1
Three months later…
Oliver “Olly”Garcia studied the mirror mounted securely on the wall before him. A man stared back at him. A stranger who shared his eyes but was almost unrecognizable.
He remained unmoving as he studied the reflection’s unfamiliar features.
Dark hair that had once been kept shaggy and disheveled was now short on the sides and back. Once used to conceal Olly’s watchful eyes, the thicker locks on top had been trimmed into a shorter, more stylish look that swept over to one side. Whiskers that had previously been allowed to grow freely had been trimmed down to a shadow of scruff.
And then there were his clothes.
Rather than dressing like a man down on his luck, Olly’s closet was now filled with items that made him look a little more presentable. Things like jeans with no holes and shirts that weren’t tattered or stained. Shoes with good, solid soles and laces that weren’t frayed on the ends.
New look. New apartment. New car…
Thiswas the kind of man he was supposed to be. A guy who not only appeared to be an upstanding citizen but who actually lived the straight-and-narrow.
No more associating himself with lowlife assholes and shady as fuck characters. No more staring at peeling wallpaper or listening to the maddening drip of a leaky faucet.
After years of living like the criminal he was, he’d finally trudged through the massive pile of shit life had thrown his way. And somehow, some way, he’d managed to make it to the other side.
It was unfamiliar territory, for sure. But as he’d recently discovered, this side came with a seemingly endless amount of support and encouragement. Opportunities for a better life.
The kind of life Mom and Dad always wanted me to have.
But as Olly stood there, staring back at a man he didn’t recognize, he found himself wondering when—or even if—he’d start to actuallyfeellike this newer, upgraded version of himself. Because right now, the only thing he felt like was a total fucking fraud.
His mirrored image vanished, replaced by a woman’s face. She wore the same sweet, often ornery grin he remembered. Those light green eyes of hers were filled with a bit of mischievousness.
For what felt like the millionth time, his chest tightened with fear and dread. His friend Rose had been missing for three months now, and despite his efforts to find her, every lead he and the authorities had followed came up empty.
I’m still here, Rose. I’m here, and I’m still looking.
He’d keep looking, too. Under every rock. In every shadow. Olly would travel from here to the other side of the globe if that’s what it took to find his friend.
Whatever it required—however long it took—he would never give up the search.
“Olly?” A soft, feminine voice he knew well preceded a gentle knock on the bathroom door. “You okay in there?”
The eyes staring back at him blinked, and Rose’s smiling face vanished. The man in the mirror shook his head, and for a fraction of a second, Olly almost forgot that man was him.
Clearing his throat, he called out to his sister from his side of the door. “Yeah, Iz. I’ll be right out.” He turned on the water and began washing his hands for a second time.
“Good,” Izzy called back. “Dec and Skye are here.”
Great.
Olly slapped the faucet’s single handle down to turn off the water. Grabbing a nearby hand towel, he quickly dried the dripping water from his skin while reminding himself where he was and why he was here.
Izzy and Grady wanted to help in his search for Rose. So much so, they’d invited Grady’s partner over for dinner to discuss the newest development in the case. But Olly didn’t want to talk. He wanted tolook.
I should be out there, searching for her. Not hamming it up with a bunch of people I barely know.
Yet here he was, hiding out like a little bitch to avoid having to be social.He’d already met Grady’s partner. From what he’d seen so far, Declan King was as solid as they came. But in the end, the decorated detective was Izzy and Grady’s friend.
Their friend. Their colleague. Their circle.
Not mine.