CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
LIAM
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“Jess!” I open the back door and glance out at the yard after not finding her inside.
Last week I was greeted by my beautiful girl on her knees. After the weekend we had, I truly I was expecting it. Still, the house is very quiet, the kitchen is spotless, TV off, her room empty.
I checked mine in case she’d decided to go all sex kitten on me and tie herself to my headboard.
Nope.
I step outside and glance around the yard, expecting she’ll appear. She doesn’t.
Taking a few steps towards the fence, I listen for her voice next door. She made friends with old man Myers, who is a retired Sergeant, on Sunday afternoon after carrying his cat over there. His TV is up loud, so I doubt she’s there.
Darting back inside, I check her bags are still here, and they are.
I call her. No answer.
I call again. No answer.
So I text.
Jess, where the fuck are you?
I wait no more than three minutes, not seeing even the three little dots appear. Something is wrong. I can feel it in my gut.
I ring Ryder.
“Sup?”
“Is Sav there?”
“No, she moved out.”
“Funny guy. I need to talk to her. Jess isn’t home,” I say, getting straight to the point as my worry increases.
“You’re on speaker. What’s going on?”
“Sav, was Jessie with you today?”
“Yes, we had lunch at Catch LA and afterward I dropped her at Warners. I’d arranged an audition for her.”
Oh.
I pace the living room, telling myself I should calm down. But something is wrong, I just know it.
“She’s probably out celebrating with Melanie and Sarah,” she adds.
“Who are?”
“If all went well, her new roommates.”
Fuck.
Jessie mentioned that last night, but I’d kept my thoughts to myself. I don’t want her to move out. I don’t want her anywhere except in my damn arms, where I can look after her.
“Give her some space, Liam,” Savannah says.
I frown. “What?”
“Look, I don’t want to talk out of place...”
“She does,” Ryder laughs.
“Stop it, you. I can see there’s something happening between you both. Maybe it’s good to let her get settled on her own in LA. Get a job and a home. Then start dating.”
Jesus Christ.
I can’t talk to anyone about Jessie. They don’t understand the entire picture. Me, Jessie. Jayden. This isn’t some fated love story—there are real people with a history involved.
But it’s not that I’m worried about. Jessie was raped. By two fucking men. I don’t like her being out on her own. Not after being triggered on Friday night. She needs support and encouragement to talk to someone.
I should have paid attention last night.
I was too busy trying to think of a way to broach this with Jayden and fix it.
That’s what men do. They fix situations.
Except I can’t fucking figure it out.
I ignore Savannah’s comment and keep pushing for information.
“She’s not answering her phone or messages. It’s not like her. Where do you think she might have gone?”
“Give me a minute,” Sav says and Ryder fills in the space, telling me she’s messaging Jessie.
I wait, wearing out my carpet as I pace back and forth.
If she replies to Savannah and not me, I guess that tells me she is looking to build her own life here. God knows I haven’t given her any reason to trust me with her heart.
She slept in my arms all night and dropped a lot of hints all weekend.
I gave her nothing.
I haven’t even taken her into my bedroom. Each night I’ve slept with her in Jayden’s bed. I wonder if she’s noticed.
Of course, she fucking has.
Taking her into my personal space would be, at least in my mind, choosing to be with her on committed level.
“Okay, that’s weird. She’s not even reading it,” Sav says and my stress levels triple.
“This more than you being protective?” Ryder asks, his fine-tuned radar alerting him.
“Yup.”
It’s all I have to say.
“Right. Let’s grab a couple of the guys and find her,” the Delta Force operator says, leaping into action. “Babe, get hold of Michelle and Sarah, or give me their addresses. Call Briar if you don’t have it and she can get it.”
“I’ll ring Briar,” Savannah says, all thoughts of me being a love-sick puppy gone.
“I’ll call Jake. Meet you at the BHS office in ten.”
I am back in the Jeep with my phone on speaker in less than thirty seconds.
“Jake Murphy.”
“Need you man. Jessie is missing,” I say, skipping the greeting.
There’s a second of silence. “Cole is with me. Want us both?”
“Yeah, Ryder is meeting us at the office.”
“Be there in fifteen.” He hangs up.
Twenty minutes later, everyone arrives. It’s already seven-thirty, and I’m starting to panic.
Josh is walking out of the office when he sees us pile in.
“Did I miss a memo?”
“Jessie is missing.” I tell him, pushing open the boardroom door. I walk straight to the whiteboard and start scribbling what we know using black ink.
Josh dumps his bag on a chair behind me, and out of the corner of my eye, I see him rolling up his sleeves.
“How long?”
“Best guess, about three hours.”
He frowns as Ryder, Cole and Jake stand around with their arms folded, giving me the same are you fucking serious look.
They need context.
My instinct is to protect her privacy but it’s not helping her if she has got into trouble. I don’t even know why I feel like this, but as a trained warrior, I know to trust this feeling.
I make a call.
“Jessie was sexually assaulted back in Texas. I don’t know who did it. Two of them. She won’t tell me who.”
All of them curse while Ryder looks at the carpet and clenches his fist.
You don’t hurt women.
You don’t force women.
Men with good morals know this to their core.
“Does Jayden know?” Josh asks, and I shake my head. “You think this is connected?”
Threading my fingers through my hair, I lick my lips as I think about how to answer.
“Disappearing like this doesn’t make sense. Something is wrong. I triggered her PTSD on Friday and just don’t know how bad it was.”
“Jesus.” Jake rubs his forehead.
“Write a list of all the places she could be,” Josh says as I begin to do just that. “Let’s call in a few more of the team and some of our LAPD friends and bring her home.”
Heart pounding, I watch Ryder take a call.
“Sarah has just confirmed the time she left the audition. Four-oh-two.”
I write it on the board.
That’s the last time anyone saw her.
An unfamiliar feeling of hopelessness and fear washes over me, and I feel sick.
“Savannah is in her Warners Facebook Group,” Ryder says. “Okay, someone said they saw her talking to Frank Bonito.”
My brows lift.
I don’t know who that is.
“He’s the guy who produced her show,” he clarifies.
“Back in Texas?” Colt asks, shooting me a glance.
I don’t believe in coincidences. The dots start connecting.
She flees Texas.
She goes missing.
Is seen talking to her producer.
“Could they have gone for dinner?” Jake asks.
“Look him up.” Josh nods to Jake, who taps on the keyboard sitting on the boardroom table, and Frank Bonito’s details appear on the screen behind me.
“Going into the police system in three, two...” Jake mumbles. “And look at that. Arrested on suspicion of rape but never convicted.”
Fuck!
“But she went to the audition after seeing him.” Josh walks up to the board and stares at the timeline. “Arrives here. Speaks to Frank. Then we can assume she talked to Sarah and Michelle.”
“Auditions take hours,” Ryder says, keeping an eye on his phone.
“Did he go into the audition with her?” Colt asks, leaning against a window ledge. “I’ve got two patrol cars on standby, waiting for a photo.”
I send him one from my phone.
Ryder rings Savannah and puts her on speakerphone.
“Babe, what you got?”
“I don’t know how accurate this is,” she says warily. “An actor in this Facebook group said he saw a girl with blonde hair having a disagreement with an older man on the lot this afternoon. He isn’t sure of the time. Late afternoon.”
“Run with it,” Jake nods, and given he was a US Marshal until recently, I’m taking his advice.
“What else?” Ryder prods. “Vehicle description.”
“Tap into the cameras at Warner,” Josh says into the phone, and I’d put money on him speaking to Travis. “Around four-thirty to five this afternoon.”
My pulse is going crazy, and we start piecing the events of Jessie's day together.
I know something is wrong. I know she needs my help. She needs me now.
We are going fast as fuck compared to law enforcement, but it may not be fast enough.
“Take a breath,” Jake tells me.
I nod, but I don’t. I’ll breathe when I have her back in my arms.
“Send Trav a photo of Jessie,” Josh tells me.
I start typing in his email, but Travis interrupts me.
“No need. We all know who she is. The girl Liam went all Superman on Noah at the beach party on Friday.”
My lips twitch. “That’s the one.”
My Jessie.
The woman I love.
If she dies tonight and I don’t fucking get to tell her, I’ll live with it for the rest of my life.
Who knows how sick Frank Bonito is?
He might be trying to tie up loose ends. My eyes lock with Jake's, and I see the same concern on his face.
“It’s not good.”
“No, we need to find her. Now.” Jake nods.
Fuck.
“Can confirm the vehicle is a Maybeck,” Savannah says. “At least that’s what this guy thinks.”
“That tracks,” Josh says. “The guy is a big producer.
“Search all the hotels within a five-mile radius around Warners.” Jake says, tapping on the computer. “Rental cars. Flights. Let’s track his movements.”
“Ping her phone,” Josh tells Travis.
“Babe, I have to go. Don’t have the babies tonight.” Ryder ends the call with Savannah and looks at me. “Let’s go. We need to be in the area when the team get a lead.”
I glance at my friends and colleagues with more gratitude than I knew I was capable of.
Josh shakes his head. “Later. First, let’s find Jessie.”