Page 105 of Love Me Dangerous

“When?” The icy tingles of panic vibrate up my spine.

“Shit, an hour ago? Before Neve’s parents…”

I stare at him while this niggling anxiety cascades into very real fears.

“I’ll check with the nurses,” Dad says, and dashes to the desk behind us.

“You think she took off?” Jesse asks, looking confused.

I peek into Neve’s room. Her mom is sitting next to her, holding herhand while her dad is braced against the wall, his face locked in a scowl. No sign of Linn.

Dad spins away from the nurse’s station and shakes his head.

I whip out my phone. It’s almost nine o’clock. Linn doesn’t have a phone, but maybe she went home. I dial the house, my mind racing.

No answer.

Dad pulls out his phone. “I’ll call the school.”

I hang up when our answering machine greeting clicks on. “Where would she go?”

Dad is wrapping up a call with someone, nodding. “If she shows up, will you please call me?” He pauses, his eyes finding mine. “That’s a good idea. Thank you.”

He hangs up, his face tense with worry.

“Does she know about your flight today? That you’re leaving?” Dad asks.

Bold fear flashes in his eyes. “Shit.”

“I thought you already told her!” Dad barks, stepping closer.

Jesse’s mouth hangs open. “I meant to.”

“We talked about it when we first got here,” I say. “And you went to call the airlines, right?” Remembering exactly who was where over the past several hours is impossible—it’s all a blur. Could she have overheard something, put it together?

Jesse sends me a pleading, desperate glance, but I’m already spinning away.

Dad catches up, and we hurry down the stairs. “I told Jesse to check the cafeteria but to stay here in case she comes back.”

I’m out of breath by the time we punch through the exit and race across the spacious entryway to the sliding glass doors.

Dad’s phone is pressed to his ear, and I catch enough of his conversation to know that he’s calling another parent of Linnie’s friends, and he’s getting the same answer. Nobody has seen her.

I scan the parking small parking lot. Below the main entrance and to the right is the E.R. Jesse’s dirt bike is gone, but I didn’t expect to see it. There’s no sign of the bike anywhere else, but my gut instincts are telling me she’s long gone.

If Linnea overheard Jesse talking about leaving, she would have interpreted it only one way.

Another person I love is about to leave me.

Careless, selfish Jesse. Waiting for the right moment, waiting for someone else to do it for him, or… to just slip away and not have to face the little girl who idolizes him.

“When?” Dad barks into the phone as we get to his truck.

I stop in my tracks to read the hard planes of his face for clues, but his eyes are focused on some point in the distance.

“No, thank you, though.” He climbs behind the wheel. I follow his lead and jump into the passenger side.

“Yep,” Dad says, then tosses the phone to the seat and jams the keys into the ignition. “Someone rode past Rumble Creek about a half-hour ago. Sounds like Linnie.”

---