Page 107 of A First Sight

I had a whole new set of circumstances to consider on the drive. No way in hell would the Leightons go against their son. It would be harder to convince Dale.

I suddenly wished I’d woken Drake and asked him to come with me. But I knew he would’ve stopped me from going, and Dale wouldn’t believe I was going back to him if Drake was there.

I tightened my grip on the bottle of pepper spray in my pocket.

I couldn’t stop now. One last mission. After tonight, Dale will be out of our life. I’ll convince him to turn himself in and everything will be over. Even his mom and dad would see it’s the safest bet for Dale. He can’t escape this one.

SEVENTY-EIGHT

DRAKE

I woke shortly before sunrise,instantly aware that I was alone. The spot next to me where Maggie had slept kept none of her body heat. The bathroom was dark, and I didn’t hear anyone moving around.

She had left.

Ignoring the pain, I reached for my phone. The call to Maggie went straight to voicemail, making me think she turned off her phone.

Fuck.

I pulled up another number and made the call.

“Drake?” Carson sounded more awake than I expected. “Is Maggie okay?”

“She’s not here,” I said.

“What do you mean?” His voice was sharp.

“I’ve searched the entire place. I called her, and it went straight to voicemail.”

After a beat of silence, Carson said, “She went after Dale.”

“Agreed.” I gritted my teeth. “We can’t let her go up against Dale alone.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” he said, “but where do we start?”

“Dale’s house makes the most sense,” I replied. “But would Dale really be stupid enough to go back to his place? I mean, he would know the cops are looking for him. He would want to make himself scarce.”

“He’s a douchebag,” Carson said. “Not the brightest.”

“He can’t do anything alone,” I said. “He would need help.”

“I’ll bet Dale has someone who’ll cover for him.”

I suddenly knew where he was. “His parents. You call the police,” I said.

I had a feeling Carson already knew what I was going to say, but I said it anyway.

“I’m going after Maggie.”

SEVENTY-NINE

MAGGIE

“You shouldn’t be here,”Mrs. Leighton whispered as she opened the door. “You’re going to get Dale into more trouble.”

I wasn’t an idiot. I knew his mom had been covering for him from the moment he was back in the city. He probably called his parents on his way to fill them in on what happened and came straight here.

“I need to talk to your son,” I said and pushed past her.

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