Broken by Tamsen Schultz

Author:Tamsen Schultz [Schultz, Tamsen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-08-08T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Ryan: Is she there yet?

Mari: No. You’re starting to worry me. What’s going on?

Ryan: Give me ten minutes and I’ll fill you in

Ryan shoved his phone into his pocket and climbed out of his truck as Chad pulled into the spot beside him. The extra thirty seconds he waited for his brother felt like an eternity. It was nothing to the panic that shot through him when he saw that line outside the restaurant, though. He had no intention of waiting to talk to Alice. But wading through the crowd would take time.

“Use your badge,” Chad said.

Of course. Maybe having his brother around wasn’t such a bad thing. Especially not when he was so focused on Olivia that he was losing sight of other things.

Pulling his badge from his back pocket, he flashed it to the crowd. They dutifully parted, and ten seconds later, they stood in front of Alice. A very confused Alice.

“What are you both doing here? Weren’t you supposed to be at my cousin’s housewarming?” she asked Ryan.

“Do you know where your cousin might go if she wanted to be alone?” Ryan asked.

Alice blinked. “Is something wrong? What’s happened?”

“We need to talk to her about a case,” Chad answered. “It’s important.”

Alice’s gaze bounced between them, then it shifted to the line of people at his back. She frowned, returning her attention to him. “She comes to our house a lot. And she likes the bar at the lodge. Oh, and she was talking about some hiking trail the other day. You know the one that climbs the mountains on the east side of the lake, then meets up with the fire road?”

Ryan and Chad both nodded. But none of those places were locations she’d take someone. “Anywhere else?”

Again, Alice frowned. “Diego took her out to the hunting cabin his family owns on the west side of town a couple of weeks ago. You know the place, it’s just past Ellie and Asher’s house. I’m not sure she’d go back. She’s not a huge fan of its rustic charm, but she seemed to have a good time while there. If she needed to get away and think or, as you say, be on her own, she might remember it.”

That was it. He knew it. But he wasn’t going to take any chances. “Anywhere else?” he pressed. Alice shook her head. “If you think of anything, call either me or Chad.”

“Why don’t I just call her and ask her to meet you guys somewhere? Or have you already tried that?” she asked.

“We tried,” Chad said. Ryan cast him a questioning look. He assumed that meant Sabina had tried, but he’d ask when they were alone. “She’s either out of range or her phone’s dead. I’m sure she’s fine, Alice. No need to worry. Like I said, HICC is working on a case that she may have some insight into. She may have seen something on patrol this week that could help us. If you do get a hold of her, can you ask her to call me?”

Lies.

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