Page 130 of The Rogue

30

It’s been a longday. But productive. We finally put a hard stop to any more changes for the Barley family wedding. And the following week will be the fall festival. Then we close out the season with a Harvest Moon Hayride on the last day of October.

I pick up my phone from the front office before heading back to the house.

Shit.

Several missed calls from Sheriff Bradshaw. Did I forget a meeting?

I dial him back on my walk. I barely get a word in before he starts howling. “Reeves. I thought we agreed your wife doesn’t leave the house. Now you’re taking her out of town?”

“The fuck are you talking about? Tessa’s home.”

“Our signal alerted us that she’s off premises. Levi, we’re dealing with the FBI here. I’d really like to not piss anyone off.”

My stomach twists, and I pick up speed. “What signal?”

“Her wedding band. We’ve got a tracker on it.”

I race up the steps to the house, bursting through my doors. She’s usually in the kitchen at this time. “Tessa?”

I don’t know why I call. I got a gut feeling she’s not here. My feet are lightning as I move to the front door.

“Kenny’s gone too. So is my truck.”

Wyatt curses. “I’ve got to brief my team. Get a few cars on the road. They’re over forty-five minutes out.”

My stomach sinks. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Dad sends me a text that he’s got Jackson, as planned, and I call Noah to pick me up asap.

Feeling like I might come out of my skin until my brother gets here, I search for clues.

I curse when I find Tessa’s phone on the counter. Swiping it open, I scan the call log. One from an unknown number but didn’t last more than a few seconds.

Another call to the school that didn’t last long either.

Then I look at her texts.

Scrolling past the exchange between her and Chase, I click on the unknown number.

The fuck is this?

“Shit.”

I ring Dad the second I get in Noah’s car to find out if anything was off at dismissal today. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. "Except Ms. Miller said Jackson's nanny came by today to confirm he's in school. Everything alright?"

I curse again. "Tessa's missing. I'll call you back." I hang up as he calls my name. I don't have the stomach to go through details.

“Did you know about her wedding band?” I finally ask my brother.

Noah nods. “Yeah. I wasn’t sure Tessa would like the idea of it. Thought I’d save you from having to lie to her.”

“Getting sick and tired of people keeping things from me,” I mutter.

He stays quiet on the longest drive across town. And I know what he’s thinking.

If Eddie got to her, chances are he’s not going to miss this time.

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