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Ryker explained his trip to the office and sitting in Oakley’s seat to be close to her and then checking her car for some unknown reason. “That’s when I found this. I don’t have a key to Oakley’s car. She has a key to mine, but she was going to trade this one in, so I never took her spare. I have a key to the condo because we usually stayed there during the week and at mine on the weekend. I never thought about it, but her spare car key must be in her bedroom.”
Linton nodded. “And the card?”
“Mine. Oakley had a few in the glove box, in her office, and in her purse. I have some in my things as well. We were cross-promoting each other as a couple would.”
“Okay, and how about the rose?”
Ryker ran his hand through his hair. “I told Oakley that I loved simple, pure white roses. They symbolize fresh, new, starting over to me. Oakley said she wanted them at the wedding. See, we had just gotten engaged. We just had that conversation the Wednesday night before.”
Jac and Garrett arrived in their SUV. Jac shook Linton’s hand, and they discussed what was going on.
Ryker spoke again. “How could they know about something we had just talked about? How could they get inside her car? Fuck this is crazy.”
“They?” asked Linton.
“The fuckers who have my Oakley. Are they trying to get at me? Taunting me? I have too many clients to count with enemies that became mine when I got them off their charges.”
Jac had Sharlee on the phone. “Someone wanted you to see this, Ryker,” Sharlee said quietly. “It feels like a message, an invitation to find her. We’re getting closer. We’ll find her. Let’s go look at what we have with new eyes now. We are on the path now.”
***
ANGER AND FEAR WARREDwithin him as Ryker made his way back outside to his car as the police left. He had to stay focused, and look at this logically instead of letting his emotions cloud his judgment. Oakley was out there somewhere. He just had to find her. He was going to review the more significant cases from now, and then work his way back.
Ryker pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes, dragging in a shaky breath. “Where are you, Oak?” he whispered. He couldn’t lose hope. Not yet. The fight was about to kick up into overdrive. “I’m coming, sweetling.”
Later that evening, as he sat with his own problem board in front of him, he wondered if they had missed something important. His girl was not only alive but alive for a specific reason. He’d reviewed his cases from the last five years, since leaving the Army, and there didn’t appear to be anything to grab onto.
“Jac, something is going on. I don’t know what, but there is something we are missing. I’m on my way to your place.”
Ryker paced restlessly in Jac’s living room, the flickering light from the fireplace casting eerie shadows on the walls. The muted sound of Storm being put down for bed and the typical sounds of the world outside his tiny, focused circle seemed to mock him, reminding him that life went on despite Oakley’s absence. His heart ached with a dull, persistent pain, and he couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that clung to him like a cold sweat.
“Damn it,” he muttered, clenching his fists at his sides. He stopped pacing and stared into the flames, trying to quell the storm of emotions raging inside him. Fear, anger, desperation–they all threatened to overwhelm him as he grappled with the possibility of losing Oakley forever.
“Get a grip, Ryker,” he told himself firmly, forcing himself to take a deep, steadying breath. “You’re not going to find her by wallowing in self-pity.”
“It’s true, you know. Come and view this board. What is missing?”
Determined to stay focused, Ryker began reviewing the scant information they’d gathered so far. There was the pseudo-Bella’s claim that Oakley had decided to take a break, but that had turned out to be a lie. Then there was the client, who remained an enigma wrapped in a riddle that they now viewed as an imposter client.
They couldn’t get a facial recognition hit yet, but Sharlee, bless her heart, was still working on it. But just as he refused to finish the crossword puzzle on the table that Oakley had last worked on so tenaciously, or wash her laundry, he refused to give up. He was going to figure this out with the help of his friends.
His phone buzzed, jolting him out of his thoughts. It was a text from Kaden, who was shaking the businesses around Oakley’s office.
“Got something you need to see. Parking lot, now.”
He and Jac didn’t waste any time, grabbing their jackets and hurrying out the door. As they arrived at the parking lot where Oakley’s car was left, he spotted Kaden and Carter standing next to a man he didn’t recognize. The stranger appeared to be in his late fifties, balding, with a pair of glasses perched on his nose.
“Ryker, this is George,” Kaden introduced. “He works security for the building across the street. Says he might have seen something the afternoon Oakley disappeared.”
“Mr. George,” Ryker said, extending his hand and trying to keep the urgency from his voice. “Anything you can tell me would be greatly appreciated.”
“It’s just George, son. Well, I was on duty that night,” George began hesitantly, adjusting his glasses as he glanced nervously at Ryker. “I didn’t think much of it, but there was this car parked over there.” He pointed to a spot not far from where Oakley’s car had been abandoned. “The windows were tinted, and I couldn’t see inside, but someone was definitely in there. They left shortly after your Oakley did.”
“Did you get a license plate or any other identifying information?” Ryker asked, hope flaring in his chest.
“Sorry, son,” George replied with a regretful shake of his head. “It was too far away, and at that time of the afternoon, the sun is on the other side of the building. It makes it darker than normal in there. And they left quickly. But I’ll keep my eyes open for anything suspicious.”
“What made you think something was suspicious?” asked Carter.
