Chapter 11
chapter
eleven
Rylan was leaning against his truck in the parking lot, his arms crossed over his broad chest. He straightened when he saw her, his expression a mix of concern and something else she couldn’t quite read.
She stopped a few feet away from him. “You’re… here.”
Something like embarrassment crossed his features before he schooled them into a polite mask. He held out a to-go cup from the coffee shop down the street. “Peace offering? Two creams, one sugar, right?”
Izzy blinked in surprise as she accepted the coffee. Her fingers brushed against his, sending a jolt of awareness through her. “You remembered.”
“Of course I did.” His lips quirked up slightly, but the smile faded as quickly as it appeared. He stuffed his hand in his jacket pocket and rocked back on his feet as if he was uncomfortable. “Listen, about earlier...”
Shit, was he going to rehash that kiss? She really didn’t want to hear about what a mistake it was again. Not when her body hummed every time she thought of it.
She held up a hand to stop him. “I need to say something first. I’m sorry for what I said about your drinking. It was out of line. It’s none of my business, and it’s not my place to say anything to your team.”
Rylan’s posture relaxed a fraction. “I appreciate that. And I owe you an apology, too, for the comment about your judgment. It was a low blow.”
Izzy nodded, her throat tightening with emotion. She took a sip of the coffee to buy herself a moment. The fact that he’d remembered how she took it, even after everything... it gutted her. “Thanks. I needed to hear that.”
She leaned back against the side of his truck beside him, their shoulders almost touching. For a few heartbeats, they stood in companionable silence, the cool evening breeze ruffling their hair. It felt nice, this tentative truce between them. Fragile and new, but real.
Finally, Rylan broke the quiet. “Do you… need a ride back to your car?”
Izzy hesitated, torn between wanting to spend more time with him and knowing it was probably a bad idea. But the thought of climbing into his truck, surrounded by his scent and his presence, was too tempting to resist. “Sure, thanks.”
Rylan nodded and opened the passenger door for her. She climbed in, sinking into the seat as he rounded the truck and slid behind the wheel.
As he pulled out of the parking lot, Izzy stared out the window, and her mind drifted back to her conversation with Ash. The revelation about Monica’s custody battle had thrown her. Why hadn’t Monica told her what was going on? They used to tell each other everything.
But that was before. Before Izzy had made the biggest mistake of her life and lost almost everything that mattered to her— including, it seemed, Monica’s trust.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Rylan said, his deep voice pulling her from her spiraling guilt.
She glanced over at him, taking in the strong profile, the curve of his square jaw, the intensity in his eyes as he watched the road. He was a beautiful man, movie star handsome. Her gaze drifted to his prosthetic arm, resting on the center console.
She knew some of the story behind it. A mission gone wrong when he was a SEAL—the same mission that had left Shane Trevisano with all those burn scars. He’d endured so much pain and trauma and yet, he was still the strongest, most compassionate man she knew.
Seeing him without his prosthetic this morning, the scarred stump that ended just above his elbow, had been a shock. But she’d been more surprised by the vulnerability in his eyes when he’d caught her staring. As if he expected her to recoil or pity him. As if anything could make her think less of him.
Izzy blinked, realizing she’d been staring. Well, fuck it. She didn’t want to tiptoe around the elephant in the car any longer.
She shifted in her seat to face him. “Why did you kiss me?”
His eyebrows shot up. She’d surprised him. Good. Maybe he’d actually give her the truth.
“ That’s what you’re thinking about?” he said, incredulous.
“It is right now. You hate me, so why did you kiss me?” And why was it so damn good? She decided not to voice that second part, but thinking about that kiss had heat flooding her veins again.
He blew out a long, weary breath. “I told you I don’t hate you.”
“You certainly did three months ago. I saw it in your eyes. What changed?”
He opened his mouth like he was going to answer, but didn’t make a sound and closed it again. The muscle in his jaw ticked as he stared straight ahead at the road.
“I don’t know,” he said finally.
Yes, he was a beautiful man, but those shadows under his eyes seemed even darker than they’d been this morning. He was exhausted and not taking care of himself, and all she wanted to do with reach across the chasm between them and soothe away all of his pain.
She settled for laying a hand on his prosthetic arm. “Are you okay?”
He shot her a sideways glance. “I’m not the one with a missing friend.”
Her throat tightened. He was right. Monica and her kids were out there somewhere, scared and in danger, and here she was obsessing over a stupid kiss. What the hell was wrong with her?
“I’m sorry,” she said, pulling her hand back. “I’m just... I’m worried about them.” And worried about you. But, again, she kept that thought to herself. “And I feel so damn helpless.”
Rylan’s prosthetic hand curled into a fist on the console. “We’ll find them, Iz. I promise you that.”
She wanted to believe him. Needed to believe him. Because the alternative—that she might never see Monica or those kids again—was too painful to even consider.
“Ash thinks Monica might have taken the kids herself.” The words tasted bitter on her tongue. “To keep them away from her ex.”
He glanced her way again as he hit the blinker to turn onto the road where she’d left her car. “You don’t believe that.”
“No, I don’t,” Izzy said firmly. “There’s no way Monica would put her kids through something like this, custody battle or not. She’s not that vindictive or manipulative.”
He nodded, his expression thoughtful. “I happen to agree. From what you’ve told me about her, it doesn’t add up. So what’s our next move?”
Our.
Her heart stuttered in her chest. Did he really want to help her, after everything that had happened? Or was he just being kind, the way he was with everyone who needed him?
Rylan pulled into the cabin’s driveway and cut the engine. The Redwood Coast Rescue vehicles were gone, but several Lost County Sheriff cruisers now blocked her Jeep in. Asking them to move was going to be fun. If her encounter with Cole Reed was any indication, her former colleagues wouldn’t be eager to do her any favors.
Rylan turned in his seat to face her fully, his eyes searching hers. “Okay, so let’s think this through. If Monica was running from someone, who would that be? Her ex?”
Izzy gave herself a moment to seriously consider it, playing with the idea that Gavin Holt could be behind this mess. She’d always liked him well enough. He’d never pinged on her radar as a bad guy. He’d never really pinged on her radar as… anything. He was clean-cut, handsome in a generic sort of way, kind of bland. He was also a little too immature for his age, living like he was still a college frat boy rather than a man on the downward slide to forty with two kids. If he’d ever loved Monica, it hadn’t lasted long, but he did love his kids. He just didn’t love the inconvenience of fatherhood. So why would he file for custody with such horrible lies about Monica when he was perfectly happy being a part-time father?
She realized Rylan was still waiting for her answer and shook her head. “I don’t think so. From what I remember, their divorce was relatively amicable. They just… got married way too young, right after Grace was born, and I don’t think they ever really wanted the same things. I’m honestly surprised the marriage lasted for as long as it did.”
“When did they end it?”
She had to think about that. “Uh, five or so years ago?”
“Hmm,” Rylan murmured, rubbing a hand over his beard. “And there haven’t been any issues with him since then? No fights over custody or child support?”
Izzy shook her head. “Not that I know of. Like I said, they were pretty amicable. It was hard on the kids, especially Noah, but there didn’t seem to be any hurt feelings on either side. Gavin’s not a bad guy, he’s just… kind of a man-child. He likes being the fun weekend dad but I can’t see him wanting full custody.”
“Is it possible Gavin has gotten his act together and wants to be more involved now?”
It was possible, she supposed. Five years was a long time. Long enough for Gavin to mature, to realize what he’d given up. But still, something about it didn’t sit right. “Why would he lie about her mental health?”
“Maybe he’s not lying.”
Izzy tamped down that familiar flare of anger. Getting defensive wasn’t going to help when he was just trying to look at the problem from every angle. “I would know if something was wrong with Monica.”
Rylan shrugged, his gaze drifting away from hers as he absently drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. “People can be really fucking good at hiding how much they’re struggling. Sometimes you don’t even realize how bad it’s gotten until it’s too late.”
Those words felt heavy, loaded with more meaning than they should have.
Izzy studied his profile, noticing the tightness in his jaw, the flicker of something raw and unguarded in his eyes. For a moment, he wasn’t the steady, unshakable Rylan Cross she’d always known. He was someone else entirely—someone tired, weighed down, and maybe just as lost as she felt.
“You think Monica’s been hiding something from me?” she asked carefully, though something told her the conversation had shifted away from Monica.
He didn’t look at her, his fingers still tapping a restless rhythm. “Everyone’s hiding something.”
“Even you?” she said softly.
He gave a humorless laugh. “Especially me.”
An ache bloomed in her chest, and the need to say something, to push past the walls he’d so carefully built, was overpowering. But before she could find the right words, he exhaled sharply and shook his head.
“We’re getting off track,” Rylan said, his voice regaining its usual steadiness. “Let’s focus on what we do know. Monica came to you convinced someone had taken her kids, and the trail cam footage proves she was right. So who else would have motive to do that, if not the ex-husband? Has she mentioned anyone new in her life recently? Any conflicts or strange occurrences?”
Izzy stared at him for a long moment, her heart squeezing painfully in her chest. Once again, she wanted to reach for him, to offer comfort, to help him fight whatever demons had put those shadows in his beautiful eyes, but she wasn’t sure it would be welcome.
So instead, she wracked her brain, trying to remember every detail from her recent conversations with Monica. There had to be something, some clue she was missing...
Then it hit her. “Wait. A few months ago, Monica mentioned she had started dating someone new. She only mentioned it once, but the fact she told me about him at all is weird. She’s dated on and off—mostly off—but usually when she talks about her dating life, she just laments how men hate that she’s more focused on her kids than them.”
“Did she say anything else about this new guy?”
“Not much. Just that he was charming and that things were going well.” She frowned. “But that was months ago. Before—“ She broke off. Things were going so well between them that she loathed to bring up what happened three months ago. “Well, I, uh, haven’t been a great friend recently.”
“Could be nothing,” Rylan mused, “but it’s worth looking into. Do you remember his name?”
Izzy closed her eyes, picturing that conversation with Monica. It was during their girl’s weekend in San Francisco over the summer when the kids were busy—Grace at the beach with her friends and Noah at summer camp. Monica had seemed so happy that. Almost bubbly. They’d gone to their favorite coffee shop in the city, Monica’s hands wrapped around a steaming mug as she’d smiled shyly and said…
Her eyes snapped open. “Julian. His name is Julian Graves.”
Rylan nodded, already pulling out his phone. “I’ll ask Sawyer to run a background check on him, see if anything pops.”
“Ash won’t like that.”
The first hint of a smile she’d seen from him in months curved his lips as he raised the phone to his ear. “I’ve learned Zak’s approach to handling Ash is best. It’s better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.” Then he nodded toward her car. “Go home, Izzy. I’ll let you know if I find out anything.”