Chapter 26
26
AIDEN
W histling a cheerful tune, I leapt up the few steps, riding boots slamming to the porch with a thud. My stomach growled, reminding me it was lunchtime, but I didn’t care about food. Unless the food was Aspen’s pussy—then I’d be all about eating until I had my fill. Hopefully, she was back from town and happy to see us.
Our afternoon client called to say they’d changed their minds and wanted to book a horseback trail ride with our resident cowboy, Liam, later in the week instead. When we found out that we’d get to head home to see our girl sooner than expected, both of our moods instantly perked right the fuck up.
Ready to call out her name, I swung the door open with a flourish, but my wide smile slipped immediately, sensing she wasn’t there. Stomach sinking with every quick step, I strode to the kitchen to check for a note on where she might have gone. Finding the counter bare, I swept an assessing gaze around the cabin, snagging on the coffee cup she used earlier sitting in the sink, still full of the oil-like substance.
Like me, she wasn’t a fan of Miles’s ultra-dark coffee and mentioned needing a decent cup, which meant the only coffee shop in town.
Sips.
I shifted to eye the clock on the stove. It was almost two in the afternoon, though it felt much later because of the darkening skies that prevented the sun’s bright afternoon rays from pouring through the windows.
“Good thing that client canceled. I just got a fucking weather alert,” Miles muttered, the door slamming shut behind him. “We’re under a snowstorm warning.”
I huffed and shook my head. “Of course we are. Alaskan weather likes to keep us on our toes. When do they expect it to hit us?”
Miles stared at his phone as he made his way through the living room. “In a few hours for Anchor Bay. We shouldn’t get too much snow, maybe a few inches. The worst will hit the mountains.” For the first time since he entered the cabin, Miles looked up from his phone and glanced around the room, lips dipping into a frown. “Where is Aspen?”
Knowing shit was about to hit the fan, I lifted my shoulders in a shrug as I raised both hands. “Not here, obviously.”
His frown morphed into a scowl as he tapped the phone screen before holding it up to his ear. My gut churned with worry when he yanked it away with a barked curse.
“No answer?”
“Went straight to voicemail,” Miles bit out. “I bet she turned it off after that call with her mom yesterday.”
“Yeah, she seemed hesitant to even turn it on when we were in the car.” I pointed to the cup. “She mentioned wanting decent coffee.” Like a bull in a china shop, my best friend just grunted his acceptance and stormed toward the front door. I sighed. “Guess that means we’re going to Sips.”
Before I could close the door, Jubie dashed out, racing after Miles with happy yips.
His truck turned over, the engine roaring to life just as my fingers wrapped around the door handle. With a curse, I flung the door open and jumped inside the cab after Jubie before Miles could shift into Drive and leave us both behind.
“Fucking hell, man,” I snapped as I leaned against Jubie, who sat in the middle smiling like this was the best day of her life, so I could slam the door shut. “Please don’t kill me on your frantic mission to find her.”
“She better be there,” he hissed. Both hands tightened on the wheel, knuckles going white with the fierce grip.
A frustrated groan escaped as I tapped the back of my head against the headrest. “Aspen is a grown woman, Miles. She can do whatever the hell she wants to do. We have no say in where she goes or what she does.” The words were true but still tasted bitter. I wanted to have a say, more to keep her safe than to control her, but it was a fine line between the two.
“Fuck.”
His outburst snapped my attention out the window, making me curse under my breath. At first, it was just a few thick flakes, but it quickly turned into a heavy flurry of snow pouring from the gray skies. This wasn’t a big deal for us. This was Alaska. It snowed here, and we were prepared for it.
But Aspen wasn’t.
And she wasn’t with us where we could keep her warm and safe.
Instead of slowing for the weather, Miles pressed harder on the gas, shooting down the winding road that led to town. Faster than we’d ever clocked before, he jerked the truck into an open parking spot down the street from Sips and cut the engine.
I was out before the tires had stopped, striding to the only coffee shop in town worth a damn. Behind me, stomping boots and soft panting told me Miles and Jubie were hot on my heels.
The bell overhead rang as I jerked the glass door open and stormed inside.
Paul, the owner, stood tall, arms crossed over his chest as he stared me down, gaze shifting to just over my shoulder when Miles stepped into the shop. The man Paul had been talking to turned. I didn’t even try to hold back my annoyed grumbling.
Charles Parks, The Nest’s newest GM, who hated me, Miles, and every other employee of Uplift for some unknown reason. He held my glare as I approached the counter.
“You know she can’t be in here,” Paul said, hitching his chin at Jubie, who answered by standing on her back paws and putting the front ones on the counter. Drool dripped from her jowls to the clean surface, making me chuckle.
“Worthless animal,” Charles grumbled.
“The fuck did you say about my dog?” Miles responded, his tone deadly.
Charles jumped and swallowed hard before retreating a step, then another, headed toward the front of the café. “We can finish that conversation later, Paul. I’m not comfortable being here with them.” With that snide remark, he dashed out the door, speed-walking past the wide window until he disappeared down the sidewalk.
“Where is she?” Miles demanded, glaring at Paul.
My eyes went wide as I stared at Miles. Okay, so apparently my bestie devolved into a rude brute when his girl was missing. Not that I was much better, but I had to be if we wanted this conversation to result in us finding Aspen, since she was clearly not here.
Before Paul could respond, I held up my hand, drawing his attention.
“He’s referring to Aspen Carter. New to town, long dark hair, brown eyes, adorable nose?”
Paul rolled his eyes and tossed the rag he used to clean up Jubie’s constant drool over his shoulder. “She was in here earlier.” He eyed me, then Miles. “She was a nice girl, polite, and actually appreciated my coffee.”
“Where. Is. She?”
I winced at Miles, noting the way his face had fallen into the impassive mask I knew spelled trouble for anyone who stood in his way of getting what he wanted.
Which, in this case, was finding Aspen.
“Calm down, big fella,” I whispered to him, then turned back to Paul. “We’re looking for her since she wasn’t where we thought she would be. With the storm rolling in”—I gestured to the window and the snow pouring down, already accumulating in a few areas—“we want to make sure she’s safe.”
Paul studied Miles before sighing. “She only stayed for one cup of coffee.” He stiffened, which made both Miles and me stand tall. Gaze locked on the Employees Only door, Paul’s bushy brows furrowed. “And had a conversation with Jasper when he came in for his shift—late again. After that, she left.” He shrugged and wiped down the top of the pastry display case. “I never should’ve hired him. He left his shift early, about the time she did, saying he didn’t feel well and needed to head out. Damn kid. No wonder he can’t hold down a job.”
I stood frozen, barely breathing.
“Jasper Cain?” I rasped.
Paul hummed and nodded while scrubbing at a dried spill.
Barely able to move, I chanced a look at Miles, who had gone utterly still and cursed.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Caroline’s boyfriend, whom Hudson and Oliver couldn’t pin down to discuss our concerns about her being missing, not only talked to Aspen but left when she did.
This was not good.
My stomach rolled with dread, and bile crept up my throat while my chest tightened painfully, making it hard to breathe.
“Aiden.” Miles’s bark jerked me out of my spiraling dark thoughts, each worse than the last. “Let’s move.”
I could only nod in response, too wrapped up in my head. This was all my fault. I shouldn’t have sided with her, should’ve made her take Miles’s concern more seriously. If I had stood with him and told her she was under house arrest, unable to leave unless one of us was with her, then she would be in my arms and not missing.
If she was hurt…
A hard shove sent me stumbling to the side, my shoulder bouncing off the brick of a building. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and glared at Miles.
“Stop it,” he snarled. Firm grip around the back of my neck, he guided-slash-forced me along the sidewalk toward the truck, where Jubie already waited. “Get out of your head and stop whatever you’re thinking. Let’s check her cabin. She could be there.”
“Or she could be dead because I wasn’t there. Because I didn’t warn her or?—”
“It’s not your fault, Aiden,” Miles said the second we were all in the truck cab. He started the engine and reversed out of the parking spot before turning toward The Nest. “Everything bad that happens around you isn’t your fault.” I hated the softness of his tone, like he was talking to an upset child. “I know that damn ex of yours made you believe you were ground zero for all that’s wrong in the world, but you’re not.”
“She has to be okay.” I was barely able to get a word out around my tight and dry throat. “She has to be, Miles.” I winced at my pathetic, pleading tone.
Adjusting his grip around the steering wheel, Miles shot a worried look my way before nodding. The rest of the drive to The Nest was quiet, only the sound of windshield wipers squeaking with every pass to clear the thick snowflakes. Even Jubie, probably sensing the tension, was quiet and hyper-focused.
After what felt like hours of driving, we topped the hill, and The Nest appeared. Almost hitting a few guests wandering around and snapping pictures of the falling snow, Miles tore through the resort, tires squealing to turn toward Aspen’s cottage.
Like earlier in town, I was out of the truck, door left wide open for Jubie to follow, before Miles had even put the truck into Park. A deep, booming bark followed me as I raced down the path, heavy boots punching through the thin layer of snow that accumulated on the ground. Leaping onto her porch, my boots slid along the slick wooden planks, sending me skidding into the door.
Ignoring the aching places that had slammed into the thick wood, I gripped the door handle and gave it a hard turn, praying that it was unlocked so I could barge inside and not have to wait for her to answer.
But it wasn’t.
Locked.
Pounding one fist on the door while running the other hand through my damp hair, I yanked hard on the ends, breathing deep to keep from sinking into all the dark and violent thoughts that swirled and threatened to swallow me whole.
Fuck my ex for turning me into this mass of guilt and fear when anything wrong happened. After being blamed and accused of anything that wasn’t perfect, I believed in preparing for the worst when something happened.
“Not here?” Miles called behind my back.
I dropped my fist and sealed my forehead to the cold wood. “Or she’s just not answering.”
“Locked?”
“Yep.”
A wide palm wrapped around my shoulder and forcefully shoved me away from the door. Taking my spot, Miles knelt and pulled his lock-picking kit out of his cargo pants’ side pocket.
I blinked, wiping away the mix of sweat and snow off my temples. “We’re breaking in?”
He grunted as he worked the two picks into the lock. “It’s either this or we round up that Charles fucker and ask him to let us in. We both know he’ll tell us to fuck off, and then we’d be right back here, with me doing this.”
Hands on my hips, I watched as he worked the lock. “Then I change what I said to a statement, not a question. We’re breaking in.”
“Hell yes we are, and when I get my hands on our girl,” Miles said with a slight growl, jamming the picks into the metal as his frustration rose, “I’m going to enjoy every second of punishing her for making us worry.”
Impatiently waiting, eyes flicking between his tools and the door handle, I begged the door to swing open on its own and for Aspen to come out confused. But it didn’t. After a resounding click, Miles palmed the doorknob and gave it a hard twist, swinging the thick wood door into the cabin.
With a nerve-steadying inhale, I followed him into Aspen’s cottage, so terrified of what we would find that my whole body trembled.
But after scouring the cottage, it was what we didn’t find that tipped me over the edge into full panic.
Aspen was gone.