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Chapter 23
Aringing cell phone startled Teag awake from his position on the couch. The game had gone into extra innings, but Teag hadn’t been able to keep his eyes open. He glanced at Tank, and a snake of dread coiled in his gut. Tank’s posture had stiffened the moment he’d answered the call. His clipped tone when he spoke froze Teag’s blood.
“What do we know?” Teag listened to Tank’s side of the conversation with growing dread. “How long ago?”
Teag’s first thought was of Maria. She had to be okay. He couldn’t stand it if something happened to her because of him.
But the call wasn’t about Maria at all.
Tank punched end, tossed the phone onto the table, and turned to him. “Your sister is missing.”
“What? How do you know?” Teag sat up, suddenly wide awake.
“Your mother called Cam. Said Annabelle went to grab takeout and never came back.”
“Annabelle’s still down here?”
“Yeah, she and your mom decided to stay in Miami until they knew you were safe,” Tank said. “Let me get Jake on this. He can check hospitals and police reports.”
Tank sent out a text and then sat at the conference table in front of his laptop. Teag continued to pace, running a nervous hand through his hair. “I need to call my mum,” he said, mostly to himself.
He wasn’t sure where his cellphone was, or if he was even allowed to use it yet, but he could make the call on the landline. His mother picked up on the first ring.
“Mum,” he said, his voice tight and hoarse.
“Teag? Is that you. Oh, my boy, are you okay?”
“Still kicking, mum. Tell me what’s going on.”
“Annabelle and I wanted to stay here together. She’s been working a bit online, but we’ve been seeing the sights, trying to keep upbeat until this whole thing is over. Tonight, she went out to pick up our dinner, and she didn’t come back.”
His mother’s voice rose an octave, and Teag knew she was struggling to keep herself together.
“We’ll find her, mum. Cam’s team is on it already.”
“They’re good people,” Sandy Tate agreed.
“Let me go see what else I can find out. I promise, I’ll call you back.” He paused when he heard his mother take a shaking breath. “I’m sorry I can’t be there with you, mum. Are you okay?”
“Don’t you worry about me. Just take care of yourself.”
Teag sighed. His mother had never liked to show signs of weakness. He knew another woman like that. Well, all these years of dealing with his mother should have him well versed in how to handle Maria’s stubborn streak, he supposed.
The moment he hung up with his mother, the landline rang back.
“Mum?”
“This is the front desk. We have a package here for a Mr. Teagan Tate.”
Teag stilled. No one should know his location. His mind ran rapid-fire through scenarios, each one more alarming than the next.
When he rejoined Tank at the conference table, Teag kept his expression neutral as he eased himself down into a chair. The large man was talking to Jake over video.
“Nothing at area hospitals. The police reports will take more time to sift through. There are a ton of things that could have held her up. An accident, a robbery at a convenience store…” Jake trailed off when he noticed Teag in the video feed.
“Please don’t hold back on my account.”
A tense silence filled the room. Teag’s heart raced, even as he kept his face a frozen mask of calm.
