Chapter 25
BOONE
“You go after him,” Hopper says. He looks devastated. “I’ll have Jake track his car and phone.”
Not sure how I feel about having Maverick tracked like that, but then again, I’m worried he’s going to get into an accident with the way he took off.
“I have no chance of catching him in Eleanor,” I say, thumbing a gesture at the old Outback. “Like my dad says, she’s good for hauling art and the occasional dead body, but a performance vehicle, she is not.”
Hopper tilts his head. “Are those cloth seats?”
“Yeah…”
“Then never haul a dead body. It’s impossible to get all the blood out.”
Anders leans over and whispers something into his ear, and Hopper’s eyes widen.
“Oh. Sorry. Not a good time to joke about such things.”
I wave him off. Hopper seems like the kind of guy who might struggle with social cues.
“Here,” Anders says, digging in his pocket. “Take my car.”
I catch the fob, and my eyes pop out of my head. I hold it up, logo side out. “You sure?”
Anders’ car is double the value of Mav’s. I’m not even sure it’s street legal.
“Of course. Careful though,” he says, gesturing to the low-profile sedan in a dangerously dark charcoal gray. “It corners like it doesn’t give a shit about gravity.”
Anders parked a quarter million dollars’ worth of automotive excellence on the street like it’s a fucking Honda. I decide that, with all the things to worry about right now, maybe I don’t need to concern myself with its value.
“Okay,” I say, exchanging a look with Hopper.
He’s leaning toward me like he wants to say something, but Liam pulls him back.
Anders follows me to the car. “Look, Hopper wants to go with you, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I agree. I think it’s a lot for him to handle.” I grimace. “I don’t mean that in a bad way.”
“No, you’re right.” Anders looks over at his friend. “He sometimes doesn’t know his limits when he’s triggered.”
I glance back and…yeah. Hopper is talking to Liam, his gestures growing more and more frantic.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to trigger anything bad.”
Anders shakes his head as he opens the door for me. “Nope. This one’s…probably on us.”
I have questions, but instead, I slide into the soft leather seat.
Anders hits a button near the rearview mirror, and the seat adjusts perfectly for my height and arm length. He hits another button.
“I saved your setup in case you ever need to drive it again.” He pulls out his phone. “Here, give me your number so we can text each other.”
We tap our phones together, and I send him a nod. “I’ll keep you updated. Let me know when you’ve pulled up tracking.” I turn to Hopper. “You’ll take care of Angela Lansbury for me?”
He rubs his chest and nods. Liam sends me a grateful smile.
Anders gives me a thumbs-up, then closes the door.
As much as I need to process this entire fucking day, I simply don’t have the time. Anders steps away, and I punch it.
Holy. Fuck.
I’ve received plenty of training on the department’s high-performance vehicles, but this piece of engineering doesn’t even compare. I’m at the stop sign in seconds, and turn in the direction Maverick went in.
Anders was right: G-forces don’t even exist in this thing.
My gut’s telling me that Maverick stayed in the neighborhood, so I attack it in a grid pattern. Within ten minutes, I find his car, right as my phone goes off.
Anders: We were able to track down his car.
I take a picture of the car and send it back to him.
Me: He’s on foot.
Anders: That’s okay. His shoes have advanced tech. Gimme a sec.
I take in the neighborhood, trying to guess where he might go next. A few minutes later, another text comes in.
Anders: Are you sure he’s not there?
Me: I’m the only one on the street.
Anders: Could he be in someone’s house?
Me: Maybe. I can knock on a few doors.
Anders: Fuck. Wait. He may have taken the trackers out of his shoes.
Me: You put trackers in his shoes?
Anders: No.
Anders: I mean, sorta? Our friend owns Wolfe Athletics, and all their trainers have performance trackers.
As I’m composing a reply, I catch something out of the corner of my eye. Leaning down, I find a pair of ultrathin disks. I take a picture and send it to him.
Me: Do these look familiar?
Anders: Fuck. Those are the trackers.
Me: Seems like he really doesn’t want to be found. Does he have a history of disappearing?
Anders: No. Never.
Anders: Shit. Lemme see if we can track his phone.
On a hunch, I peer inside his car.
Me: Don’t bother. His phone and bracelet are in the cup holder.
Me: Also his wallet.
My phone rings, and I answer.
“I’m going to need you to tell me everything that went down with my nephew. Every conversation, every time you made eyes at each other, every little detail. You leave anything out, and I’ll know.”
I’m an officer of the law, trained in weapons handling and hand-to-hand combat, but the threat in Anders’ voice sends a shiver down my spine.
I dare not lie to him.
I tell him about the flirting via contrived misdemeanors and fake arrests. That I was never tempted by fifteen-year-old Maverick, but that adult Maverick has charmed me, despite my best efforts.
I leave out the fact that I can’t get him out of my mind and that I’m falling for him faster than I know what to do with.
“And finally, last night we…got together for the first time.” I let out a shaky breath. “I’m sorry. I don’t feel comfortable giving you any other details.”
“I don’t care about those kinds of details, Boone. Just that everything that happened was consensual.”
“It was.”
It very much was, and now I’ve gone and ruined it by jumping off the goddamned diving board. Though…I find it hard to regret letting Hopper know about me.
I wish I could’ve done it without hurting Mav.
“I swear, I wasn’t trying to lie to anyone. I hate lying.” God, I hope he believes me. “I wasn’t expecting…any of this.”
“I hear you. There’s just… There are several complicating factors, and Maverick’s been kept in the dark about some of them, which is why he’s so upset.” Anders lets out a loud exhale. “We don’t track the Wildlings because we don’t trust them. We track them because there are people out there who…”
Anders goes silent, save for a series of deep breaths. Like he’s trying to get a hold of himself.
“There are people who would hurt them if they had even the slightest chance or provocation,” he says, an edge of desperation in his voice. “It’s not an empty threat, Detective. It’s leverage.”
That one word tells me as much as everything that came before it. Maverick has also talked about complicating factors, but I wonder if he’s ever heard the fear in his uncle’s voice.
“Should we just tell Boone everything?”
That’s Hopper’s voice in the background.
Liam responds, “Not yet.”
I decide not to mention it.
“Alright,” Anders says. “You keep doing your grid search, and we’ll talk to the Wildlings. See if they have any ideas.”
I don’t bother asking how he knows I’m searching in a grid pattern.
“Are you gonna tell them who I am?”
“Not…yet.” I can practically hear his neurons firing. “But I will if I think it’ll help.”
“Okay.” What else can I say? I look back at Maverick’s car. “I feel weird about leaving his personal effects in the car. Someone could come along and break the window…”
I let my words trail off as I cycle through every scenario.
“Good point. Gimme a sec.”
Moments later, the locks disengage and I grab his things.
“Got ‘em.”
The locks re-engage automatically.
“Check in every half hour or so?” I ask, making my way back to Anders’ car.
“Perfect.”
Anders ends the call, and I stare at Maverick’s things in my hands. I can only imagine how hurt he was already feeling, knowing he was being kept out of… whatever it is he’s being kept out of. Keeping him out of my relationship with Hopper no doubt compounded that hurt.
I rub my thumb over his phone screen, not sure I could’ve handled any of it differently. Mav still has every reason to be hurt. And to doubt my intentions. He no doubt thinks I used him to get to Hopper, and I never would’ve done that. Not in a million years.
I hafta find him and make him understand.
I spend the rest of the day and into the night trying to find him, checking in with his uncle, going to all the places I can think of, rechecking the places the Wildings throw into the mix, just in case.
We can’t find him anywhere.
Anders finally calls off the search a little after two a.m.
“There’s no evidence he’s been harmed,” he says, sounding grim. “We’d know by now if someone had made a move. We hafta trust that Maverick can handle himself. He’ll come to us when he’s ready.”
It sounds like he’s trying to convince himself more than the rest of us.
I do know he hasn’t told Mav’s dads yet, and I wonder how that’s going to go down.
We make plans to meet for breakfast in the morning so we can switch out cars. Hopper, in the meantime, wants to tell the Wildlings they have another cousin, and Anders is considering it.
Defeated, I head toward my apartment. When I pass the UT campus, I turn in. There’s no way I’m getting any sleep tonight. I wish I had my cigarettes, but maybe visiting the fountain and Hopper’s statues will help.
I’ve already circled the campus twice this evening, with no luck, but still, I scan the empty sidewalks for any sign of life. Nothing.
I park in the same spot Maverick parked in last month, and regret that I waited so long to kiss him again. I check the middle console to see if Anders has any bad habits I can borrow for the night, but all I find is a gorgeous gun and a knife that looks like it could cut through a small sapling.
Note to self: don’t fuck with Anders Bash.
No cigarettes or booze though.
I exit the car and wonder if I’ll ever be able to look at Eleanor the same way. I check both ways and cross the street, standing in front of the fountain, wishing that any part of tonight had gone differently.
Maybe that’s why I don’t see him right away.