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Colt, the nut, didn’t stand a chance.
Chapter 28
Even though the note said Alisha was to meetThe Steedin their place, she had no clue what it was referring to. If it was indeed Colt Cavallo who had Rueben’s boy. The only place they’d ever met in person was at her old school, and it most certainly wasn’ttheirplace.
Upon Rueben’s urging Alisha had logged into her old dating profile in case Colt was referring to their old online connection, but his profile had been disconnected.
It had been two days since Adam’s disappearance, and the more time that passed, the more determined Alisha became. Rueben had to fight with her to do the most basic things like eating, bathing and sleeping. He knew how difficult it was to go on with life, with the third part of their soul out there potentially being tortured, or even worse. But he couldn’t watch Alisha let herself fall apart.
Adam would never forgive him for that.
He watched her hunched over her computer at the precinct. She had dark circles under her eyes, because no matter how he cajoled, she refused to take more than small naps, and her hair was in a messy bun at the nape of her neck because she hadn’t taken the time to do her usual military hairstyle.
Rueben’s stomach growled, reminding him that they hadn’t gotten anything to eat for lunch yet. He wondered if the maniac who had their Adam was feeding him, or if he was slowly starving his perfect boy.
Shaking off the dark thoughts, he checked his phone and email for any new messages. Not a single lead had panned out. About two years after Alisha had filed her restraining order, Colt had vanished into thin air. Not a single trace could be found anywhere.
Alisha had now taken to contacting old Doms and Daddies from her past at random, and it had taken every single ounce of Rueben’s patience to not lose his shit when she told him what she was planning. She was grasping at straws, but he couldn’t say he wouldn’t have done the same thing if he was in her situation so he had sucked it up and sat down next to her to help her.
“Alisha, babygirl. Let’s go grab some lunch.”
She sent an unfocused look his way, blinking twice before what he said registered. “Not yet, Rue. I’m almost done with this list.”
He shook his head in response, straightening his spine as he sat up. He didn’t want to be controlling to the point of manipulation, but if he had to push to get her to eat something then he would.
“It wasn’t a request. Come, sweetness. Let me feed you, get you some fresh air then we can come back refreshed.”
She must have read something in his expression that told her he wasn’t going to budge because she let out a huge sigh before pushing back in her chair. Jumping up, she held her hand out to him as they walked through reception out to their cruiser.
Theirs was a smaller station. Not so big that they got lost amongst the other officers, but not so small people pushed their noses in each other’s business… too often. Since they’d declared their relationship, neither of them saw the point in hiding they were together, especially as both of them could do with the extra comfort.
The drive to their favorite lunchtime spot was quiet, neither of them having anything of import to say, but it wasn’t a comfortable silence. No, it was fraught with so much tension and anxiety that Rueben had trouble focusing on the road. At least it was a quick trip and they arrived at their destination without any incidents.
Walking up to the counter, Alisha gave Rueben her order before pointing at the restrooms in the back.
“Okay, babygirl. Be careful. I’ll find us a table.”
He watched her walk away as the person in front of them placed their complicated coffee order. Rueben once again checked his phone, just in case a message had come in while they were in the car, but still his screen mocked him with no new news.
He moved up to the counter and placed their order. A couple of large coffees and two large meaty subs with extra cheese. Rueben looked at the display counter and asked for an extra-large chocolate chip muffin. Maybe he could cajole the little side of Alisha to indulge in that while he drove them back to the station.
“Huh,” a voice scoffed behind him.
Rueben twisted around and looked at the stranger behind him in question. “Can I help you, sir?”
The tall, older man frowned at Rueben. His face was pockmarked with acne scars, and his receding hairline was badly covered up with a comb over.
“Nothing,” the man muttered back. “I don’t need help from some idiot who fattens up his woman.”
Rueben’s gut immediately kicked in. The way this asshole was judging him for getting something sweet for his girl was ringing too close to the way Alisha had described Colt.
He quickly ran through the physical description he had for him. Six feet, large build, a man who regularly worked out and had the body to prove it. Light brown, nearly blond hair and dark blue eyes. He would be in his late forties now.
It had been some time since Alisha had last seen him, but his general description didn’t match this asshole at all. Hunched over, nearly completely gray-haired, he had to be nearing sixty, not fifty and his eyes were a brown so dark they were nearly black.
Just another run-of-the-mill misogynist jackass who couldn’t deal with the rise of female empowerment.
Satisfied that the jackass wasn’t the one they were looking for, Rueben opted to ignore him and turned back to the counter to wait for their order.
