AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Em just told me that Jess is missing.”
I get him up to speed on the situation. “Do you have any idea where she might be?” An unsettled feeling in my gut tells me she’s told him a lot more about her past than she’s told me.
A tortured silence vibrates for a beat from the other end of the phone. “I hate to say it, but it’s possible she’s on the run.”
What the hell’s he talking about? “On the run from what?”
More silence. The type of silence that comes from deliberating one’s options.
“What aren’t you telling me, Kellan?” My voice comes out rough, beyond frustrated.
A quiet sigh reaches my ear. “Someone might be looking for Jess because of who she is. Or it’s possible someone found out who she is and threatened to expose her.” His words are even and without a hint of emotion. He’s just relaying the facts.
I clench the phone tighter. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“All I know is, it’s possible she’s not coming back.”
“You’re wrong!” Christ, I hope he’s wrong. “She’d never leave Bailey behind. She loves Bailey. And she bought a house.”
“None of that matters if she feels like she doesn’t have a choice.”
Lava boils inside of me, churning in my gut. Why isn’t he telling me anything that will help me figure out where she’s gone? “Why can’t you give me a straight answer, Kellan?”
“Because I don’t have an answer I can give you. I’m sorry, Troy. If I knew where she might be, I would tell you.”
I believe him. He would tell me if he knew where she was—it’s just everything else she’s told him he isn’t willing to share that has me…
I kick the side table in the hallway hard enough to jostle it. The ceramic vase topples onto its side and rolls over the edge before I can make a move to stop it.
The vase crashes onto the wood flooring and shatters into several bits. Dammit.
“What was that?” Kellan asks, his voice tight.
“Nothing. I accidentally knocked over a vase.” And now I have to one-handedly clean up the damn pieces. “Has she told you where she would go if she felt she had to leave town?” My teeth are one step away from being ground to dust.
“No.”
“Do you really think she’s in trouble?” The volume of my voice drops to just above a whisper, the words pushing past a dry throat. “Is it possible someone has hurt or threatened her?” I’ve never felt this fucking helpless, felt this lost, until now.
“I really don’t know,” Kellan says on a sigh. “Anything is possible.”
That wasn’t the answer I’d been hoping for.
Jess, where the hell are you?
7
Angelique
June 1943
France
* * *
A smile absent of any pleasantry curves onto Major Müller’s loathsome face. And Johann’s words echo in my head: “The man is ambitious and dangerous. Never forget that.”
“Bonjour, Madame D’Aboville.” Müller’s eyes roam over my body, and I gauge the distance from where I’m standing to the front door of the farmhouse. The sky above us has turned light blue now that the sun has risen above the horizon.
