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A desperate need tofigure out the world’s most frustrating—and dangerous—puzzle forced Cade to rummage through everything he could find in Matthew’s office. One by one he pulled papers from the filing cabinet then discarded them on the floor when nothing useful was found.
Fuck.
If there was something worth finding, he’d get his hands on it before the day was done. Privacy be damned.
“Cade?” Jude’s voice cracked, and she ran into the room, throwing herself into his arms as sobs shook her body. “We have to find her. Isaac is a ticking time bomb. There’s no telling what he’ll do to her this time.”
Wade, Jude’s fiancé, and Brooke followed in behind her.
Cade squeezed Jude like a lifeline. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have let her leave my side. I should have kept her with me.”
Jude pulled back and wiped away her tears with the heels of her hands. “From what I’ve heard, you were trying to help Mrs. Collins. There was no way of knowing the whole thing was orchestrated.”
“Have you spoken with Matthew?” Wade asked. His usual jovial expression was replaced with a furrowed brow and angry eyes.
Wade understood what it was like to have the woman you loved missing and in danger. He’d gotten Jude back, and Cade had to believe the same would be true of Laura. Because if he didn’t believe that with his entire being, he’d crumble on the spot.
“No.” Cade swallowed the bitter disappointment of not being able to reach Matthew. “I sent a text, called, and left a voicemail and nothing. I know he’s going through something, but I can’t stomach the idea he has any involvement with Laura’s disappearance.”
Jude shook her head. “Never. It has to be Isaac.”
Brooke cleared her throat, drawing all eyes her way. “I understand the fear and even the assumption, but like I said before, we need to keep our minds as open as possible.”
Cade wouldn’t argue, but the look he shared with Jude told him they both knew who’d taken Laura.
“What are you doing now?” Wade asked, gaze searching the mess piling up on the ground.
“Hell if I know.” Cade hooked an arm on the open drawer of the filing cabinet and hung his head. “Hoping something—anything—will jump out at me. I called the bank and asked about the names on the account Brooke found, but they can’t tell me a damn thing. I need paperwork or statements, something to point to a name.”
“And you think you’ll find them here?” Jude asked. “Why would Matthew even have a business account you couldn’t access?”
The question caused the tension in his head to double. The last thing he wanted was to go through his and Laura’s suspicions, but Jude and Wade had to be let in on the details if they’d be of use. He quickly hit the bullet points while flipping through more paperwork.
Jude wrinkled her nose. “So you think my brother is using your company to clean money he’s stealing from the Community Outreach Foundation?”
“I don’t know what I think anymore, and honestly, I don’t care if he’s stealing from every business in town. I just want to find any crumb that can lead me to Laura. Brooke was right. The police are looking at all the logical avenues. We need to come at this from a different angle, and right now, this is the only other angle we’ve got.”
Wade rested a heavy hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “All right. We’re here to help. Time’s ticking, so Jude and I will look in the reception area while you and Brooke stay here. We’ll keep trying to get ahold of Matthew, too.”
“And my mom,” Jude said. “She’ll be beside herself with worry, and maybe she’ll have some insight on Matthew. She doesn’t say much, but she’s always listening. Always watching. She may know more than she realizes.”
Cade hadn’t considered Nicole as a source of information. She was so tied to Jenson that he doubted she’d give away anything that would implicate or even piss off her husband.
Jude paused in the doorway, aiming sad, terrified eyes his way. “Have you run any of this by my dad?”
“No. He’s a slippery sonofabitch. And as much as I can’t stand him, he’s smart. Smart enough to not tell me anything useful. If he’s involved in this the way I think he is, then healready has an escape plan.” A thought nagged at him, and he cringed at giving voice to it. “Would he help Isaac?”
Jude squeezed her eyes shut for a beat. “He’d do whatever he could to save his reputation. But right now, with the police hunting down Isaac, he’d want distance there. Isaac’s a liability now, and Dad can take on the role of worried father who’d do anything to get his daughter back.”
His stomach turned. Jenson was an opportunist. He’d use Laura’s disappearance for his gain without a real care for her safety. But that wouldn’t matter as long he could help bring her home.
When Jude disappeared down the hall, Brooke wheeled the chair away from the desk. Determination set her mouth in a firm line. “I’ll search the desk.”
He nodded, appreciating her willingness to dive in and do whatever needed done, then brought his attention back to the filing cabinet. His vision blurred as fear made his mind spin. Bile sloshed around his insides and his chest threatened to explode. His phone burned a hole in his pocket as he willed it to ring. Willed Owen to be on the other end of the line, notifying him they’d found Laura.
He glanced at file after file, but nothing showed him anything new. The pile on the floor grew as he tossed things behind him. No time to bother with keeping things clean or worrying about Matthew’s feelings. Matthew’s lack of involvement or concern only fueled his anger.
“Do you have a safe in here?” Brooke asked, breaking into his escalating thoughts.
