No Cleaver either, and it should have eased the tension racing across my shoulders, but it didn’t. Where the hell had they gone? Maisey had promised she’d stay in the stands, where not only Cleaver but the other deputies and Parker’s security team could watch over her.
“I gotta go.”
I left Delilah calling my name. I moved in the direction of the shore and my team, but it wasn’t them I was seeing. I was desperately scanning the crowd for my fiancée.
The pyrotechnic crew had already taken the motorboat out to the temporary dock in the middle of the lake and were minutes away from setting off the fireworks. The band was no longer playing, but music still blared from the speakers that would soon match the bursts of light in the air.
My team had taken up their positions, spread out along the shore as planned, and I should take up mine, but my heart and soul screamed at me to leave. To run. To go find Maisey.
Dread pooled and grew in my stomach until it was a painful ache.
I fished out my phone from the depths of my gear and sent a text to Maisey. When she didn’t respond, I called Cleaver and tried not to panic even more when he didn’t pick up.
By the time neither Wylee nor Parker picked up either, the feeling of dread had grown until it was ringing in my ears like an engine’s siren.
Nothing was right.
Then it hit me.You’re a fucking idiot, Romero.
I knew how to find her. Just today, I’d insisted she add me to the Find Family app. I brought it up, held my breath while the circle spun, searching for Maisey’s location.
When I saw it, the panic grew to full-out terror. She was too far away. Too damn far.
I was already running, the heavy turnout gear weighing me down.
Tejas and Kasey called out after me in confusion.
But I didn’t care about my job, or the people under my command, or potential flames.
I only cared about ensuring I found Maisey before the worst happened.
I only cared about preventing another knot in my life from unraveling.
Chapter Thirty-four
Maisey
CASSANDRA
Performed by Taylor Swift
SIX MONTHS AGO
HIM: Movie?
HER: Not today. I’m finishing a series.
HIM: Which one?
HER: It’s romance. You wouldn’t be interested.
HIM: We’re too big for the treehouse, but maybe we should reinstate reading time.
HER: You could join the book club Fallon, Andie, and I started up.
HIM: You’re missing the point, my Maisey-girl. It’s you I want to spend time with.
PRESENT DAY