Chapter 9
CHARLIE
I wake with a groan, wincing at the ache in my shoulder and hip bone, tell-tale signs of forming bruises. My arse clenches around nothing, still feeling the phantom length of Jace’s cock pounding into me and I smile.
Every time the fantasy of us coming together would play out in my head, I pictured drawing it out, ringing every ounce of pleasure from his body and mine, savouring it.
But it turns out, the result of years’ worth of tension results in an epic explosion. It was everything.
My eyes close and I start to drift off again when I hear the low buzzing of my phone. Fumbling around in the dark, I turn it over, squinting at the sudden burst of light. It takes me a few seconds to make out the caller ID, but when I do every trace of sleep vanishes in an instant.
“Hello?” I whisper excitedly, throwing the blankets off of me so I can take the call in another room, not wanting to wake Jace.
“Charlie, sorry to wake you but this really couldn’t wait,” Mia pants. Through the phone I can hear her rummaging around and I quickly pull the phone from my ear to check the time as I make my way through the dark house.
A surge of hope burns hard and fast. It’s four in the morning. She wouldn’t be calling at this time unless…unless it’s the call we’ve been waiting for for six years. My hands start to shake and it’s hard to pull in a proper breath as I tell her it’s fine.
“Look, I don’t want to get your hopes up, but-”
“You found her?” I interrupt, the question bursting from my lips because it’s too late for me not to get my hopes up. That happened the second I read her name on my screen.
Her responding sigh is filled with pity and my heart hurts as my hope once again dies. “You haven’t found her,” I answer my own question dejectedly as the jug starts to boil and I pull a mug out of the cupboard.
Rubbing at my chest, I place the phone on speaker and set it down on the counter. Pouring boiling water into my mug, I'm glad Jace is still asleep. This is exactly why he wanted to take a step back.
Frustration quickly replaces my disappointment. He was right, this feeling fucking sucks.
And yet…I helplessly wonder, what if? What if this is the lead that takes us to her? I sigh, accepting the endless loop we’re in because I know there’s no way I can just walk away and leave her to it now that I know.
“But you did find something, didn’t you?” She has to have. She's never called in the middle of the night before. That has to mean something.
“I think so, yes,” she answers carefully, continuing after a hesitant pause. “I wasn’t even sure if I should call you but the case I’m about to take will involve me going dark for a few weeks, if not months and well,” her voice trails off, but I don’t need her to finish her sentence.
We are more than aware of the approaching seven-year deadline before they can legally be declared dead by the Supreme Court.
“My program got a hit an hour ago. It found a series of posts – well, a thread really – with enough connections that-”
“That you think it’s Bonnie.” It’s not a question.
“I think there’s enough similarities that it could be.” She doesn’t outright tell me she thinks it is her, but I can read between the lines. She thinks it is, only there’s no tangible proof. Not yet.
Looking out the window into the dark night, I’m torn. This could just as easily be another dead end and yet, like a trainwreck, I can’t look away.
“I tried to trace where the posts are coming from but…the best I could get was Australia. She has someone helping her. Whoever it is good, better than good. It's great for her, but…” But not for us.
Well, at least we know she’s still in the country. That has to count for something, right?
“That is if it’s her.” I jump at Jace’s voice behind me, spinning around and spilling my coffee in the process.
“You scared the shit out of me,” I exclaim, my heart pounding in my chest as I flick the remnants of burning liquid from my hand.
Jace doesn’t respond to my outburst, shuffling further into the kitchen and taking the mug from my hand. I expect him to set it down on the counter but instead he takes a mouthful from it, his eyes not leaving mine before handing it back and pouring one for himself.
“How much did you hear?” I finally break the silence, watching as he stirs his coffee.
“Enough to know that we’ve followed leads with better odds than this one and come up empty. I take it these posts don’t mention names or anything specific to prove that Bonnie is the one posting them?”
“Technically, no,” Mia answers. “But it’d be one hell of a coincidence if it wasn’t her. There’s too many similarities in these posts.”
Neither of us say a word, unable to break eye contact as we read each other. In his eyes I can see hope that this is her, fear that it's not, and guilt over our decision to take a step back right on the cusp of finding her.
“If you want to wait until I know more, have a better location or proof of whether this is Bonnie or not then I completely understand,” she eventually says, her voice echoing through the kitchen.
“What do you want to do?” Jace asks me, not acknowledging Mia’s words.
“I…I don’t know,” I admit, my mouth opening and closing as I try to think what the right answer is here. Jace is right, this could be a dead end and even if it is her, the only location we have is an entire country. She could be anywhere. We may never find her from these posts.
“I don’t mean to push you guys, but I do need an answer…I should have left half an hour ago, but I couldn’t without calling you guys first.”
“Send us the link.” My lips part in a surprise and Jace lifts a shoulder in a half shrug.
“A-Are you sure?” I stutter out.
“No,” he answers honestly. “But if we say no, we can’t change our minds until Mia is finished with her case, and she doesn’t know how long that will take. If that happens, and we can’t find the posts ourselves…At least this way, we have time to choose.”
“Okay, send the link,” I repeat.