16. Milo
Author’s Note:
Sorry. I know this chapter is really late.
I know I was supposed to have the book done by now.
I sort of got kidnapped. (Dex said "again," but the first time I was only stalked, not technically kidnapped, so I think this counts as my first kidnapping. My bestie was kidnapped once before, though, so I channeled him and remained calm.) Don’t worry, I’m fine.
I was only kidnapped for like an hour before my super awesome boyfriend came to rescue me and kill everyone, and everything is great now, but it totally put a crimp in my writing time. So here’s your chapter!
MILO
Rowan and Milo sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love…
Why, yes, I had listened in on Rowan’s phone call with his sister. No, I didn’t regret it, because my strawberry milkshake had declared his undying passion and devotion for me. Sort of.
Not only that, but he wanted to do something romantic for me. Something that would be unforgettable when he told me he loved me. I could totally keep this secret. I could definitely not let on that I knew he loved me. It would be easy peasy.
I took the kids out for a potty break while Rowan continued to talk to his sister. He ended up hanging up the phone just as I got back in with Baby and Beauty.
“Why are you grinning maniacally?” he asked.
Beauty ran over and attacked his sneaker, growling and chewing on the toe, and my dear Rowan just looked down and let her get out all her pent-up aggression.
Yes, she was a weird little pup, but if I didn’t adopt her, who would?
She deserved a good home, and she adored me.
She also loved Rowan; growling was just her love language.
“Beauty loves you,” I commented, and yes, I’m sure I was grinning a little psychotically.
I wouldn’t ruin Rowan’s surprise, though.
I could totally keep my mouth shut. I could let him tell me in whatever special, romantic way he wanted to.
The possibilities were endless. He could get me another dog.
Or he could perform one of those flash mob things in the street.
Or he could write it with the blood of our enemies after we took down the neo-Nazis.
What? That was romantic.
“You okay, Milo?” Rowan asked.
I looked at him.
He looked at me.
“You love me!” I shouted at him.
He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, turning cherry red like my favorite Italian ice.
“I, uh—” he started.
“I love you, too, boo. Do you think we can get Italian ices after dinner? Cherry is my favorite, but blue is also really good. Although it’s sort of suspect that it’s just called blue. Like, blue what? Blue raspberry? Blueberry? Blue cotton candy?”
Rowan walked over and cut off my Italian ice rant by kissing me, his tongue tracing along my lips, his hands reaching out to grab onto my arms and pull me close. It was passionate and left me breathless and hard.
He pulled back the slightest bit and leaned his forehead down against mine. “Yes, my little chaos demon, I love you.”
“I’m only little because you’re freaking huge, but I love you, too. I mean, I’d hope so. What would the kids think if their parents weren’t in love? I don’t have children with just anyone, you know.”
Rowan laughed and pulled me in for a hug. “You’re perfect, Milo.”
“Aww, boo, so are you.”
I relaxed into his arms, and I let myself breathe in his scent and feel his warmth against me. Sometimes I forgot to slow down and relax, but I had a feeling that Rowan would be able to help me with that.
Before I could suggest taking it back to the bedroom (what? My man was hella sexy), my phone rang. I sighed, but it was the ringtone for Ethel, and she didn’t usually call.
I disentangled myself from Rowan and grabbed my phone, answering, “Hello?”
“Milo. We need you to come down here. Betsy is missing.”
It took me a minute to remember who Betsy was—the college student who wasn’t leaving her dorm room. The one we were supposed to check up on. We’d gotten so caught up in the dog ring that we hadn’t spent much time looking into our other jobs.
“I’ll be right there.”
I filled Rowan in on the way out to the car, and he could tell I felt guilty for not checking things out sooner.
“We’ll find her, Milo,” Rowan assured me.
It wasn’t just that I was worried about Betsy. I mean, of course I was—I never wanted someone hurt or injured. But the crew had asked me to look into this, and I felt like I’d dropped the ball on them.
Rowan drove to the retirement home. He also reassured me; he was a hellhound, his sisters were harpies, and we would do whatever was necessary to find the missing woman. Plus, she was a college student. She might have just been out partying or met someone and stayed overnight.
We headed down the hallway and went and knocked on Ethel’s door. When she opened it, the whole crew was inside, and they were all looking worried.
“What happened?” I demanded.
Beatrice filled me in. “Mildred usually hears from her every day, and she couldn’t get ahold of her yesterday.
She waited until today and kept trying, but Betsy never answered her phone.
Mildred finally called the college, and they had the RA for the floor knock on the door.
No answer. The college doesn’t seem concerned, even though the girl did miss her classes today.
It apparently isn’t odd for kids to miss a day or two. ”
“Of course it isn’t odd for most college students,” Ethel added, “but Betsy hasn’t been acting right, and the girl has been checking in with her mom regularly.
She came to lunch a few weeks ago, and she’s a very shy and responsible young woman.
She’s not someone who would just up and leave for a few days without telling anyone. ”
“We’ll find her,” I promised. “Now tell me anything else you know.”
It turned out Betsy was an art major. She was in her second year of college, and she had a small group of close friends.
She wasn’t a partier, she wasn’t dating anyone, and she hadn’t filed any official complaints with the college.
She’d gone to at least one class yesterday, so the college didn’t count her as a missing person just because she wasn’t in her dorm room and missed class that morning.
“Could be anything, but a stalker seems most likely,” Rowan said.
“Unless she was afraid of something or someone and really did leave of her own accord. It may be far-fetched that she wouldn’t tell her mother what she was doing if they were close, but if she was worried about dragging anyone else into a problem, I can see her keeping things quiet. ”
Ethel nodded her head, and Beatrice agreed with us. “Yes, she’s a really sweet girl, and I can see her trying to protect her mom. Still, I don’t think she’d let her worry, either.”
“I can try and hack her email account and see if she has anything suspicious,” Ethel added.
“I can ask Mildred if she knows any of Betsy’s passwords,” Beatrice said. “That will help us when it comes to email and signing into her computer and such. Her mother probably has a good idea of what she’d use.”
Beatrice excused herself to make the phone call, and Ethel came over, putting her arm around my waist. “Beatrice was close to Betsy, and I hope you boys can find her easily. She would be devastated if anything happened to the girl.”
“We’ll do our best,” I assured Ethel.
She gave me a squeeze. “I’d be devastated if anything happened to you, too, so you boys be careful out there. I know you always are, but this hit close to home.”
I gave Ethel a hug. “I will, Ethel, I promise.”
“I’ll make sure he’s okay,” Rowan assured her.
We made a game plan to head to the college and do some snooping around.
Beatrice talked to Betsy’s mom, and we got her dorm room, the names for Betsy’s friends, and her dorm RA’s name.
She also had a few guesses on email passwords and had some banking information, so Ethel would look into that while we did the legwork at the college.
Rowan and I got into the car and headed out. The college was over an hour away, so Ethel would have time to do research and fill us in even more once we got there.
We were quiet for a little bit, then Rowan said, “She loves you like family. It’s clear to see.”
I knew he was talking about Ethel, and it gave me warm fuzzies.
“They all love you, but Ethel especially. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was your grandmother.”
I shook my head. “Ethel is… she’s snarky and plays practical jokes and is a wise-ass, but everyone loves her.
” I looked at Rowan. “She’s all I have left of Aunt Anabelle.
They both raised me together. Aunt Anabelle got custody of me when my parents died, and when I was young, it was just the two of us living together, although Ethel visited all the time.
It wasn’t until I was a little older that Ethel moved in, and it was even longer before I realized that Aunt Anabelle and her were probably more than friends. ”
Rowan looked at me, raising his eyebrows before he looked back at the road.
I chuckled. “Yeah, they never publicized it; they were from a different generation, and if they held hands in public that was a huge declaration for them. At home they were open and affectionate with one another, and it only took my idiot adolescent brain a few months to figure out they were actually together.”
Rowan snorted. “What finally clued you in?”
“Okay, maybe I didn’t figure it out, and a friend who came over to visit casually asked how long my aunts had been together, at which point I’d finally started to wonder.
But I never asked, and they never outright told me.
I don’t know why I never asked if they were a couple. ” I shrugged my shoulders.
“Because you were respecting them and what they chose to share, and you knew they loved each other dearly. Whether they were sexually involved is irrelevant. Besides, wouldn't it be odd to ask your parental figures about their sex life?”
I laughed. “Yeah, I guess you’re not wrong.
And they never hid their love for each other from me.
They just weren’t demonstrative in public.
They shared a room, though. You think I would have known right away when Ethel moved in, but I was a typical, self-centered teenager.
” I looked over at Rowan's face. “She and the crew are all the family I have left, and she’s the glue that holds us together. For a long time after Aunt Anabelle’s death, she was…
Well, we were both wrecks. It was so hard, but we leaned on each other.
The crew at the retirement home really rallied around her, making sure she didn’t sink too far into depression, making sure she still had a reason to look forward to each day.
Beatrice was a big part of that, and I know she cares about Betsy like the girl is her own. We have to find her.”
“We’ll do everything we can,” Rowan assured me again. “I know we’ll figure it out.”
I knew the unspoken part of what he wasn’t saying. We’d figure it out, but hopefully it wouldn’t be too late for Betsy by the time we did.