Page 60 of I'm Not in Love (I Promise)

Leon checks his phone. “Girls just got to the apartment.” He smirks and adds, “And apparently they bought out the liquor store.”

“Lemme see,” I say, grabbing his phone. There they are, getting out of the car with bags on their shoulders and bottles of wine clutched in each hand. “Should be an interesting weekend.”

Leon chuckles. “Interesting is an understatement. I have a feeling Falin brings out a side of Blake we haven’t seen yet.”

He might be right. If so, I can’t wait to see. Every side of my girl is perfect—her shy side, her feisty side, her nerdy side. She’s got me by the balls.

“About Ray? Is he showing up?” I remind him.

“I’ll text him now and tell him to meet us inside.” He types the message out and leans against the house. “I fucking hope he has good news. It didn’t sound like it though.”

I brace myself for the worst, but that doesn’t stop the pit from sinking deeper into my gut.

Jasper finishes his side of the property and finds nothing out of place. We head inside and do the same. There’s a musty smell in the main spaces, like it’s clear the house has been empty for a while. It’s lifeless without Blake’s presence. Where the hell is her brother and his girlfriend?

Ray texts Leon that he’s outside, so we finish up and gather around the kitchen island. Ray looks nothing like the middle-aged, washed-up, off-duty cop that I thought he’d look like. He’s taller than Jasper and built like a linebacker, maybe only in his thirties or early forties. He’s got a heavy New York accent, clear as day from the first words out of his mouth.

“Nice office you got here,” Ray says, looking around the place. “You know why it’s been empty for so long?”

“Blake, the one that they’re targeting, is staying with us. This is her brother’s house. He and his girlfriend are traveling for work.”

Ray nods and scratches the stubble on his chin. “Something don’t seem right about that. Your girl… she say that’s normal behavior for her brother?”

“Yeah, as far as I know,” I answer.

“Well, try to get more outta her. Not like these rich folks to leave and not even hire a gardener or cleaner.” He swipes his index finger along the baseboard and rubs it between his thumb.

“What do you have for us?” Leon asks. Jasper quits fucking around on his phone and locks in.

Ray pulls out his phone and zooms in on a photo of a car. The same one we caught on camera. Only this time, he has a clearshot of the plate number. “Followed this car when I saw them poking around. They took me on quite the scenic journey.” He swipes through a few photos of Blake’s campus, Main Street, and finally the front of our house.

My heart beats out of my chest as Leon holds his hand out to stop him from scrolling. “When was this?”

“Yesterday,” he says. “That’s your place, ain’t it?”

“Fuck!” I kick the cabinet under the island. “We need to get back.”

“Wait, there’s one more thing. You know this girl?” Ray swipes to the next photo and it’s an image of a woman, long, straight brown hair, dressed in scrubs. I narrow my eyes, and it hits me. “Shit. Yeah, she’s friends with Blake. Her name’s Julie.”

“Well, I’d check in on her. She had a few followers yesterday, nothing nefarious looking but I don’t trust ‘em.”

I lock eyes with Jasper and he nods. “Ray, we’re going to need all the addresses from yesterday and anything you can get on that plate number.”

“Sorry man, I checked and the plate’s a dead end. One of them fakes that are popular in the racing community.”

My jaw is clenched so tightly it’s beginning to throb. “We gotta go back to that club. I know it’s been a ghost town but we should see if the car matches anything around there.”

“I can do that,” Leon says. “Why don’t you and Jasper go check on the friend?”

“What about Blake and Falin?” Jasper asks. “I don’t feel right leaving them unprotected.”

“They can come with us,” I say. “I’ll text her now.”

“Anything else you need from me today?” Ray asks. “I got a hot date in a few hours, and I need to get myself ready. Jerk off a few times so I last.”

I spy a wedding band on his left finger. Poor lady doesn’t even know what she’s in for… or maybe she does. She did marry the guy. “Taking the wife out?”

He catches me eyeing his ring and chuckles. “Nah, she’s at home with the kids. This one’s young and hot. Just turned twenty-one.” He rubs his hands together and smirks. “If you need me tonight, you don’t. If you catch my drift.”

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