Page 82 of Into the Shadows

“I didn’t do anything.” I chuckle.

“You helped me find the ring that fits her personality, not just one I think she might like.”

I shrug. “Glad you found it.”

He waves down the attendant who’s been subtly watching us the whole time. I pretend to keep searching while my target provides sizing and checks out. I’m glad this case endedhappily. Not all of them will be as simple as that, but I’m grateful my first one was pretty open-and-shut.

I turn to leave when a ring catches my attention. It looks vintage, with a thin gold band and a skinny oval diamond set in the center. Around the middle diamond is a cluster of smaller diamonds that make the center one stand out. It’s exactly what I’d imagine Lottie would love. This is crazy. I can’t just buy an engagement ring because it reminds me of my girlfriend.

It’s not like I’d have to give it to her immediately.

I could always hold on to it until after we have the marriage discussion. What the fuck am I even thinking? I don’t even know her ring size.

Before I know it, I’m leaving the jewelry store with a brown paper shopping bag in my hand and a much lighter wallet.

“I sent over the report.Let me know if I messed anything up,” I tell Jackson over the phone. I slip the file I’d printed into a filing cabinet in my living room. It’s not a long-term spot to house my cases, but I’m making do until Lottie’s uncle Levi comes to do a walk-through and talk about renovating the house.

“Of course. How did your first case feel?”

“Pretty good, actually. It was way too cut-and-dried to be an accurate representation of the job, but I enjoyed it.”

“Yeah, I tried to set you up with an easy one. I’m glad this one worked out well. We’ll send you one at a time until you’ve got your feet under you. Depending on demand, we might have to give you multiple at a time.”

“That’s fine.”

“Make sure you keep me updated on yourcapacity. I also want to know when to schedule breaks. I don’t expect you to work around the clock, but sometimes my guys don’t pay attention to workloads, so we expect you to communicate with us.”

“Understood. Hey, do you guys ever do missing person cases?”

Jackson pauses. “We’ve had people inquire about them, but it’s always felt like a big ask for our teams.”

“I get that. Lottie’s podcast just made me realize that people involved in cold cases might want someone’s help outside of the police.”

“Let me strategize a bit more on that. Now that the company has grown, it might be something we could add to our services. Thanks for bringing it up.”

“No problem. We’ll talk soon.” I hang up the phone and check for an update on Lottie. Watching her leave today was the hardest thing I’ve done. I’m going to have to get used to it, though. This won’t be the last case she investigates. She’s very good at her job, and I have no desire to hold her back from doing what she loves.

If Jackson decides to add missing person cases to our services, Lottie and I could team up on some of them. I can’t decide if that would be a dream or if Lottie would make me pull my hair out. At the very least, I could keep an eye on her, which would make the hair-pulling worth it.

I don’t have any notifications from Lottie, but I haven’t texted since before I met with my target. I send her a text to check in. I hoped she’d be on her way home by now, but maybe Candace really needed someone to talk to.

When she doesn’t respond after ten minutes, I send one more. I’m not going to lose my mind for no reason. Lottie is fine. I’m sure she’s just distracted.

After another thirty minutes goes by without an answer,my worry begins to flare. I give her a call, uncaring that it makes me seem like an obsessive asshole.

It rings through to her voicemail, and I curse.

Something isn’t right.

I open the app Lottie downloaded to my phone this morning. She thought it would help ease my anxiety when she was out of my sight. I hadn’t looked at it until now. She’d been responding to all of my messages.

Her little blue dot is at a standstill. I zoom in to get an address, only to find she’s on the outskirts of Greensboro now. That is not where she’s supposed to be.

Okay, I can’t go in there half-cocked. I need help.

I press on the contact of the only man I know who loves Lottie as much as I do.

“Cooper, where are you?”

---