Chapter 45 I Can’t Go Home
I Can’t Go Home
Emily's Search History: what happened to Jenny Taylor
Emily
“Your lunchtime appointment is here,” Kayla tells me, popping her head around my doorframe.
“Thank you,” I reply, standing to greet Eli.
While Eli does sometimes come straight into my office, it’s less suspicious if I treat him like anyone else, meeting him in the waiting room.
“I don’t know how you manage not to jump that man’s bones being in here alone with him twice a week,” she adds as I pass.
Oh, if only she knew.
“Though,” she continues, “I guess you have your hunk on the motorbike—and don’t think I haven’t noticed you still won’t tell me who he is.”
My gaze skitters everywhere but her, lips pressing together awkwardly.
She sighs, realising I won’t be opening up.
Then Eli is there, beaming at me. “Ange—” my eyes widen “—Doctor Morgan.”
“Eli, come on in.” My tone is cool. Professional.
Kayla retreats to her desk while Eli follows me inside, closing the door firmly behind us.
The moment it clicks shut, he’s dragging me flush against him, slotting his mouth over mine. “Mmm, I missed you.”
I smile against his lips. “Missed you too.”
Thankfully, in the months since Gia’s break-in, I convinced Eli to go back to work and stop following me everywhere. I think knowing I wasn’t going anywhere made it easier for him.
He’s definitely around more than a sane person should be. But he’s not putting his whole life on hold to watch me anymore, so that’s a win in my book.
He’s come a long way from the man who first stepped into my office announcing he was a stalker. That man just needed someone to choose him. To put him first.
My phone vibrates on my desk, and since this isn’t a real appointment, I turn to check it.
Then freeze.
Body of Jenny Taylor Found Twelve Years After Her Disappearance.
My blood turns to ice.
“Angel?”
I spin around, eyes wide. The phone hangs limply between my fingers.
Eli’s face creases with concern. “What’s wrong?”
I shake my head too quickly. “N-Nothing.”
He steps forward. I step back, my legs hitting my desk.
He stops, head tilting. “Em?”
Tremors wrack my body. Panic settles into my bones.
“I’m not feeling well,” I manage.
“Do I need to take you home?”
“No!” The word bursts out—too loud. Too fast. “I just… I think I need this lunch alone before my next client.”
Eli hesitates. Then his shoulders slump. “Okay. I’ll be back at six to pick you up.”
He presses his lips to mine. I let him.
Then he’s gone.
I spring into action, fingers flying over my keyboard.
Construction workers found human remains while working at a demolition site.
The body has been identified as Jenny Taylor. Jenny was eighteen years old when she went missing without a trace.
The cause of death is currently unknown.
Police are asking for anyone with any information regarding this case to get in touch.
My throat is dry as the words loop through my mind.
Did… did Eli murder Jenny?
He said she disappeared. That he’d been looking for her ever since.
What if that was a lie?
Another fear slithers in—cold and dangerous.
What if all of it was a lie?
I can’t go home. I can’t be here when he arrives at six.
Eli
Emily’s reaction at lunch was strange. Something on her phone spooked her. The last time that happened, she was being stalked by both Liam and Gianna.
Which is why I’m grateful I installed the spyware on her phone when I bought it.
Tapping into the screen-mirroring system, I scan her recent search.
My knees threaten to buckle.
Jenny.
Jenny is… dead?
No.
That’s not possible.
I would have known. I would have seen something.
Emily opens a text chain. It appears on my screen just as my own would, as her conversation is mirrored onto mine.
Emily: Can I stay at yours tonight? No questions asked.
The reply is immediate.
Carina: Of course.
I steady myself against the wall outside Emily’s building. I never left. And she’s already planning to run.
I can’t let that happen.
My fists clench, muscles trembling.
I take a step, ready to storm inside—to confront her.
But my legs give out.