My Darling Jane (The Darlings #2) by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Author:Ilsa Madden-Mills [Madden-Mills, Ilsa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781662514036
Amazon: B0CZPFTBTX
Goodreads: 210670146
Publisher: Montlake
Published: 2024-11-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

JASPER

The next day, I step into my apartment after training, and the place is too quiet. “Lacy, Macy!” I call out, but there’s nothing. Not even the sound of their favorite pop band blasting from their room.

I make a beeline for their bedroom, pushing open the doors, only to find their phones abandoned, the screens lit up with missed calls and messages.

A note is on the fridge: “Gone to Jane’s bookstore. Back soon.”

I get a bad feeling. They never leave without their phones unless they don’t want me to know where they are.

I leave and go back to the street in front of Wickham and walk through the evening crowd. When I reach the bookstore, Jane is already locking up. My gaze takes her in, noting the shadows under her eyes. She looks like she slept as well as I did.

She smiles. “Hey. What’s wrong?”

“It’s the twins,” I say. “They left a note saying they were here.”

She shakes her head. “They weren’t here today. I’m sure they would have said hi.”

I nod, my hands clenching as I look around. The city is so big. “If they aren’t hurt somewhere, I’m going to be pissed for real.”

She comes closer. “I can help you check around. Maybe they’re nearby.”

I scan the street as I start walking. “Okay, thanks. They might be at Carson’s playing pinball.”

She follows me, her pace quickening to keep up.

I glance at her, surprised she’s helping. Honestly, I thought she’d want to keep her distance from me for a while.

“Are they usually like this, just going off on their own?”

“They’ve always been a handful,” I say, recounting the escapades they’ve pulled since I took them in. “Their mom needed a break, but I didn’t expect it to be this hard.”

She smiles a little. “Single parenting is tough. I’m shocked they’re causing so much trouble. They seemed so sweet.”

She checks her phone.

I wince. “This isn’t your problem. I’m sure you have to get Londyn.”

“It’s better not to be alone when you’re worried. Besides, Andrew’s got Londyn. He just sent me a text.”

“Rayna, their mom, she’s been doing it all alone since their dad passed away a few years ago. I thought I understood what it meant to be a single parent, but this . . . ,” I trail off, my gaze fixed on the bar’s entrance as we approach.

She nods, her expression softening. “Being a single parent is like juggling. It’s never just one thing. It’s everything all at once.”

We enter Carson’s and split up. After a thorough search turns up nothing, we regroup outside. “They’re not here,” I mutter, frustration evident.

She scans the street. “They’re smart girls, Jasper. They’ll be okay.”

My phone buzzes. It’s Herman, the doorman at Wickham. He watched me leave in a rush earlier and is calling to tell me that he saw the twins leaving around five, chattering about a place called Scandal. I thank him and end the call, urgency and frustration rising. A club? Dammit.

As I look up the address on my phone, I fill Jane in on the details.

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