.” I cut her off my pace picking up into a jog, my cell still held to my ear. “I thought I was seeing things. Fuck!”
“There’s nothing in his records to say he’s a danger to himself or anyone else. He wouldn’t have gotten the job with dad if he was.”
The last conversation I had with the PDST counselor I’d set up for him runs through my head. Still suffering from mild PDST, but time to integrate him back into civilian society. A visit would perhaps do him good.
A visit I couldn’t bring myself to make happen. A visit I put off because I was too cowardly to face him and the memories—thetruthshe’d bring with him. Instead I set him up with a job and washed my hands of him. Of all of it. I failed him back then, and I haven’t stopped fucking failing the kid since.
“Mylo, you still there?”
“Yeah. yes.” I slow my pace as I round the corner to the apartment block. “It’s fine, Lo. He’s not dangerous. If he’s here, I’ll find him.”
“Okay, let me know if I can do anything.”
My cell vibrates in my hand with an incoming message. “I’ll handle it. Okay, I gotta go. I’ll keep you posted.”
I cut the call and pull up the message.
On our way, we’ll meet you there.
Fuck. But first I’ve got to get this done. Sliding my phone into my pocket, I blow out a long breath, look up into the clear blue sky and try to force the sticky blackness back under control. I should let Kenzi know what’s going on, just in case. I release another breath, slower this time. She’s stressed as it is, she doesn’t need to be worrying about my shit on top of hers.
I can fix this before it becomes an issue.
THIRTY-ONE
Kenzi
Shit, shit, shit.
I scan the message Simon just sent me again as I slam down the seat on Flow and drag my hair back from my face, hoping I read it wrong the other times. I didn’t.
Come now
I close my cell and slide it into my purse. What does he mean come now? Is that a good come now??? A bad come now??? He burnt the food come now?He cut off his thumb come now?
