Page 60 of Fate's Unseen Shadow

Kissing the back of Ella’s hand, Damon murmured, “Come on,” and started to walk down River Street. He scanned the area, searching for anything that might be related to the case, but his effort was shit with her beside him and Xavier’s “pep talk” still rolling in his mind.

“Is there anything you miss from your old life? Aside from your work?” he asked, even though he was worried about her answer. Because if she missed something he couldn’t give her, she’d leave.

“Travel. I used to take so many trips. I realized how hard I worked when I watched my father work himself into a heart attack. In the last year, I changed my schedule. I gave myself Mondays to get my life in order. And every few months, I try to sneak away alone and go somewhere for a few days. I might read, sightsee, or sleep, depending on what I need. I used to think it was leaving work behind and resting. But being here makes me realize that I really just enjoyed seeing new places. Today is nice.” She laid her head on his shoulder. “Can we go somewhere when this is over?”

“Yes,” he said so quickly, she picked her head up to look at him. He tried to cover it up with a small smile. “We’ll go anywhere you want.”

She grinned, moving in front of him and walking backward. She pushed her sunglasses up on her head, her blue eyes squinting in the warm sun. “You’ll like my private jet.”

“Will I?”

“Yes. I’ve never taken anyone on it with me aside from Teddy and my father.” She leaned forward. “It has a bed,” she said, her voice dropping into a flirty whisper.

He chuckled. “I’m assuming you want to use this bed.”

“Yup.” She stopped walking, but he continued, wrapping her up in a hug. “I want the pilot to wonder if he hit turbulence.”

“I’ll do my best.” He looked past her, the reason he was in Savannah coming back in the next second. “There’s some construction up ahead past the market.”

Ella looked over her shoulder before stepping back to his side. “Does that mean something for today?”

“Maybe. This means there are a lot of hazards. Or if there was foul play, that’s an easy place to dump the body.”

She tightened her hand in his. “Do you think he’s dead?”

“I hope not. I never assume someone is dead. He’s a nineteen-year-old kid who got drunk. A million things could’ve happened to him. And he wouldn’t be the first drunk kid to do something stupid that got him hurt or, yes, killed.”

“How long do you think this will take?”

“For us? Only until the police start the search. We’ll back off. I hate it he’s missing, but we need to focus on kids. That’s why we started. I agreed to today because of Ryker. I knew if we could get access to the security cameras that we could give the police a shove in the right direction.” Damon turned to face her. “We need to head back and see if he found him in the videos. If we at least get his last known location, then maybe we can find a freaking clue as to where to start the search.”

“Okay.” She tipped her face up, and he brushed back her hair.

“I’m glad you came with me.” He dipped down, drawing her into a soft kiss that stayed on that narrow edge of pushing for more. But he ended it, needing to go back to the others.

“I’m glad I came, too.”

As they drew closer to the bar, Xavier strode out, Slater behind him.

“What is it?” Damon asked, sensing something was off.

“Got a pic of the kid. You were right. Stumbled out the back door. The security camera of the bar two doors down caught it.” Xavier looked at Ella and then Slater. “And right into what looked like a drug deal.”

Slater’s face remained devoid of emotion. Not a good sign. “Caught the entire thing on camera. PD are on their way. Ryker is staying here to meet them and show them what we got.”

Damon dropped his arm from Ella. “Where are the two of you headed?”

“To check the dumpster on the next street over,” Xavier answered, as he and Slater had already begun to walk away.

“Dammit,” Damon muttered. He handed Ella the key to his car. “Drive home.”

“What?” She held up her hands. “No. I can wait with Ryker. I’ll stay out of the way.”

“Ryker is meeting the police.” At her stubbornness, he repeated it. “Thepolice, Ella.”

It seemed to dawn on her. “Oh. Got it. But?—”

“Drive home. Go the speed limit.” He walked with Ella to his car, waiting until she climbed inside. When she was safely on the road, he turned and jogged, catching up to Xavier and Slater at the end of the block. “What did the video show?”

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