Ariel
“I’m a little busy,Heath.”
“We have a big fuckingproblem.”
The panic sharpening my brother’s tone put me on edge.“What’sgoingon?”
“Dad’s gone.I can’tfindhim.”
I tensed as dread crawled through me.“What doyoumean?”
Rhett’s eyes locked on mine as Heathexplained.
“He wanted pizza from that place he loves that doesn’t deliver, so I ran out to get it.When I came back, the door was open and hewasgone.”
I didn’t know that a disappearing parent could be my worst nightmare, but tonight, it was.“Oh my God.What are we goingtodo?”
Rhett tugged the phone from my nerveless fingers.“Hey, it’s Hennessy.What the hell’s going on?Your sister’s as white as asheet.”
My stomach knotted as Heath filled Rhett in, talking loudly enough that I could hear every word.Frozen in place, I didn’t know what to do.Crisis mode required emotional separation and a rational, cool head.Business was business.No one was going to die regardless of the outcome of those decisions, and I could handle them with proper processing and analysis.But the thought of my dad wandering alone on the street, lost and confused,destroyedme.
There was nothing rational going through my headrightnow.
Not my daddy,please.
“We’ll be there in fifteen.Call the department.Call in every favor you have.Get everyone on the streets.Make a list of places he might go, or where he liked to go—his favorite bars, restaurants, hell, even your mom’s grave—and give it to everyone.We’re onourway.”
Rhett ended the call and yanked out his wallet.He tossed a handful of cash down on the table, rose, and grabbed my hand.“Let’sgo.”
Like a robot, I followed him, thinking through every worst-case scenario.I couldn’t even form the words until we stepped outside.“What are we goingtodo?”
With his face set in a determined mask and his voice strong with conviction, he answered.“We’re going to find him.”He pulled me across the street to the parking lot and stopped besidemydoor.
“He’s ...you saw at lunch.There’ssomething—”
He unlocked the Jeep and urged me inside.“I know.We got this.We’re going to find him.I swear we won’t sleep untilhe’ssafe.”
Before I could reply, he shut the door and roundedthehood.
His vow dulled my terror in a way I didn’t expect.While I was crumpling inside, he was calm, collected, and determined.His confidence and unwillingness to accept any other alternative shored up my strength, and I took a deepbreath.
“We got this,” I repeated tomyself.
Rhett jumped in the Jeep and with a roar of the engine, wepulledaway.
26
Rhett
WatchingAri’s face go white with terror was something I wouldn’t forget for a long time and never wanted to see again.I swore I had a direct line to the fear ripping through her system when that call camethrough.
My first instinct was to strangle Heath for letting this happen, but I knew that wasn’t fair.Neither Ari nor her brother had realized how bad their dad was until recently, and this had to be the last thing they expected.Up until a few days ago, he’d been living alone.According to Heath, there hadn’t been many warning signs except a sprained wrist fromafall.
I’d been on the hunt for more than one elderly person who had wandered away from home, but this was personal.I would do whatever it took to make sure Mr.Sampson was safe as soon as fuckingpossible.
Breaking every speed limit, I made my way to Heath’s house as fast as I could.When we got there, three black-and-whites were parked out front with their lights on.I wasn’t sure how I would be received by my former colleagues, but I didn’t give a damn.This was more important than badblood.
Heath was outside, poring over a map spread across the hood of a squad car.Good, that meant they were working out the searchparameters.