Page 33 of Protection for Rowan

"Really? You two shared a heavy experience, and then when she met you again, she was willing to open a relationship with you. And now she's just ignoring you? Does that really sound like the woman you know? She isn't a teenager. She's a thirty-year-old woman who is a psychologist. I don't think she would ghost you."

Griz’s words hit hard. Rowan wouldn’t just ignore him.

“No, you’re right. No way would Rowan ghost me. We both were devastated when we didn’t have contact information last time. She would leave me something, a text or a voicemail telling me to go away and never contact her. She wouldn’t just walk without an explanation.”

“I think you should call Thario and see if he can find her. I mean, she could have been in a car wreck, which would be horrible. But what if she’s in the ICU and can’t answer the phone?”

“Fuck, Griz. Now I’m freaking out.”

“Hey, don’t freak out alone. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes. We’ll go see Thario together. Give me time to get dressed.”

“Sure. And Griz, thanks.”

“I’ve got you.”

The call ended, and Shine thought he was going to crawl out of his skin before Griz arrived. Fear about what could have happened hit, and he felt like he was going crazy with worry.

Shine texted Thario, telling him that he was worried about Rowan, but he hadn’t heard back by the time Griz arrived. His buddy came in and gave him a quick hug before glancing around.

“What are you looking for?” Shine asked.

“Making sure your coffee pot was off and you didn’t leave the stove on.”

“Really?”

"Dude, you're obviously worried about Rowan. I'm just looking out for you. Come on, let's go to Thario's. I called him and told him you were worried. He received your text and is gathering information. Come on. Let's go."

Shine wiped his hand down his face and blew out a heavy breath. “You’re right. I am out of my mind with worry. I can’t help thinking something terrible happened.It’s not like her to ignore me. I know we haven’t been reconnected for long, but I feel like she would have left a note if she was flying somewhere or had gone to a place that didn’t have cell reception.”

Griz opened the door, and he followed his buddy to his car. He was glad he had friends like Griz and Thario. Otherwise who knows what would have happened to him.

When they arrived at Thario's place, he tried to act like he wasn't freaking out, but he couldn't push away the fear running over his good senses. He knew better than to panic, but for some weird reason, he was almost in panic mode over Rowan not contacting him. Griz's words about Rowan potentially being in the ICU had him messed up.

Thario didn’t get up from his computer but started talking the second they stepped into his house. “I did some looking, and there is one Jane Doe in the hospital and none in the morgue. The woman in the hospital isn’t Caucasian. So I think it’s safe to say she isn’t Rowan.”

That made him feel better for a moment, but then more worry hit. “Then where is she?”

"Well, her credit cards haven't been used. Let me…" There was quiet for a moment. "Huh."

“What?” Griz leaned in, searching Thario’s computer screen for what he’d seen. Shine did the same thing.

“What did you see?” Shine asked.

“Someone reported her missing. Her receptionist called the police when she didn’t show up for work on Monday. She hasn’t been at work all week.”

“Fuck.” Shine didn’t know what to think.

“Let’s go to her place and check it out.”

Thario clicked a few more screens. “The police went, and they didn’t find anything. No one answered.”

Shine clenched his fists as his stomach went sour. “We have to go over there and find out what is going on.”

Griz pulled out his phone. “I’m going to send a note to the other guys. Maybe they’ll have ideas.”

Thario glanced up at Griz. “Send them here if they want to look into what’s going on. We can have this as our home base.”

Shine clasped onto Thario’s shoulder. “You’re a good man. Thank you.”

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