A man from her past is back—

to help her solve a holiday murder case.

A friend is missing and presumed dead, and detective Jade Hollis is determined to track down the killer. To do that she must team up with private investigator Bryce Kingsley—who doesn’t know he is the father of her child. But she’ll have to put personal secrets aside because the killer will strike again to keep the truth from being exposed.

LYNETTE EASON is a bestselling, award-winning author who makes her home in South Carolina with her husband and two teenage children. She enjoys traveling, spending time with her family and teaching at various writing conferences around the country. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. Lynette can often be found online interacting with her readers. You can find her at Facebook.com/lynette.eason and on Twitter, @lynetteeason.

Also By Lynette Eason

Holiday Homecoming Secrets

True Blue K-9 Unit

Justice Mission

Wrangler’s Corner

The Lawman Returns

Rodeo Rescuer

Protecting Her Daughter

Classified Christmas Mission

Christmas Ranch Rescue

Vanished in the Night

Holiday Amnesia

Military K-9 Unit

Explosive Force

Classified K-9 Unit

Bounty Hunter

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Holiday Homecoming Secrets

Lynette Eason

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-0-008-90078-6

HOLIDAY HOMECOMING SECRETS

© 2019 Lynette Eason

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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The taillights in Jade’s rearview mirror were closing in fast.

She frowned, tension threading from one shoulder to the next. The driver was going way too quickly. She flipped on her blue lights and slowed. The taillights grew brighter and her stomach dipped as she realized the person was going to hit her. She jammed the gas pedal and shot forward. However, the car behind her stayed right on her tail.

And then the lights disappeared.

“What are you doing?” Jade whispered.

The slam into her rear bumper threw her forward against her seat belt and she hit the brakes out of reflex. The wheel spun under her grip and the SUV whipped sideways. She jerked against the seat belt and slammed her head on the window. Stars flashed, the vehicle tilted on two wheels then crashed onto the asphalt.

Stunned, Jade hung suspended by the seat belt, her only thought that she and Bryce somehow missed one. The most important one had gotten away. The one who wanted her dead...

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for going on this journey with Bryce, Jade and Mia. I hope you fell in love with them as deeply as I did. It’s always exhilarating and a bit sad to finish a story—exhilarating in the accomplishment, sad because I’m going to miss watching the characters grow. And Bryce and Jade had a lot of growing to do, didn’t they? They had a lot to overcome in their struggle to find both a killer and true love! But they persevered through tough odds and emerged victorious. So they got their happy ending, and that’s all that really matters, right?

Again, thank you for reading, and I pray that as you overcome the struggles of this world, you’ll keep your eye on the “happy ending” that awaits us as believers in eternity.

God bless,

Lynette Eason

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

—1 John 5:4

Dedicated to Emily Rodmell, my fabulous editor of over thirty books with Love Inspired Suspense. Thank you for pulling me out of the slush pile!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Introduction

Dear Reader

Bible Verse

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

ONE

Detective Jade Hollis pulled her unmarked SUV into the parking lot of the deserted textile mill and parked. Five minutes ago, a call had come in from someone seeing “strange lights” in the crumbling building. Even though she was off duty, she’d only been half a mile away from the address and had volunteered to stop by.

No doubt Wally Benjamin, one of the small town’s homeless, had decided to seek shelter in the place once again. It seemed to be a favorite of his, and she couldn’t say she blamed him.

December nights were cold—and tonight the forecast called for temperatures in the high twenties with snow. She’d pulled Wally—and a few of his homeless friends—out of the building more than once last winter and taken them to the shelter on the edge of town. Jade blew out a breath and turned off the car. The heater fell silent and she sat for a moment, dreading the idea of trading her warm spot for the frigid wind.

She grimaced. The quicker she took care of this, the quicker she could get home. At least she had a home—one that was finally in the same city as her daughter. She slipped out of the driver’s seat and into the swirling snow. For a brief moment, the wind settled and dead quiet surrounded her. She heard a scraping noise coming from the interior of the old building before the wind whipped her ponytail across her face and shivers wracked her. She grabbed her coat, gloves and hat from the back seat.

After pulling everything on, she made sure she could reach her weapon. She wasn’t terribly concerned about needing it but wasn’t going in unprepared even though she was almost a hundred percent sure it was Wally in there.

But there’d been several drug-related deaths over the past three months and the suppliers were as slippery as eels, moving from one place to the next, never landing long enough for the police to find them and bust them. They always seemed to be one step ahead of law enforcement which was frustrating to everyone involved.

Jade carried the portable radio, ready to call an ambulance if Wally needed medical treatment—should it be Wally in the building. Last year, he’d suffered frostbite as a result of his refusal to go to a shelter on one of the cold nights. She lifted her chin, deciding the man didn’t have a choice tonight. She’d arrest him for...well...something...if she had to. For his own good. A heated holding cell was better than a dirt floor in a freezing cold building that had been declared a danger zone. If it was Wally. She really shouldn’t assume.

The beam of her high-powered flashlight guided her steps to the space where the front door had been. She stepped inside and swept the light over the area, then lifted the radio to call the dispatcher. “Darlene, this is Jade. Did the caller say in what part of the building he saw the lights? This place is huge.”

The radio popped, and Darlene came on. “In the main building where you usually can find Wally. The person called back and said that not only were there were lights, but possibly a small fire. Fire trucks are en route.”

“10-4. Thanks. But you can cancel the trucks. There’s no sign of a fire.” At least not in this part of the building. “Or lights.” Although she did wonder what the noise had been. Rats probably. “If I’m wrong, I’ll call you back.” The trucks could be on site within minutes if needed.

“10-4. Stay safe.”

A fire could be Wally’s attempt to stay warm, but she didn’t smell smoke. Jade cast the beam over the ceiling, noting it looked solid enough. Industrial pipes ran amok in no discernible pattern—at least the ones that were still attached—but the rows of spindles stood neatly as though waiting for someone to put them to work. Debris from the past littered the floor. Mostly broken equipment.

Jade stepped farther inside. Even with the gaping windows, the interior offered a bit of relief from the bite of the wind.

A click, then a scrape sounded somewhere from inside the vast cavern of space, and Jade shivered. This time, the chills had nothing to do with the weather. “Wally? You here?” Her voice echoed. “It’s me, Jade Hollis.”

A soft thud reached her, then silence.

The hairs on her neck spiked and her hand went to her weapon. She palmed it, taking comfort in the solid weight of it, and lifted the radio. “Darlene, send backup to the mill, will you.”

“10-4.” She made the request, then came back. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” For now. “Just being cautious. I’m hearing noises but can’t pinpoint where they’re coming from or what’s making them.” Jade backed toward the door, sweeping the light from side to side. When it landed on an old trunk against the far left wall, she walked toward it, noticing the freshly mounded dirt and large pile of bricks next to it. “Weird,” she muttered. She glanced over her shoulder, straining to hear, hoping that backup would soon arrive.

A scuffle against the dirt swung her attention to the left. “Who’s there?”

No answer.

“This is Detective Jade Hollis. Show yourself!”

Movement caught the corner of her eye, and Jade spun, only to be greeted with a glancing blow to the side of her head and a hard shove that sent her stumbling backward against the empty spindles. Pain shot through her as pounding footsteps faded.

With a groan, Jade rolled and fumbled for her radio.

Private investigator Bryce Kingsley hadn’t planned to be in the patrol car when the call came in. He’d planned to return to Cedar Canyon and open his own PI business—an idea his sister and therapist had wholeheartedly approved of.

But when his high school buddy and journalist, Frank Shipman, had asked him to put the PI business on hold for a short time in order to help him with a story he was looking into, Bryce hadn’t been able to say no.

“What’s going on?” he’d asked when Frank had presented him with the idea.

“There are crooked cops on the force protecting those manufacturing and dealing drugs. I need your help to figure out which cops.”

According to Frank’s sources, there’d been two attempted stings. The first place had been emptied out before they got there. The second time was an ambush. One DEA agent, Cooper Peterson, had been killed during the second sting.

“People know you in this town,” Frank had said. “They know you disappeared for a while, so when you come back, they’re going to be curious, but they won’t expect you to be undercover.”

Bryce got it.

“Cops don’t trust reporters. I’m not saying they don’t have good reasons for that, but truly, I’m not trying to hurt the honest cops. I want to take down the dirty one—or ones. Just pretend like you’re trying to decide if you want to be a cop, and no one’s going to protest you riding along with them.”

The truth was, he’d love to be a cop, but with part of his leg missing, that wasn’t going to happen.

“Frank—” He’d stopped. It could work. No one would know about his prosthesis unless he told them—or lost his balance doing something stupid. “That’s not why I’m coming home. I...have amends to make.” Jade’s pretty face had flashed to the forefront of his mind. And then his sister’s.

“All I’m asking is that you arrange for the ride-alongs and see if you notice anything suspicious. If not, fine, but something’s going on with the police and a local drug ring, and I need help figuring out what—and who—is involved.”

“Well, I—”

“Seriously, your job would be to keep your eyes and ears open. Make note of anything that looks suspicious. That’s it.”

Bryce had given up trying to argue. The truth was, his adrenaline had started to flow at the thought of the new challenge.

And so here he was. Fake leg and all. The lower half of his left leg just below the knee sported a high-tech prosthesis thanks to an IED he’d run into six months after he’d deployed. He’d finally accepted it as part of who he was now. Finally. Most days.

Bryce shook his head even as Officer Dylan Fitzgerald spun the wheel and turned in to the parking lot of the old mill. The headlights cast two strips of light onto the building, and he shivered. It was as spooky as he remembered from his teen years. Wipers battled the snow falling, and Bryce thought they were having a harder time of clearing the windshield than they had just ten minutes ago.

From his seat, he peered at the mill. The place should have been demolished years ago. However, the historical society members had screeched at the top of their lungs about wanting to have the building placed on the registry for historical landmarks. He had no idea whether they’d done that or not, and frankly, didn’t care. At the moment, his only concern was the fact that his former friend, Jade Hollis, had called for backup. Former friend? No, she’d been more. Much more. Only he’d discovered it too late to do anything about it. Two weeks before he’d deployed overseas, he’d gone to tell his sister goodbye at her college. Jade had been Kristy’s roommate and her grandmother had passed away that day. He’d found her crying, meant to comfort her and had wound up sharing one unintentional night they both regretted the next morning. But it was then he’d realized just how much Jade meant to him. Too late. “Is she all right?” he asked, reaching for the door handle and shoving aside the memories.

“I’m going to find out,” Dylan said. He pointed at Bryce. “You stay put.”

“We’ve been over this. I’ve got training. I can handle myself.” Bryce had signed a waiver absolving the department of any harm he might come to, so instead of arguing, Dylan rolled his eyes.

“Then bring that flashlight. We might need it,” the man said.

Bryce grabbed the light and followed Dylan to the door just as a noise from the end of the building caught his attention. A figure dove out of a broken window, rolled to his feet and sprinted into the wooded area behind the mill.

“You see that?” Bryce asked.

“I did.” He took off after the person. “Check on Jade! And watch your back!”

Bryce bolted toward the opening and stepped inside, keeping one hand on the weapon at his side. He flipped the light on and swept it around the interior. “Jade?”

“Back here.” Her voice reached him, sounding weak, shaky.

He hurried to her, keeping an eye on the surrounding area in case the person who’d run had company. Bryce rounded the end of the spindle row to see Jade on the floor, holding her head. Blood smeared a short path down her cheek. “You’re hurt!” For a moment, she simply stared up at him, complete shock written across her features. “Jade? Hello?” He waved a hand in front of her eyes.

She blinked. “Bryce?”

“Hi.” He glanced over his shoulder, then swung the beam of the flashlight over the rest of the interior. When he didn’t see anyone else, he focused back on Jade. The shock hadn’t faded.

“You’re here?”

“Yeah. This wasn’t exactly the way I wanted to let you know I was coming home, but—”

“What are you doing here?”

“Can we discuss that later? Let’s focus on you and the fact you’re bleeding from a head wound.”

“I... I’m all right. It was a glancing blow, but it made me see stars for a few seconds.”

“Did you get a look at who it was?”

“No. I thought you were in Afghanistan. Or dead. Or something.”

“Nope. None of the above.” He paused. “Well, the ‘or something’ might be accurate.” He could understand her shock. It had been six years since they’d seen each other—and that hadn’t gone exactly well. “Anyone else here?”

“I don’t think so.”

A car door slammed. Blue lights whirled through the broken windows and bounced off the concrete-and-brick walls. Bryce helped her to her feet. “Let’s get that head looked at.”

“Wait.” He could see her pulling herself together, the shock of his appearance fading. “I need to take a look at something.”

He frowned. “Okay.” She slipped away from him and went to the old trunk next to the wall. He stayed with her, and when she went still, he let his gaze follow hers. “What is it?”

“The person who hit me was very interested in whatever was over here.”

Bryce nodded to the shovel and disturbed dirt in front of the trunk. “Looks like he was trying to dig something up.” Footsteps sounded behind them and Bryce whirled, pulling his weapon and aiming the flashlight.

“It’s just me,” Dylan said, raising his hands and turning his head from the full force of the light. When Bryce lowered the gun, Dylan swiped an arm across his forehead and blew out a breath that was visible in the beam.

Bryce slid the weapon into his shoulder holster. “You catch him?”

“Afraid not. He had too much of a head start.” Dylan stepped forward, brows together over the bridge of his nose. “You okay, Jade?”

“I’m fine.” Her low voice pulled Bryce’s attention back to her. With the shovel, she’d moved dirt from in front of the trunk. “What does this look like to you?”

“Looks like someone’s been digging.”

“Yes, but why? What could they possibly be looking for out here?”

“Who knows?” Bryce studied the pile of dirt and the bricks. “Actually, I don’t think they were looking for anything. I think they were in the middle of burying something.”

Bryce was here. Bryce. Bryce. The father of her child. The child he didn’t know about. Six years ago, Bryce had shown up at her college to tell his sister, Kristy, goodbye before leaving for army boot camp. Jade remembered that day like it was yesterday. Just before he was supposed to leave, she’d received word her grandmother had died. Bryce had offered comfort. Then kissed her. A kiss that had led to them going too far and making a mistake that had resulted in Mia. She’d never regret having Mia, but that one impulsive action had been completely out of character for both her—and Bryce. Since then, she’d kept men at arm’s length.

Jade kept her face as blank as possible, raised a brow and took another look at the scene in an attempt to gather her composure. “I think you’re right,” she said slowly, doing her best to ignore the pounding in her skull and the rush of memories she’d had tucked away for so long. “But what? It’s not big enough for a grave.” He grimaced, and she shrugged. “Just an observation.”

“Maybe it’s the start of a grave,” Dylan said, pulling on blue vinyl gloves. He passed a pair to Jade, and she slid off her warm thermal ones to don the others. “Let’s see what we’ve got here.” Dylan shone his light into the hole in the ground and grunted. “Looks like there’s something in there.”

A wave of light-headedness hit Jade, and she stumbled backward. Bryce grabbed her arm. “Whoa. Come on. We can deal with this later. Right now, you need medical attention.”

Dylan eyed her with concern.

She waved a hand. “It’ll pass. I want to know what was so important that someone was willing to attack me over it.”

“You’re so stubborn,” Bryce said.

“I learned from watching you and Frank.” The retort rolled off her tongue effortlessly. Some habits were hard to break.

“I think you have that backward,” he muttered.

This time it was Dylan who rolled his eyes. “You two sound just like you did back in high school—like an old married couple.”

Bryce coughed.

Heat invaded Jade’s cheeks at the taunt.

“Not quite,” Jade snapped then drew in a deep breath. She wrinkled her nose and tried not to think about the fact that Bryce was back. Here. In Cedar Canyon. One of her best friends turned...what? Turned into the biggest mistake of her life?

No. She couldn’t think that. She’d do it all over again for Mia. “You never called,” she said softly, her stomach knotted. “Six years and I never heard from you.”

Bryce snagged her gaze. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry. Right.”

So, her messages to him sent through Frank had meant nothing. He’d ignored her requests for him to get in touch with her, to call, write, send homing pigeons. Whatever he had to do, she needed to hear from him. And he’d blown her off. That hurt.

He frowned. “I was undercover a lot. On missions that...” He shook his head. “Without going into detail, communication was spotty at best most of the time.”

“Of course.” But he’d had no trouble staying in touch with Frank.

Dylan snapped his fingers and she jumped. “Anyone remember we have a possible crime scene here?” He glared at Bryce. “One you shouldn’t be privy to.”

“I have training. I was with the Criminal Investigative Division, CID, remember? And Captain Colson gave me permission. Good PR for the force and all that. So let’s focus, shall we?”

Dylan’s scowl stayed firmly put. Jade ignored him, stepped up to the edge of the hole and looked down. “It’s clothing. Only reason to bury clothing is to hide something. Let’s find out what.” She looked at Dylan. “You got a bag?”

“In the cruiser,” Dylan said. “Hold tight and I’ll get it. While I’m out there, I’ll put the paramedics on alert that you need attention.”

She started to argue, but the pounding in her skull had increased to the point that she wouldn’t mind some ibuprofen. “Fine.”

Bryce’s head snapped up. “It’s hurting that bad?”

“Bad enough. The sooner we get this taken care of, the sooner I can find an ice pack.”

He nodded, all traces of annoyance gone. In its place, worry peered at her. She swallowed and looked away. So many memories were attached to those eyes. That face...

Bryce aimed the beam of the flashlight to the hole in the ground and sucked in a breath.

“What is it?” Jade asked. Dylan returned with the bag, and she took it from him. He also handed her a water bottle and four little orange pills. “Thanks.” She downed them and turned her attention back to Bryce, who was on his knees, his face pale. “Bryce?”

“That looks like Frank’s jersey.”

Jade dropped beside him and squinted. She reached in, snagged the shirt and pulled it from the dirt. The Panthers jersey was achingly familiar. “Well, he has one like this, but so do a lot of other people. Doesn’t mean it’s his.” Number nine. Frank’s favorite kicker.

“Look at the left sleeve,” Bryce said, his voice low and tight. “Frank’s was autographed.”

She inspected the sleeve and bit her lip. “Yeah, it’s autographed.”

“Then it’s his.”

She turned it over and sucked in hard. “No. Oh no.”

“What?”

She swallowed. “Holes.”

“What kind of holes?” Bryce narrowed his eyes and drew back.

“Bullet holes, I think,” she croaked. “Two of them. In the chest. And...” Her tight throat wouldn’t allow any more words to pass.

“And?” Dylan and Bryce nearly shouted the words as one voice.

“And,” she said, “the front is soaked in blood. It’s dry, but it’s blood.”

TWO

Bryce turned the flashlight on the shirt. Outside, doors slammed and footsteps headed their way. Two holes, just as she’d said, with brown blood staining the front. Frank’s shirt. “I saw him yesterday,” Bryce said. “And I talked to him on the phone this morning.” The conversation that led him to where he was now.

“Maybe he loaned the shirt to someone,” she said.

“Maybe.”

“Or maybe he donated it to the church fundraiser.” Bryce arched a brow at her and she rubbed her forehead. “Yeah, probably not.”

He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Frank’s number, muscles tense, waiting, praying for his friend to pick up.

Voice mail.

“Hey buddy, give me a call when you get this. We need to talk.” He hung up.

Jade was rubbing her head and staring at the jersey. “I’ll call Heather.”

“Yeah,” Bryce said. “He may have gone over to her place and fallen asleep on the couch or something.” He didn’t think so, though.

Jade’s frown said she wasn’t buying that explanation, either. She dialed Frank’s girlfriend’s number, listened, then hung up. “Voice mail. She’s probably asleep with her phone turned off. We have an early shift in the morning,” she said of her fellow officer. “So, we’ve got a bloodstained shirt with two bullet holes.” Dylan nodded and Jade shrugged. “Where’s the body?” she asked. She’d voiced the question he’d been wondering since she’d pulled the shirt out of the dirt. “We need to search this place from top to bottom,” Jade said.

“Officers are outside,” Dylan said. “I’ll get them on it right away.”

Dylan left and within minutes returned with a handful of officers who started searching.

Bryce led Jade out to the ambulance and motioned for the two paramedics to take her. Once she was settled in the back, he tried Frank’s number once more.

Again, he got voice mail. “I’m going to his house,” he said, hanging up.

“I’d like to go, too,” Jade said, “if you don’t mind. If he’s not there, we need to go find Heather and fill her in on everything.” She flinched when the paramedic who’d introduced himself as Geoff Jones touched the side of her head.

“What’d he hit you with?” Geoff asked.

“Nothing,” she said. “He pushed me into one of the spindles.”

Geoff lifted a brow. “Those things have to be rusty. Have you had a tetanus shot recently?”

“Yes. It’s updated.”

“Good. Then just keep it clean and it should heal nicely. Let me check your eyes one more time.” He shone the light in each, and she blinked when he was finished. “No concussion.”

“I appreciate you checking me out, but I’m fine. Shook up and mad that I let the guy get away, but physically, I’m relatively unhurt.”

“Then let’s go find Frank.” Bryce held a hand out. She blinked, her hesitation lasting only a fraction of a second before she settled her palm against his. He jerked. “Your hands are freezing!”

“I think my adrenaline is crashing,” she said. She glanced at the Geoff. “I’m fine to drive, right?”

He shrugged. “Sure. I don’t see why not. As long as you feel like it.”

“Great.”

“Come on,” Bryce said, still holding her hands, “let’s get you into your squad car so you can warm up.” He moved back, and his leg ached with that now familiar throb that indicated he’d overdone it today. Squashing the anger that was never very far from the surface, he focused on Jade and helped her get settled in the driver’s seat. “You’re sure you’re okay to drive?”

“Why? Are you scared to ride with me?”

He huffed. “No.” Bryce rounded the front of the car and slid into the passenger seat. His leg thanked him.

Dylan stepped up beside Jade’s window, and she lowered it, scattering the soft flakes already sticking to everything. “I imagine the chief is going to tell you to sit tomorrow out,” he told her.

“Probably. And if I need to, I will. Right now, I’m...” She sighed. “I refuse to say ‘fine’ one more time.”

Dylan shot her a tight smile. “All right. I’m going to stay here until these guys are done, then write up my report.” He glanced at the sky. “If I don’t get snowed in.”

“I’ll do the same at some point.”

“Let me know if you find Frank.”

“Will do.”

She rolled up her window, and Bryce shook his head. “You’re one tough lady, aren’t you?”

Jade jerked to look at him. “Me? Tough?” A laugh escaped her. “I don’t know about tough. I just do what I need to do.”

“Definitely tough. You always were.”

Jade wanted to ask what he meant by that, but her heart was thumping so loudly, she wouldn’t be surprised if Bryce could hear it.

Did he know?

No. There was no way he possibly could. She’d planned to tell him, of course, but time had passed, and her secret had become hers and hers alone—albeit an unintentional secret. Her parents didn’t even know everything. “What are you doing back here in Cedar Canyon?” She put the vehicle into Drive and pulled away from the scene. It would take her a short five minutes to get to Frank’s place. She doubted Bryce could tell her everything in that amount of time.

But he could start.

“It’s been six years since you disappeared,” she said. “Six years, Bryce, and no word. Nothing.” A surge of anger swept through her and she did her best to choke it back—only because she wanted to hear what he had to say for himself.

He flicked a glance in her direction. “I know how long it’s been.”

“And it didn’t occur to you that people would want to hear from you? That people might have things they’d like to...ah...share with you?”

He shook his head and sighed. “It did, but I—”

“You even ignored Kristy. Your own sister. She was devastated. Do you know she confessed to me that she even thought you were dead at one point until Frank told her he’d spoken to you on a regular basis?”

“It’s not like I chose that path!” The words snapped from him quick as a whip.

She flinched. “Oh really? So, who chose it for you?”

“Whoever planted that IED in the middle of the road and blew up my Humvee. That’s who.” He slapped a hand against the dash and drew in a deep breath.

“Oh.” She fell silent, waiting for him to continue, afraid he would and equally afraid he wouldn’t.

“Yeah,” he said.

“I’m sorry.”

“I am, too.”

A pause.

“Still could have called or something,” she said.

He gave a short snort of a laugh. “I could have. Should have, yes. And yes, I regret that I didn’t, but I was dealing with stuff. Unfortunately, I can’t change the past.”

“No one can,” she said softly. Boy, was that the truth. Ask him. Ask him why he didn’t call after Frank told him to.

He pulled to a stop at the curb. “We’re here.”

“And so is Frank’s car.” The ranch-style one-story brick house sat on a one-acre plot. Thanks to the barely-there sliver of a moon, the darkness pressed in on them, making it hard to see anything but what the porch light illuminated. Brightly colored lights outlined the perimeter of the roof, and Frank had attached a gold star to the top of the chimney. Christmas was just around the corner, and Frank was fastidious about his decorations. Jade didn’t have to see anything else to know the yard was immaculate. He used gardening and yard work as his stress reliever. Saves me a ton of money on therapy bills, he’d once told her.

“He’s getting the place ready for him and Heather,” she said. “Spends all of his spare time working on it. Heather helps on her days off.”

“The wedding’s coming up soon.”

“Two weeks away.”

He nodded and tapped the wheel. “I always thought I’d be in his wedding.” He sighed. “Life sure does throw you some curveballs sometimes, doesn’t it?” Before Jade could answer, he said, “Was he acting okay with you?”

“I guess. I see more of Heather these days than I do him. Why?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. I can’t really explain it. I’ve been talking to him over the last few weeks, and he seemed like he had something on his mind. Like something was bothering him.”

“The latest story he was going after?”

“Could be. I mean, yeah, he was focused on that, but I was just under the impression there was something else.” He opened the car door and stepped out. “Let’s ask him.”

Jade followed him up the porch steps and waited while Bryce rang the bell. “Where are you staying?” she asked him. “At your parents’ place?”

“That mausoleum? No thanks. I’m staying with Kristy and John.” His parents were wealthy and retired, which meant they were rarely at home.

“Sounds like things haven’t changed much between you and your parents.”

“Nope.”

And he wasn’t going to elaborate. No surprise there. He’d never liked talking about them even as a teen. “Are the boys loving having you there?” Kristy and her husband, John, had two boys that Bryce had never met before his return.

“Of course. I’m really enjoying getting to know them.” He swallowed hard. “I hate that I’ve missed so much. I’ll regret that forever.”

At the husky wistfulness in his voice, Jade shut her eyes for a brief moment. “You could have come home sooner,” she said softly.

“I know that now, but back then, I...” He cleared his throat. “Coming home wasn’t an option. I’ll just have to make up for lost time with them.”

“They’re four and eighteen months old. They won’t even know their uncle wasn’t there.”

“But I know.”

She shot a sideways glance at him. “I thought you didn’t like kids.”

He blinked. “What? Of course I like kids. Why would you say that?”

She stared at him. “Because you always said you didn’t want any.”

He sighed. “Just because I don’t want any doesn’t mean I don’t like kids. I used to think I’d be a terrible dad, so why bring a kid into the world just to mess it up?”

“Like your dad?”

“Exactly. I mean, I get that he was super busy trying to provide a living, but as a young boy, I just wanted my dad around. And then when he was around, all he could do was criticize. Once he amassed his fortune, he was more interested in traveling than building a relationship with his kids. I grew up never knowing what having a dad was like. How can I be a father—a good father—without having that?” A shrug. “At least, that’s how I used to think about it. Now? I don’t know. Being around my nephews has been interesting, to say the least. And eye-opening. Kristy sure doesn’t have any trouble being a good mom.” He shook his head. “It’s made me realize I may have been wrong about some things. A lot of things. Still not sure I’d make a great dad and don’t have any intention of finding out anytime soon, but...”

It was obvious he felt strongly about missing out on his nephews’ lives and his views on having children had shifted a bit, but he wasn’t interested in being a father. So what would happen when she told him he had a five-year-old daughter?

Bryce rang the bell again and hunched into his heavy coat. He needed to keep his mouth shut. Since when did he just blurt out personal stuff?

But this was Jade. Beautiful, loving, unforgettable Jade. Someone he’d thought about daily since he’d left her on the porch steps of her dormitory her senior year six years ago, but he knew he didn’t deserve her—because she’d deserved better than him even back then. And he’d had his own dreams to follow.

So he’d left. But he’d gone with the plan to make it up to her, to stay in touch and see if they could make a long-distance relationship work—if she was even interested. Not long after that, the explosion had ripped apart more than pieces of his body. For a while, it seemed like it had shredded his soul, too.

“Bryce?”

He blinked and shook off the thoughts. “He’s not answering.”

“I know. That’s what I said three times.” She frowned. “Are you okay?”

“No, not really.” He walked to the nearest window, wiped the snow off, and tried to peer through the blinds. Impossible.

“I’m going in,” Jade said.

“How?”

“With the key he keeps under the fake turtle.” She moved the piece of decoration from the mulch and snagged the key.

“He never told me about that, either,” Bryce murmured.

“You weren’t here, Bryce. Why would he tell you that?”

He flinched.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice more gentle. “I’m not trying to rub it in that you weren’t here. It’s just that...”

“I wasn’t here. It’s truth. You’re not rubbing it in. Forget it. Let’s just find Frank.”

She nodded, opened the door, and stepped over the threshold, wiping her feet on the mat. “Frank? You here?”

Bryce followed. “Hey Frank, where are you, buddy?”

Silence echoed back at them. Together, they walked through the house. “It’s neat,” she said, and sniffed. “He just cleaned not too long ago. Probably yesterday.”

“He does love that pine scent his grandmother always used.”

“She gave him a case of it when he moved in two years ago,” she said. “I doubt even with his routine cleaning, he’s used it all up yet.”

“Two years. I missed a lot during my self-imposed exile, didn’t I?”

She shot him a tight smile and moved to Frank’s desk in the corner of his den. Bryce slipped up beside her to look over her shoulder. That familiar light strawberry-and-vanilla scent he associated with her filled his senses. He stepped back, and she wiggled the mouse on Frank’s laptop. “Any idea what his password would be?”

“Heather?”

She rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Just a guess.”

She typed it in. “Nope.”

Bryce spotted a piece of paper sticking out of the top drawer and pulled on it.

“What is it?” she asked.

“A name. Tony Swift.”

“I know him,” Jade said. “He owns the shooting range where a bunch of cops practice when they don’t want to use the one at the station.”

“Maybe he was meeting someone there.”

“Maybe.” They continued the search and made it full circle back to the front door with no other information they could deem useful in the search for their friend, but Bryce was hopeful Tony Swift could answer a few questions.

“The place is spotless as always. Doesn’t look like there’s anything to be worried about,” Bryce said.

“Other than the fact that it’s the middle of the night, his car is here, but he’s not home or answering his phone.”

“He could be asleep in a hotel with his phone turned off.”

“Why?”

“I have no idea. You’re right, it doesn’t make sense. I was just hoping...” He paused. “Let me check his closet. Maybe he had a last-minute trip and he just didn’t bother telling anyone.” He didn’t believe that, but...

Back in Frank’s bedroom, Bryce opened the closet door and hope dissipated. Jade stood at the entrance to the room, her expression anxious. “Suitcases are here,” he said. He riffled through the hanging clothes. “And his jersey’s missing.” The bad feeling he’d had earlier when Jade had pulled the shirt from the dirt returned full force.

“Could be in a drawer,” she said.

Bryce shook his head. “He hangs it. At least, he used to hang his jerseys. He wouldn’t change his habits now.”

“He could have—”

“No, he couldn’t have. He hangs it up. You remember in high school, he had those two jerseys? He always hung them up. He wouldn’t do anything different now.”

She drew in a deep breath, obviously looking for her patience. “I was going to say, he could have worn it and tossed it in the dirty clothes basket.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” He could have. Bryce stepped into the en suite bathroom. The empty hamper mocked him. He checked every drawer and under the sink. “It’s not there. Washer and dryer are empty, too.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I’m out of ideas, then.” Her eyes met his. “I’m scared, Bryce.”

“Ping his phone.”

She bit her lip and nodded. “Okay.” She put the call in to dispatch and asked for the information.

Then hit the speaker button.

Bryce waited, impatience clawing at him. Finally, the operator came back on the line. “I’m sorry, Jade, I can’t get a signal on the phone. It’s either turned off or the battery’s dead.”

“Thanks. I appreciate you trying for me.” She hung up and pressed her fingers to her eyes. “I really don’t like this.”

“Me either. Let’s go wake Heather.”

THREE

Heather opened the door on the third knock, her bleary blue eyes blinking rapidly. Jade noticed she held her service weapon in her right hand. “Jade?”

“Hi, Heather,” Bryce said.

“Bryce? Bryce Kingsley?” Heather launched herself into Bryce’s arms and hugged him. He returned the hug until Heather leaned back and cupped his face. “Wow, is that really you?”

“It’s me.”

“Frank said he’d been talking to you and that you were coming home to open a PI business.”

“Yeah. At some point.”

“Well...um...it’s good to see you.”

Heather gave him one more hug, then motioned them inside. Jade swallowed as Bryce shut the door behind him. She didn’t want to admit she was a little jealous of Heather’s enthusiastic greeting. She’d wanted to do the very same thing when she’d first seen Bryce in the mill. Throw herself against him and hug him, run her hands over his features and reassure herself that he was real. But she hadn’t. The fact that she’d wanted to scared her silly. Bryce had walked out of her life and she’d managed to survive. The fact that he was back in it didn’t mean anything had to change.

You’re lying to yourself. Everything’s going to change.

It was just a matter of when. But there wasn’t a thing she could do about it right now.

Heather set her gun on the counter just inside the door to the kitchen that was next to the small foyer, where they now stood a bit awkwardly. “What are you guys doing? It’s the middle of the night.” Her eyes sharpened. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“We hope nothing,” Jade said. “Let’s go into the den and we’ll explain.”

“No,” Heather said. Jade froze at the sharpness and Heather held up a hand. “Sorry. Can we go in the kitchen, please? I’ve torn up the floor in there to start fixing the place up to put it on the market. Frank and I don’t need two places. And besides, I’m thirsty.”

The three of them took a seat at the kitchen table while Heather retrieved water bottles from the refrigerator.

“Tell me what’s going on,” she said, unscrewing the cap and taking a long swig from the bottle.

Jade explained about the attack at the old mill and finding the jersey with the autograph on the left shoulder. “It has to be Frank’s,” she said. “Do you know where he is?”

“Well, before you asked, I would have assumed he was home in bed. Obviously he’s not.” She rubbed her eyes, a slow fear building in them. “What are you not telling me? Is he okay?”

“We’re not sure,” Jade said. She should have known better than to try to leave out details. “That jersey we found at the mill? It...ah...it had two bullet holes in the front and is covered with dried blood.”

“What?” Heather paled. “His Panthers jersey?”

“Yes.”

“But...no. It can’t be his.” A short, humorless laugh escaped her. “I mean, he just wore it the other day.” She snagged her phone from her robe pocket and tapped the screen. From her seat, Jade heard it go straight to voice mail. “Frank, this is Heather. I know it’s the middle of the night, but I don’t care. Call me as soon as you get this message.” She hung up and tried four more times before she finally set the phone on the table and clasped her hands in front of her. Her gaze bounced between Jade and Bryce. “There’s got to be some explanation.” She stood. “I’ll get dressed and head to his house.”

“We’ve already been there,” Bryce said, and Heather froze. “I’m sorry, Heather, but he’s not there.”

“But his car is,” Jade said. “I know that when he flies, he sometimes takes a car service, but I don’t recall him saying anything about taking a trip anytime soon—outside of your honeymoon.”

Heather shook her head. “No trips scheduled. At least, none that I know of. Every so often he takes off and calls me from the road if it’s a last-minute thing with the paper, but—” She checked her phone. “Nothing but your missed calls. He’s got to be here in town somewhere.” She raised her brows. “Or he went to see Lisa.” His sister lived an hour away in Charlotte. As soon as the words left her mouth, she was shaking her head. “But he would have taken his car, so that can’t be. And he would have left me a message that he was going.” She paced from one end of the kitchen to the other, arms crossed, features taut and pale. She turned. “What about his office?”

Frank worked out of the newspaper office downtown. Jade nodded. “But he’d still have to drive.”

“Unless one of his coworkers picked him up.”

“Let’s find out,” Bryce said. “You have their numbers?”

Heather’s lips quirked even though the action didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m a cop. I don’t think getting their numbers is going to be a problem.” The smile didn’t last long. “But I’ll call his boss. If anyone would know what Frank was up to, it’d be him.”

“If Frank told him,” Bryce muttered.

Heather scowled. “Why would he not tell him? His boss is the one who approves the stories that he works on.”

“I’m not sure he was working just one story.”

“Then his boss can tell us that.” Heather dialed the man’s number and waited. “Hi, Larry, it’s Heather.” She tapped the screen to put him on speakerphone. “I’m so sorry to wake you, but I have reason to believe that Frank’s in trouble. Can you tell me if he had to go out of town suddenly?”

“Ah, no, not on the paper’s dime.” He cleared his throat. “What makes you think he’s in trouble?”

Heather explained. “What was he working on?”

“A couple of things. Nothing I can discuss with you. I’m sorry.”

“Larry—”

“No, I’m not budging on that. Frank’s probably just looking into something. And truthfully, he didn’t tell me a lot of details, just that he was on to something big and hoped to have the full story on my desk sometime next week. Seriously, Heather, he’ll most likely turn up when he’s good and ready. Now, go back to sleep and quit worrying.”

Click.

Heather slumped, frustration stamped on her drawn features. “Okay, that was a dead end. Hold on a second.” She left and returned with her laptop. “Coworkers would be the next step, right? Let’s see who we can find that might be able to tell us something useful.”

Thirty minutes later, they were no closer to having an answer about Frank’s whereabouts, and Heather’s emotional state had quickly gone south. She turned to Bryce. “What was he working on?”

“I’m not at liberty to say. He asked me not to.”

“Well, he’s not here, so...”

“I can’t. I gave him my word that I’d keep his confidence.”

“Is it something that could land him in trouble? At least tell me that.”

Bryce sighed. “Yeah. If certain people discovered he was doing some snooping into their business, then they wouldn’t be happy about it. But I don’t see how they could know.”

She snapped her lips shut. “He never said he was doing anything dangerous.”

“He was protecting you,” Jade said softly. “He didn’t want you to know he was putting himself in that kind of situation because it would have distracted you.”

“So, you know what he was working on?” Heather asked.

“No. I just know if it was something dangerous, he would have kept it from you. You and I walk into potentially dangerous situations every day. He wouldn’t want you worried about him, too.”

Heather shook her head and lasered Bryce with a hard look. “It’s up to you to help us find him.”

“Heather—”

Her friend lifted her chin and gave Jade a stony glare. Jade sighed and snapped her lips shut. There wasn’t any sense in telling Heather there would be no “us.” Heather wouldn’t be working the case. If there even was a case.

In her mind, there was. All evidence pointed toward Frank being missing. Or worse.

“I’ve already said more than I should have,” Bryce said, “but I’m worried.”

“So am I.” Heather rose. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Where are you going?” Jade asked.

“To get dressed, then I’m going to find my fiancé.” She paused. “Stay in here, will you? Like I said, the den’s a mess.” She blew out a breath. “And I know that’s just not important right now, but it’s a stressor.”

Jade held up a hand. “We’ll stay here.”

“Thanks. I’ll be right back.”

True to her word, Heather returned to the kitchen in record time, dressed to face the day. After several more unproductive phone calls, she dropped into the nearest chair and raked a hand through her still mussed hair. “What are we going to do? We’ve called everyone. His sister hasn’t heard from him since he stayed over at her house last weekend. His parents talked to him yesterday, and he didn’t say anything about going on a trip. Where could he be?”

Jade stood. “I think it’s time to put a BOLO out on him and get help.”

“I agree,” Heather said with a slow nod. “I’ll do it.”

While Heather made the call, Jade walked over to stand in front of Bryce, who leaned against the sink, sipping his second cup of coffee. “What was he working on, Bryce?” she asked softly. “We need to know so we have some direction.”

Bryce set his coffee down and pursed his lips. “He made me promise not to say anything. I don’t want to betray that confidence.”

“Not even if it means helping us figure out if he’s in trouble or not?”

He closed his eyes, obviously torn. “What if I tell you and he’s fine?”

She planted her hands on her hips. “What if you don’t tell me and he’s in trouble?”

More than anything, Bryce wanted to tell her, because not for a moment did he think she would be involved in what had Frank investigating the local police department. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Jade. Rather, it was a matter of confidentiality.

But she was right.

What if by keeping his promise, he was putting Frank in further danger? He couldn’t think how that might be, but...what if?

Before he had a chance to decide what he should do, Heather returned to the kitchen. “The BOLO is out and my brain is so scrambled, I can’t for the life of me think what we should do next. How’s that for being a detective for you? I’ll never judge family members of a missing person ever again.”

“You should stay here,” Jade said, “in case Frank shows up. Bryce and I will call you if we find him. And you call us if you hear from him.”

“Just sit here and worry?” Heather scoffed. “Not happening.”

“Come on, Heather, you know you need to stay. Just in case he shows up.”

“He’s not going to show up here, I don’t think. He’d go home.”

“Well, you can’t go there. If he’s truly missing, his house will be treated like a crime scene. Bryce and I were careful, but even our searching may have disturbed something. Don’t add to it.” She knew she sounded bossy, but she also knew Heather might be tempted to throw caution to the wind in her desperation to find Frank.

Heather pursed her lips and looked like she wanted to argue, but finally nodded. “If I decide to go over there, I won’t go inside. I may just sit and watch the house.”

Jade nodded. “If you feel like you have to be there, then yeah...okay. I don’t think we’re going to be doing much of anything else tonight.”

Heather hesitated, then gave a groan and a nod. “Fine. But please stay in touch.”

“Absolutely.”

“Okay, so, tomorrow...we need to what?” Heather gave a short laugh. “See? I told you I couldn’t think.”

“We need to find out where he was last seen.”

Heather rubbed her forehead. “No one seemed to be able to tell us that,” she muttered.

“I talked to him on the phone around ten o’clock this morning,” Bryce said. He glanced at the clock. “Or, rather, yesterday morning. So we just need to find anyone who saw him after that.”

“Heather,” Jade said, “why would Frank have Tony Swift’s name written down? Was he meeting with him for something?”

“At the shooting range?” Heather shook her head. “I don’t know. He didn’t say anything to me if he was. He could have just been practicing.”

“True.” Jade looked at her watch. “All right. I need to grab a couple of hours of sleep before we get started looking for him again—assuming he doesn’t show up in the next little bit.”

Heather nodded. “I won’t be able to sleep, but I can make a list of more people and places to check with.”

“Do you want me to stay here?” Jade asked. “I can crash on your couch.”

“No. It’s not that comfortable. We’re getting a new one, but not until after the wedding. Just go home. You have to help your mom in the morning with the kids anyway, don’t you?”

“Kids?” Bryce asked. “Are your parents still taking in foster children?”

Her face blanked for an instant. Then she nodded. “They are.” She rubbed her eyes, then narrowed them at her friend. “Are you sure you’re going to be all right?”

“Yes. Go and help your mom. I think we should get some sleep if we can. None of us will be any good if we’re so tired we get sloppy and miss something. Besides, there’s probably some logical explanation for where he is. Missing sleep isn’t going to help finding out what that is.”

She had a point, but Bryce was itching to keep looking. The only lead they had was the shooting range. He glanced at his watch. Three o’clock in the morning. It had been seventeen hours since he’d talked to Frank, and he needed to know his friend was okay. Even if he went back to his sister’s and tried to sleep, he knew he’d be tossing and turning.

He kept his mouth shut until they were back in her vehicle, but once he clipped his seat belt, he said, “I want to go find Tony Swift, ASAP.”

She gave a slow nod. “I was thinking the same thing. Let me see if I can call him and give him a heads up. No need to wake the whole family.” Using the laptop mounted on the dash to her right, she pulled up Tony’s license and noted the address. Next, she dialed his number.

“Hello?”

The groggy Southern voice came through the squad car’s Bluetooth. “Tony, this is Detective Jade Hollis with the Cedar Canyon PD. I’m so sorry to be calling this late, but we’re looking for Frank Shipman. Can you tell us the last time you saw him?”

Click.

She frowned and lifted a brow. “Well, okay, then.”

“Call him back.”

She did and it went straight to a busy signal. She tried his cell phone and got voice mail. Bryce locked his gaze on hers. “I don’t like the implications of that.”

“I don’t, either. I think we should head over to his house.” She cranked the car and backed out of Heather’s drive.

“You think Frank’s alive?” Bryce asked softly.

“I don’t know, Bryce. You saw what I saw.”

“Two bullet holes and all that blood doesn’t give me much hope.”

“It might not have been him wearing it,” she said. “That’s what I’m holding on to—and feeling guilty for doing so. I don’t want Frank to be hurt or dead, but I don’t want anyone else to be, either.”

“And yet, it’s highly likely someone is.”

“Yeah. Someone is.”

But who?

Jade slipped her weapon into her holster and rubbed her bleary eyes. Last night she and Bryce had found Tony Swift’s wife home alone. “I don’t know where he went,” she’d said. “Just bolted out of here like his tail was on fire. Didn’t even take his cell phone.”

So now, Jade planned to show up at the range and hope he had the good sense to be there. As much as he loved his business, he wouldn’t just leave the place unopened. She hoped. She’d already talked to her supervisor and he’d given her his approval for her plan for the day—after making sure she didn’t need to take the day off. As if she could. Heather had texted that Frank hadn’t shown up and she still couldn’t get him to answer his phone.

Little arms wrapped around her legs and her heart lifted. She turned and scooped her five-year-old daughter into a gentle hug, and she breathed in her sweet scent. “Good morning, little bear.”

“Morning,” Mia said. “I want eggs and bacon.”

“I think that can be arranged since that’s what I smell cooking all the way over here.”

Mia sniffed. “I don’t smell it.” She smacked her lips. “But I can almost taste it. And pancakes.”

“Wonderful.”

“And I want to decorate for Christmas. When can we do that?”

Jade smothered a small groan. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to decorate. It was just the energy decorating required. Energy she was lacking right now thanks to a still twinging head. It wasn’t pounding, but it didn’t feel great, either. “We need to do that, don’t we?”

“So, when?”

“How about tonight?”

“We can go tree shopping?” Mia asked, her eyes widening, her joy practically tangible.

“Well, as long as you bundle up really good.”

Mia frowned and wrinkled her nose. “Oh, right. It’s very cold outside, isn’t it?”

Her daughter had no use for cold weather. “Well, yes,” Jade said, “it is. What about if I just come home with the tree and you and the twins can help decorate. Is that okay?” Her heart ached for Jessica and Gage, the ten-year-old twins who’d been removed from their home and placed with her parents a little over four months ago due to neglect.

Mia nodded. “It’s okay with me. I don’t really care about getting the tree, I just want to make it pretty. I’ll ask Gage and Jessica. If they want to go, you can take them. Can we string popcorn?”

“If you can manage not to eat it all.” She tickled the little girl’s ribs, and Mia’s giggles soothed her worried heart. “Are Jessica and Gage ready to eat?”

“They’re always ready to eat.”

That was true. Jade gave thanks that they were good-natured children in spite of everything they’d been through and had adjusted well to the routine of the home—managing to steal all of their hearts in the process.

Last week she’d learned the twins’ parents had finally released them for adoption. Her parents had talked to Jade about plans to adopt them, and Jade thought it was a fabulous idea. She just hoped the twins did, too. They were happy here and made no secret of that.

Of course, the fact that there were horses on the property didn’t hurt. Jessica had already attached herself to Belle, one of the horses her parents used to teach the kids to ride. “Tell Lolly, I’ll be there in just a few minutes.” Jade’s mother was named Adelaide. When Mia started talking, all the child could manage to wrap her tongue around was Lolly. Her mom had been fine with that.

“Okay.” Mia ran down the hallway toward the stairs, her long, dark hair flying around her head. She’d go down the steps and out the bottom door that led to an enclosed walkway. At the end of that was her parents’ kitchen. Her father had closed in the area about six months ago so Mia could travel between the houses without having to go outside—and ease Jade’s mind about keeping a constant eye on her when she wanted to see her grandparents. “All by myself. I can do it, Mommy.”

Her little girl was growing up.

Jade’s throat tightened as she thought about telling Bryce he had a child. It was obvious he had no clue about Mia. Which was the way she’d originally wanted it. But then she’d felt so guilty about keeping that secret, she’d done her best to get in touch with him. Her only source had been Frank. She’d asked him to let Bryce know she really needed him to call her. Frank had said he’d told him. Obviously, Bryce hadn’t deemed it important to do so. Which really hurt. And made her mad. Maybe she should just ask him and give him a chance to explain before giving up on him. Maybe.

But first things first.

She’d wolf down the food, then head over to the shooting range and hope Tony had come to his senses. If not, she was going to have to sit down with her chief and other investigators and figure out a plan of action.

For now, she’d have breakfast with Mia, Jessica and Gage. She made her way to the kitchen and found everyone gathered around the table.

“Jessica and Gage said you could get the tree and bring it home. They don’t want to get cold, either.”

Jade smiled. “All right. Sounds like a plan.”

“Glad you could join us this morning,” her mother said.

“There’s no way I’d miss this spread.” Eggs, bacon, sausage, grits and biscuits. Her mother’s heritage might be Korean, but she cooked straight Southern when she was in the mood. “Unfortunately, I’m going to have to rush through it, though.” She took Mia’s small hand in her right and Jessica’s in her left. “I’ll bless it.” She said a short prayer and, after a round of amens, looked back to her mother. “Where’s Dad?”

“He’s already eaten. He had to go move the horses to the south pasture so they could start clearing the land for the new barn.”

In addition to raising foster children, her parents boarded and raised thoroughbred horses. Each week seemed to bring one or two new clients. A good problem to have, but a lot of work as well. “I’m sorry I can’t help him.”

“He’s got help. Eat your food, then go do that job you’re so good at.” She paused. “I thought today was your day off.”

“It is. Was. I’ve got some things I need to take care of that won’t wait. But I’m hoping it will be a short day.” Somehow she doubted it. Not with Frank still missing. But she could hope—and she had to bring a Christmas tree home. She winked and turned to the children. “Eat up, little people. The bus will be here in thirty minutes. And don’t forget, we’re pulling out Christmas decorations. You can start when you get home from school. It’s the last day before break and you don’t want to miss all the candy that will be passed around. And cake at the party.”

“And Christmas games,” Jessica said with a shy smile.

“Sounds like a perfect day to me.” Jade brushed the bangs from the girl’s eyes and tapped her nose. “It’s going to be fun.”

The children cheered, and Jade’s mother grinned at the happiness at her table.

Jade hadn’t told her parents about Frank. It had been so late when she’d finally slipped into bed that she hadn’t had a chance. And no time this morning. Not in front of the kids. They adored Frank—especially Mia.

“Lolly?” Jessica’s hesitant voice caught Jade’s attention as well as her mother’s.

“What is it, darling?” Her mom paused to give the child her full attention.

“Are we going to be here for Christmas?”

“Well, now, that’s a really good question.” She sighed. “I wish I could say a one hundred percent yes, but you know how this system works as well—or better—than I do.”

“Oh.” Jessica looked back at her plate, her shoulders slumping.

“But we sure hope you will be,” Mia said.

“Me too,” Jessica mumbled around a mouthful of bacon.

Gage’s bright gaze bounced from one person to the next. “I’m staying here. I don’t care what anyone else says.”

“We’ll see,” Jade said. “Just know that we all want you here more than anything.”

“Absolutely.” Her mother gave a firm nod.

“Thanks,” he whispered.

Jade’s heart stuttered with love for the little boy and his sister. She caught her mother’s eye and saw a sheen of tears hovering there just before she looked away. Bless her. Such a tenderhearted woman. All she wanted was to make the world right for kids who didn’t know what it was like to have that happen. And so did Jade. “I’m going to stop by my office first, then pay a visit to someone I need to question about a case.”

Fifteen minutes later, with her mind on Frank and Bryce and trying to keep all of her emotions under control, Jade kissed her mother and daughter goodbye, gave hugs to Jessica and Gage, and took off for the station, praying she could dig up something that would tell her where Frank was.

FOUR

Bryce opened the door to his sister Kristy’s kitchen, and his dog, Sasha, darted around him to shake the snow from her coat. “Sasha, stop!” The dog did, but it was too late. She’d splattered melted snow everywhere. He grabbed the hand towel from the rack and made a futile effort to wipe her down.

Kristy entered with eighteen-month-old Liam on her hip. When the child’s gaze landed on Sasha, he squealed. “Doggy!”

“Shh. You’ll wake up your brother.”

“My doggy!”

Kristy rolled her eyes. “Wet doggy.” She walked into the laundry room, returned with two bath towels and shoved them at Bryce. “Messy doggy.”

“Thanks,” he said. “Sasha, sit.” The dog obeyed, and Bryce draped the first towel over her and rubbed. “She decided it would be fun to roll in the snow.”

“Of course she did. Which means she brings in a gallon of water just on her fur. You couldn’t get something like a schnauzer or a Chihuahua, could you?”

He raised a brow. “Really? You can see me with one of those?” He finished with Sasha and turned to the walls and pantry door.

“I guess not. What are your plans today?”

When everything was dry, he tossed the towels into the laundry room and told her about finding a lead into Frank’s disappearance. “So I’m going to rinse off, change and head over to the shooting range.”

Her gaze dropped to his prosthetic, the curved one that allowed him to run without falling over. “I forget you have that most of the time.”

“That’s one of the nicest things you’ve ever said to me.”

“Well...that’s kind of sad. I’ll work on it. There’s a ham biscuit in the fridge if you want to warm it up.”

“I’d love it, thanks.”

Her expression softened and she hugged him. “Go change your leg—you do realize how weird that sounds—and I’ll pour you some coffee. You can warm up the biscuit when you get done.”

“Thanks, sis.” He kissed her cheek and blew a raspberry on the baby’s, then headed to his room.

Once showered and changed, he returned to the kitchen to find Liam in his high chair and Kristy feeding him ham, eggs and little pieces of biscuit. Sasha lifted her head and watched him, tongue lolling from the side of her mouth.

Bryce shook his head, grabbed the biscuit from the fridge and popped it in the microwave. “She’s such a slug.”

“She’s a monster.”

“A monster in body, but she’s pure love in that big heart of hers. I don’t know what I’d do without her.” The microwave dinged and he grabbed the food. “I appreciate you letting us stay here. I know it’s not convenient.”

Kristy sighed. “We’re happy to have you here. We’ve missed you.”

Liam tossed a piece of ham straight at the dog. Sasha snagged and gulped it, then turned pleading eyes on the child as though begging him to do it again. “Hey, Sash, you already had your breakfast.” He chucked the baby on the chin. “You need to eat yours.”

“Doggy eat it.”

“You eat it.”

“No no.”

“Yes yes.”

Liam giggled, his little teeth glinting. “Doggy.”

Bryce raised a brow at his sister. “I’m not going to win this one, am I?”

“Nope.”

“Right.” He glanced at the clock. “I need to get going.”

Kristy set the baby on his feet, and he went to Sasha and climbed on her back. “Horsey. Go.”

Sasha settled her head between her paws and Bryce thought the dog almost smiled. She loved kids. His sister loved kids. Her kids. A pang hit him. Ever since moving into his sister’s home, his vow to never have children kept slapping him in the face, making him wonder why he and Kristy had turned out to have such different views on their ability to raise children. “Hey, sis, could I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“How come you didn’t have any reservations about getting married and having kids?”

She frowned. “What do you mean?” She wiped the tray down while Bryce tried to think of a way to explain it. “I mean, motherhood comes so naturally to you. You’re nothing like our mother, and I don’t understand how that can be when you had no example of what being a good mother was supposed to look like.”

Kristy blew out a low breath. “But I did have examples.”

“Who?”

“Ladies in the church, people I worked with, friends.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just knew that our parents were the outliers, not the norms. I knew most people loved their kids and wanted the best for them—and I vowed if I ever had kids, I’d be the complete opposite of our parents and I couldn’t go wrong.”

He snorted. “Do the opposite? I suppose that makes sense in some weird way.”

“Of course it does.” She walked over to rescue Sasha’s fur from Liam’s mouth. “And if you ever have kids, you’ll be a great dad.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ve watched you come to love my two. And you love your dog.”

“Dogs are easy to love. They don’t talk back.”

“True, but I still don’t think you have anything to worry about when it comes to fatherhood.”

“Well, it’s not like I have to worry about it anytime soon, but what if you’re wrong? What if there’s something lacking in me?”

She sighed and walked over to press a kiss to his head—much like a mother would. “I’m not wrong, but I guess that’s something only you can figure out.”

“That’s not very helpful.”

Kristy smiled. Then frowned. “I hope something turns up today on Frank. I’m worried about him.”

“Same here.”

“Tell Jade I said hi.”

“I will.”

Bryce tapped his thigh and Sasha rose to her feet. She followed him to his SUV, and he let her into the back seat. “Say your prayers, girl. We’ve got a friend to find.”

When Jade pulled into the parking lot of the shooting range, she was glad to see the Open sign flashing bright red. At the station, she’d written several reports and done some research on Tony Swift, giving him time to open the range before she swooped in to question him.

An avid hunter and outdoorsman, he’d opened the range a little over five years ago. He had no record and appeared to be an upstanding citizen. So why had he run last night?

Jade parked and climbed out of the cruiser, her gaze scanning the area.

The light gray pickup truck sitting in the spot near the door encouraged her to think that Tony was inside. She pushed through the barred glass door and let it shut behind her. Tony looked up from his spot behind the counter and for a moment, she wondered if he was going to take off running. Then he sighed. “What do you need Jade?”

“You hung up on me last night.”

“You called me at three o’clock in the morning!”

“And you left the house shortly thereafter.” Her unruffled responses seemed to worry him. “Wanna tell me why?”

“Not particularly.”

“Come on, Tony. Did you really think that I wouldn’t show up this morning?”

With another dramatic sigh, he grabbed a rag and swiped the immaculately clean glass counter. “I knew you’d show up.”

“So...what? You were just buying time to figure out what story you were going to tell?”

His cheeks flushed a bright red, and his startled glance confirmed her suspicions. “You’re not a liar, Tony.” Not a good one, anyway. “What do you know about Frank?”

He shot a nervous glance at the door. “Not a lot. You said you were looking for him. I don’t know where he is, but if he’s missing, then I guess that means he made the wrong people mad—and I don’t have any desire to do the same.”

“And who are the wrong people?”

“Whoever he was investigating.”

The door chimed. Tony flinched, and Jade spun to see Bryce step inside. He shot her a deep frown. “I thought you were going to wait on me to do this.”

She blinked at him. “Why would you think that? You’re not a cop.”

“I’m Frank’s friend and I’ve had training in investigations, remember? I want to help.”

“We’ll discuss that later.” She glanced at Tony. “What can you tell us about the people Frank was investigating?”

“Nothing.”

Right. “Well, why did he have your name on a piece of paper in his desk drawer?”

“I guess he was going to come shooting sometime. How do I know?”

She paused, trying to find a way through to him. “What was Frank to you? Did he come shooting here a lot?”

The man blinked. “Yeah. I mean, sometimes. Not like on a regular basis, but every so often when he had something on his mind.” He paused. “Come to think of it, he was in here quite a bit in the last few weeks.”

“So, he had something on his mind?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Like what?”

“Don’t know.”

More like he wasn’t saying. “Look, Tony, Frank’s a good friend and we really need your help to find him.” Jade held on to her frustration with effort.

A flash of frustration darkened his eyes—along with a hint of fear. Then he sighed. “I don’t know a whole lot, just that he was looking into people who didn’t want to be looked into, you know what I mean? He—”

The door chimed, and two young ladies in their midtwenties walked in, each carrying a case that held their weapons. “Hey, Tony,” the taller one said. “We’re here to practice.”

“Excuse me.” He went to help the women, and Jade spun to confront Bryce.

“You could make this a lot easier if you would just tell me what Frank was having you help him with.”

Bryce hesitated, obviously agonizing over the decision, then seemed to make up his mind. He motioned her to the corner of the store farthest away from Tony and his customers. “He thought there were dirty cops in the department.”

Jade gaped. “He what?”

“Shh!”

“What made him think that?” she whispered.

“He didn’t go into a lot of details, just that he thought there were some cops on the force who didn’t need to be there and wanted to find out who.”

“But what tipped him off to that? What did he see or hear to make him suspect that?”

Bryce gave a low groan. “He thought there might be some cops—or at least one—on a drug ring’s payroll, but he didn’t know who. He just had his suspicions and told me who he wanted me to ride with. He wanted to know if any of them made unauthorized stops or met with anyone suspicious. Honestly, I didn’t know what exactly I was looking for, but Frank seemed to think I’d recognize it when I saw it—probably a phone call or a meeting that didn’t look on the up and up. I don’t know.”

Tony caught her attention and motioned for her to follow him to the back. Bryce stayed on her heels and she let him. Once in his office, Tony jabbed a finger at her. “You’ve got to leave. You’re going to get me killed.”

Jade blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“Frank was making enemies left and right. And now you tell me he’s disappeared. You two need to be smart and learn from that. Get out and don’t come back here unless it’s to shoot.”

“Tony, if you’re worried about—”

A shot rang out, and Jade and Bryce ducked as one. Glass from the shattered window hit the floor the same time as Tony, the blood stain on his chest growing bigger by the second. The second bullet whizzed past Jade’s left ear, and she grabbed Bryce’s arm as she threw herself behind the desk.

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