Page 94 of Unlocking Melodies

The world tilted sideways. “What do you mean, you can't-“

“He worked a late shift at The Watering Hole. Helping Nina with the bar.” Liam's voice stayed carefully steady, like he was talking someone off a ledge. Maybe he was. “Security cameras show him leaving around midnight. But he never made it home. Luna's fine - Caleb stayed over to watch her, but Jimmy never came back.”

Each detail hit like shrapnel. I pictured Jimmy closing up, probably humming something under his breath like he always did. Walking through streets he should have been safe on. Streets I should have been there to walk with him.

“Jake's already looking,” Liam continued. “Nina's got half the town searching.”

“Gary,” I said, the name tasting bitter. “Has anyone seen him?”

“That's the thing - he's gone too. Completely vanished. His motel room's cleared out.”

The implications made my chest tight. My reflection in the window looked foreign - still wearing the perfect suit I'd chosen for battle, the armor I'd put on to take down Reuben and Hayes. Now it felt like a costume, something belonging to a version of me that didn't matter anymore.

“I'm coming back,” I said, already moving toward the door. “How fast can you get me security footage from Main Street?”

“Already done. Jake's reviewing it now.” A pause. “Ethan... drive safe, okay? We need you in one piece. He needs you in one piece.”

The call ended but I stayed frozen in my office, mind racing through possibilities - each worse than the last. The city continued its morning dance below, unaware that my world was imploding forty-two stories above it.

I nearly bowled over Mia and my father in my rush to leave. The look on my face must have been something special because even my father's perpetual stoicism cracked.

“Ethan.” My father's voice had lost its boardroom edge. “What's happened?”

The question hit harder than any of his business critiques ever had. Maybe because for once, he sounded like my father instead of Harrison Cole, Corporate Titan.

“Jimmy.” My voice cracked embarrassingly on the name. “He's missing. Never made it home last night.”

Mia's sharp intake of breath matched the stabbing sensation in my chest. She'd been there through everything - had watched me build walls around my heart after Rosewood, had fielded Jimmy's calls in those first months when I was too much of a coward to answer them myself.

“Your car's already waiting,” she said, her professional mask slipping just enough to show real concern. “I've cleared your schedule through next month.”

A surprised laugh escaped me - wet and slightly hysterical but real. Leave it to Mia to call me out on my workaholic tendencies even in crisis.

“Son.” My father's hand landed on my shoulder, warm and steady in a way it hadn't been since I was a kid learning piano scales. “Whatever you need - resources, connections, the corporate jet - it's yours. No questions asked.”

The offer stunned me more than any million-dollar deal ever had. This was my father, the man who made me argue for every business decision, every investment, every deviation from his carefully plotted path. Yet here he was, offering blank-check support because his son's heart was breaking.

“The board-“ I started, but he cut me off.

“Will survive without you. Some things matter more than quarterly projections.” His grip tightened slightly. “You taught me that, remember? When you chose to stay in Oakwood Grove despite every corporate reason not to.”

Something hot and unexpected burned behind my eyes. “Dad, I-“

“Go.” He squeezed my shoulder once before letting go. “Find him. Bring him home. And Ethan?” The ghost of a smile touched his lips. “Try not to break too many traffic laws. I'd hate to have to call in favors with the highway patrol.”

It was such an un-Harrison-Cole thing to say that I actually laughed - a real one this time, even if it was slightly watery.

“I've alerted your security team,” Mia added, already typing on her tablet. “They'll be ready when you need them.”

“Thank you,” I managed, the words feeling inadequate for this strange new reality where my father was offering unlimited support and Mia was basically assembling a tactical response team.

“Don't thank me.” My father straightened my tie - a gesture so paternal it made my chest hurt. “Just bring him back. Preferably before your mother finds out and decides to handle things herself. You know how she gets about people she considers family.”

The casual inclusion of Jimmy in “family” hit like an uppercut to the heart. Eight years ago, I'd walked away thinking I had to choose between my family's expectations and Jimmy'slove. Now here was my father, basically offering the corporate equivalent of a blank check to help find the man I'd left behind.

“Now go,” he said gruffly, something suspiciously like emotion roughening his voice. “And son? Next time, lead with the heart instead of checking the spreadsheets first.”

Coming from him, that was practically a Hallmark card.

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