He had to admit he liked Grady Thorne. Of course, the man had put his life on the line for the sake of Olly’s sister, so…yeah. Kinda hard not to respect the guy after that. As for the others…
“Dec and the others are cool, I guess. I’m just not really in the partying mood, you know?”
“I know.” Izzy’s caring voice softened. “We’re going to find her, Olly. I know that offers little comfort right now, but we will. Grady’s entire team is still putting out feelers, as well as Noah and those guys.”
Noah being the F.B.I. agent who also happened to be close friends with Izzy’s husband, as well as the man’s partner.
You need to get out there, Olly. Do something that doesn’t involve trying to find me.
It was as if his missing friend was sitting right next to him. If she was, there’s no doubt she would be telling him that very same thing. Still…
“I’ll try to make it, okay?” Olly promised his sister.
It was the best he could do.
“Like actually try, or is that your way of saying no without having to actually say no?”
Despite his foul mood, a sideways grin lifted one corner of his mouth. “You know I hate it when you shrink me, right, Sis?”
“Sorry. Occupational hazard…Bro.”
A low chuckle bubbled up before he could stop it. “Fine. I’ll be there with bells on. Better?”
“I suppose,” his criminal psychiatrist sister teased. “Although you might want to skip the bells. If Grady brings his dog like last time, you’ll most likely become the pup’s chew toy. Listen, I have to go.” It sounded like she was at the station. “Just…promise me you’ll be there.”
Olly’s chest filled with affection for his only sister. “Already said I would, didn’t I?”
And yeah. Despite his desire to avoid a cheery social setting, he would go to the damn cookout. Because when it came to Izzy, there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do.
“Yay! Okay, I’ll talk to you later. Love you!”
“Love you, too, Sis.”
And with that, his sister ended the call.
Minutes later, he was still sitting in his living room contemplating his next move when his phone began to ring again. Olly picked it up from the small end table near his recliner and glanced at the unfamiliar number on the screen.
Who the hell are you, and why are you calling me?
Reluctant to do so, he blew out a breath and greeted the unknown caller with a gruff, “What?”
It wasn’t his usual habit to answer calls from unknown numbers. But he’d been lost in his thoughts when the phone had rung again, he hadn’t thought better of it before it was too late.
That had been happening more and more in recent months, his usually sharp focus becoming split into three different directions. The present. The past. A future he couldn’t predict.
But lately, that division had begun to morph into something different. Something more. An obsession Olly couldn’t seem to shake.
No, that wasn’t right. He wasn’t obsessed.
He was fuckingdetermined.
Determined to find a woman who’d vanished into thin air. One Olly hadn’t realized he’d come to rely on as a permanent fixture in his life until it was too late.
He’d been so close. A few months ago, he really thought he was there. That he’d finally found the one person who could tell him exactly where his friend had been taken.
I really thought I was going to find her.
But that lead had ended up dead, shot in the head by the very man married to Olly’s sister The necessary kill shot Grady had taken saved Izzy’s life. A debt Olly would never be able to repay.