28. Elliot
CHAPTER 28
ELLIOT
B lood stains the carpet in her bedroom.
It’s not a lot but enough that I know someone didn’t walk out of here uninjured. Since we haven’t heard from her, my money is on Brett abducting her. Fear tries to claw its way to the surface, but I need a clear head, so I beat it back down.
I missed something—again. Blinded by my own feelings, I’d been unable to discern my dislike for Brett as anything more than jealousy. Now I know it was more. That the distrust I carried for him meant something.
I’m just too late—again.
I can’t lose her.
God, please don’t let me lose her.
“The place was wiped clean at some point before this attack,” Dylan says.
“You think someone cleaned up after tossing the place?” I ask.
He nods. “There’s not even dust under the bed. If she were gone for as long as Brett claims, there should have been a dust bunny or two. Couple that with the missing personal items, I’d say a lot of it got destroyed and he had to replace what he could in a hurry.”
“I just got off the phone with the captain of their precinct,” Gibson says as he strolls into the apartment. Even though we’re nowhere near his jurisdiction, he’d offered to come with us anyway to lend a hand with local police. “Brett hasn’t made contact recently, and the captain never spoke with Nova.”
“She said she talked to him.” I recall how proud she was when she’d told me what he’d said about her being the best he had.
“It must have been fake. Brett set it up.”
“The pictures?”
“Those were real,” Gibson replies. “According to the captain, Nova and Brett were engaged for about a year before she called it off. That was right before she was placed undercover along with her partner, Sam Calloway. He was found dead shortly before you found Nova in that creek. Shot to death.”
My stomach churns. Will Nova’s body be the next one that washes up?
“Did they not think it was strange that Brett hadn’t checked in?”
“He stopped checking in about a week ago.” Gibson crosses his arms. “The captain said he’s a good detective. Relatively quiet, but he had a jealous side, which is what led to him and Nova splitting. Despite the fact that Sam was engaged himself, Brett kept accusing Nova of having an affair.”
“I could’ve told you he was jealous,” I growl, recalling how he’d confronted me in the barn. What I wouldn’t give to be able to go back and tear him apart right there. What if that’s why he took her? What if that’s why he’s hurting her now? Because of me? “Does he know of anywhere he would have taken her?”
“He sent me an address,” he replies, holding up his phone. “I asked him to send uniforms over for us, and he agreed.”
“She won’t be there,” I reply. “He’ll have taken her somewhere hard to find.”
“Family?” Bradyn asks. He postponed the honeymoon he and Kennedy were supposed to be going on tomorrow and has been by my side since arriving an hour after I did.
“None. Guy had no ties to anything or anyone but Nova.”
I survey her bedroom, trying to imagine what happened here. Her cell phone is still lying on the bed where she’d left it, her Bible beside it. I cross over, lift the leather-bound book into my hand, and run my finger over the name engraved on the front.
God, I can’t do this alone. I know I need You. Please don’t let me fail again. Please guide me toward her.
As I turn the book over in my hands, I note a photo that’s stuck to the back leather. Peeling it off, I stare down at a surveillance photo of Brett and Ivan shaking hands. My blood runs cold.
He was in on it.
Is he the one who shot her? Did he do it for Ivan? Is he the one who handed her over?
My thoughts are going a million miles a minute as I run through everything we know. Brett told us Ivan was dead.
He showed me the email from his captain.
But if he never spoke to the captain, then that means Ivan is likely still alive. Alive and looking to tie up any potential loose ends. And I let Nova leave with Brett, my pride too wounded to even bother fighting for her.
“I got them!” Tucker yells from the living room.
Keeping the Bible and photograph in hand, I rush out of the bedroom and join three of my brothers and Gibson in the living room. Tucker is seated at the small dining table, and he turns the computer around to face us, showing off a traffic camera image.
Even though it’s grainy, I can make out Brett’s face as he drives.
Got you.
“I tracked the vehicle when it went through some toll booths. He exited at Highway 75 and was headed north.”
“Back toward our neck of the woods,” Gibson replies.
“I don’t see Nova,” Dylan says, leaning in to study the picture.
“She’s in there,” I reply. “And I think I know where they’re headed.” I toss the photo down on the table. “Get me an address for Ivan.”
“On it,” Tucker replies.
“I’ll make some calls,” Gibson offers as he heads for the door. “I shouldn’t be here while Tucker breaks laws anyway.”
“Love you like a brother,” Tucker calls out as Gibson leaves the room.
Their banter is not unusual, and normally it lightens even the darkest moods. But right now, it’s frustrating, especially when I feel so absolutely helpless to do anything but wait for answers. I step out onto the balcony and breathe in the fresh air while still clinging to the Bible.
“You okay, brother?” Bradyn steps up beside me.
“I knew better than to let my feelings get in the way.”
“You have to stop blaming yourself for making mistakes. Having feelings for Nova didn’t cloud your judgment. Brett fooled all of us. He’s a cop. He has a badge. Tucker even looked into him and found nothing suspicious. None of us—even me—got a read on him as being anything more than what he claimed to be.”
“You weren’t there when he confronted me after your rehearsal dinner.”
“No, I wasn’t,” Bradyn agrees. “But I doubt he held up a sign that said he was a dirty cop.”
“He told me to drop the case and let the ‘real cops’ handle it. I thought he was just being a jealous fiancé, but he was trying to keep me away because he knew we’d find something.” I shake my head angrily.
“It’s not your fault,” Bradyn tells me. “And we’re going to find her.”
“I won’t stop until I do.” I rest my gaze on his. “And, Bradyn, I can’t be sure I’ll let him survive if I get my hands on him.”
“Guys.” Gibson peeks his head out. “Brett’s apartment was empty, but Tucker has a confirmed address for Ivan’s place. Ready to head out?”
“Absolutely.” I keep the Bible in my hand as I walk out of Nova’s apartment. Blood is pounding in my ears as I climb behind the wheel and set the Bible on the console between me and Bradyn, who’s climbed into the passenger seat.
He plugs the address into my GPS, and I pull away from Nova’s apartment, my mind on one thing. Rescuing her and destroying anyone who gets in my way.
I’m coming, Nova.