Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
MATTHEW
Because I love you.
I love you…
Love you…
My knees buckle and I stumble back, leaning against the railing as Jessica’s words ring in my head on repeat.
Her face is etched in my mind, that mix of determination and stubbornness shining from every beautiful curve that I’ve memorized from watching her sleep next to me.
Then there were her eyes. Love and anger reflected in them as she glared at me, her chin held high as she ripped me a new one, even as tears glimmered in her eyelids.
She tried so hard to keep them at bay, but I could see them glisten under the light.
I love you.
I run my hand over my face, then let it fall to my side. My fingers grip the bottle of Jack tighter.
“You fucked this up royally, you know that?”
My head snaps up at the sound of Nico’s voice. He closes the door, leaning against it as he crosses his arms over his chest and just stares at me for a moment.
“You look like crap.”
“I don’t remember asking you for an opinion,” I mutter dryly.
Empty.
I’m completely and utterly empty, and I don’t have it in me one bit to care.
“Maybe not, but considering we’re partners, I figured it’s up to me to tell you that.”
“Partners,” I snort. “Yeah, right. I wouldn’t rely on that. Jenkins will dump my ass as soon as he gets a chance. We both know it. What do you want, Rivera?”
“I got an interesting call just now.”
My brow quirks up. “And why should I give a fuck about that?”
“Because it’s about Andrea Porter.”
The hair at my nape stands at attention at his words. The serious expression on his face sobers me up immediately. “So? I’ve been suspended, in case you forgot. If I were you, I’d be careful so Jenkins doesn’t find out you’re sharing sensitive info with me.”
Nico pushes off the door and slides up next to me, completely ignoring my comment.
“The call was from Archer Ward. He works for a local PD up in Colorado. He had a case a couple of years ago; it was his rookie year, and it was never solved, so every so often he checks the system, see if anything stands out. That’s how he found our missing person report. ”
“The girl’s dead,” I point out, unsure of where he’s going with this.
Nico’s expression turns darker. “Apparently, she’s not the only one.”
Icy chills make goosebumps appear on my skin.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
I turn toward him, my brows pulling together as my mind tries to connect all the dots.
“The MO is the same. Girl goes missing, only to be found dead. Although in their case it took longer to find her. Their victim also showed signs of physical and sexual abuse before she was strangled to death and dumped in the woods.”
That uneasy feeling grows stronger in my gut. “Colorado is over six hundred miles away.”
“That was my first thought as well.” Nico slides his hand into his pocket and pulls out his phone, and after a few taps, he hands it to me. “But then Ward sent me a picture.”
I suck in a sharp breath at the sight of the photo on the screen.
“This is her, Nicole Kelly. She was twenty-two when she went missing.”
My fingers grip the phone tighter as I take in the smiling face of the woman. Her golden-brown hair falls in a straight sheet, hazel eyes crinkling at the corners as she looks at the camera.
“She was a nurse,” I say when I notice her uniform.
“An ultrasound tech student.”
I shake my head. “She looks just like our girl.”
“That’s why Ward called. Andrea was a biologist, not the same, but close enough. Their physical similarity, though, is uncanny.”
“No shit,” I mutter, still staring at the photo.
The two girls could have been sisters.
Golden hair. One had hazel eyes, the other brown. They were both young and pretty.
An image of Jessy pops into my mind.
And now that it has, I can’t unsee it.
Golden-haired, amber-eyed Jessica.
A shudder of unease creeps down my spine.
The girl—both girls—could totally pass for Jessica.
“Fucking hell.” My head snaps up as the realization hits me. “You don’t think this is a coincidence, do you?”
Nico’s expression turns grim. “No.”
Placing the bottle onto the wooden railing, I run my fingers through my hair. “A fucking serial k—”
“We’re not sure,” Nico interjects before I can finish. “There are people looking at it right now, both over here and back in Colorado. Ward said he’ll go through the case again and try to see if there are any other connections.”
“That isn’t a no, Rivera,” I grit out, my heart beating wildly inside my chest.
Nico doesn’t even flinch at my harsh tone. “No, it isn’t.”
I curse again, tugging at my hair. This can’t be happening. What are the chances? I shake my head, not daring to even think about it. Still, there is no avoiding the facts.
The similarities.
Nico’s phone vibrates in my hand with an incoming call.
Archer Ward.
Nico and I exchange a look as he takes it from me. “Rivera. What did you find?”
“I’m just going through the old files,” an unfamiliar male voice comes from the other end of the line, his voice slightly muffled but loud enough to hear. “I found something interesting, though.”
“What?”
Rustling of papers fills the line for a long second. “Nicole’s friend mentioned she complained about getting notes along with flowers.”
“What kind of flowers?” I rush out, my throat suddenly feeling tight.
There is a short pause, and I’m about to demand an answer when he responds, “Roses. Pink ones.”
I give Nico a meaningful look. My heart is beating wildly inside my chest, blood pumping through my veins as Ward’s words ricochet in my mind.
Roses.
“They wrote it off in the beginning, thinking it was an admirer of some sort, but then the messages started getting meaner.”
Pink roses.
Just like the flowers Jessica’s been getting.
“Jessica.” I bolt for the door, heart pounding, every nerve ending on edge. I scan the space for any sign of Jessica’s golden head when I enter the room, only to come up empty.
No, this can’t be happening.
It just can’t.
I pushed her away.
If I hadn’t done that, she would have been here.
Safe.
Fuck!
It’s all my fault.
I grab my phone out of my pocket with shaky fingers, finding Jessica’s name in my contacts and dialing her up. The phone beeps insistently, each loud sound like a punch to my gut.
“C’mon, Trouble. Answer me, dammit.”
A flash of red in my periphery catches my attention.
Hanging up the phone once it goes to voicemail, I dial again while I cross the room in a few long strides. Somebody calls my name, but my whole focus is on my sister, who’s talking to Mrs. Fernandez.
“Have you seen Jessica?” I ask, breathless.
The two women turn to me. Becky shoots me a death glare at my rude interruption, but ask me if I care.
“The last I saw her, she was talking to you out on the back terrace.” Her brows pull together. “Although ‘talking’ is me being generous.”
“Becky…” I grind through my teeth. “I need to find her.”
“Don’t you Becky me!” she hisses, jabbing me in the chest. “You’ve been acting like a complete ass. And I get it, you’re hurting, but you’re not the only one, and that doesn’t give you the right to act this way.”
“I know, dammit! I know.” I run my hand through my hair. “But that isn’t important. I’m not important. She is. So, either tell me if you saw her or get the hell out of my way so I can find her.”
Uncertainty flashes in her eyes for a second at my harsh tone, but before she can say anything, Mrs. Fernandez speaks up, “She left a little while ago.”
My stomach sinks. “When?”
The older woman’s brows furrow. “Ten, maybe fifteen minutes?”
After our fight. She left after our fight, and now she isn’t picking up her phone.
“Dammit.” Hanging up the call, I let my hand drop and take a step back, my brain working a mile a minute. Her car is parked out front and blocked in, so there is no way she could have driven away. That means she either had to walk or she called somebody to pick her up. “I’m going to che—”
“She wasn’t alone.”
Mrs. Fernandez’s words stop me in my tracks. “She wasn’t?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “She was with that friend of hers.”
“Maisie?” I ask, hopeful.
I didn’t see Mae today, but there were many people here, and I’ve completely checked out for the funeral, unable to face everybody’s condolences, the pity in their eyes.
“No, it was a male friend.”
My blood runs cold. “Damien?”
She shakes her head and purses her lips. “No. I think they work at the hospital together.”
“Aiden?” Becky supplies.
Mrs. Fernandez snaps her fingers. “That’s it. She introduced him to me one time when we were all at Reading Nook. Very nice boy. They were—”
Her words trail off for a second.
“What?” I bark out, not in the least bit in the mood to play these games.
Mrs. Fernandez clears her throat. “They were hugging.”
Jealousy slams into me immediately at the idea of another man’s hands on her, but I swallow it back.
You pushed her away.
“I’m sure it’s nothing. They’re friends.” Mrs. Fernandez places her palm on my arm, giving it a squeeze. “She loved your mother very much, and I’m sure losing her hurt Jessica as well.”
“Did she leave with him?”
“I guess so? Becky called me over, so I didn’t see where they went.”
That still doesn’t explain why she isn’t picking up her damn phone.
Yes, she’s pissed off at me—rightfully so—but she wouldn’t leave me hanging, not when she saw how many times I’ve called.
No, something doesn’t sit right with me.
I need to see her.
Need to convince myself that she’s all right.
“What’s going on?” Nico asks as he joins us.
“Where are you parked?”
“At the end of the driveway.” His eyes narrow. “Why?”
“Let’s go.”
I stalk past him, not giving him a chance to say anything as I exit the house, once again dialing Jessica.
“Trouble, pick the da—”
The soft ringing of a phone makes me go rigid, and Nico slams into my back.
“What the hell—”
“Shh!” I hiss, scanning the area. I remove my phone from my ear and follow the ringing.
It doesn’t take me long to find her phone lying on the gravel road. I crouch down and pick it up, my smiling face on her cracked home screen staring back at me.
“Call Mae.”
Nico curses under his breath but quickly does as I said, putting the call on speaker. Mae picks up after just two rings. “If you’re calling for a booty call, I’m going to have to disappoint—”
“What do you know about Aiden?” I interrupt, not in the least bit interested in their little games.
“M-Matthew?” Mae stutters, clearly surprised. “What the— Where—”
“Aiden, Mae,” I grind out. “What do you know about Aiden?”
“Don’t be an asshole,” Nico mutters, glaring at me.
“You don’t tell me what to do when my girlfriend is missing and there is a lunatic on the loose!” I throw back at him, my fingers clenching hard.
“Jessy is missing? What—”
“Yes. Focus, Mae. Aiden. What can you tell me about him?”
“Umm… Not much? I talked to him a few times. He seemed fine.” Mae lets out a nervous huff. “I always teased Jessy that he has a crush on her.”
That ringing in my ears intensifies. “A crush? How long has this been going on?”
“Yeah, I mean, she never looked at him that way if that’s why you’re asking. He’s always been just a friend for her…”
“How long?”
“I don’t know. Since they met. It was a few years ago. He transferred here from Montana… No, wait. I think it might have been Colorado. He helped Jessica when she changed her major. That’s how they met.”
“Fucking hell.” My heart is thumping so hard I think it might burst. I glance at Nico, a trace of the panic that’s been building inside me reflected on his face. “He has her.”
“Who has her?” Mae asks. “What is going on? Where is Jessy?”
“The fucker has her.”
I turn around, trying to figure out what to do next.
How to find her.
I have to find her.
Nothing else is an option.
Losing Jessica isn’t an option.
Because if I lose her, there will be nothing else worth living for.
“I will find you.”
It’s a promise.
A promise I mean to keep, no matter what.