Page 28 of Forged in Secrets

She had a tendency to get lost in conversations, and whenever she couldn’t pace while talking, her hands had a way of busying themselves. The front desk at Forge Brothers Security was covered with open notebooks and sticky notes, all of them covered in nonsensical doodles she’d taken while on the phone with colleagues or clients.

“Well, I think I’m about ready to call it,” Ben said, looking down at his chunky, manly-looking watch.

They’d finished their chocolate ice cream at least a half an hour ago, and still there was no sign of Jade.

Grace knew she should be concerned about the young woman’s whereabouts, considering the reason they were on South Padre Island in the first place, but she couldn’t help but to feel disappointed that the night was coming to a close.

Though she knew it wasn’t a date, coworkers didn’t usually hold hands. Neither did friends.

Warmth spread straight through to her fingertips as she remembered. Time had slowed down as they’d walked upthe beach, the loud music of the spring break party fading away until all she noticed was the shushing of the sea and the beating of her own heart.

She hated that he’d let go. And she hated that she was too scared to reach out for him again.

“Let’s try her phone one more time,” Grace said. “Just in case.” Ben did as she suggested, letting the phone roll to voicemail once, and then a second time for good measure.

He shook his head, defeated.

“Want me to talk to Detective Hayles?” Grace offered.

“I know we probably should,” Ben said, letting out a sigh. “I’ll put him on speaker phone, I guess.”

The front desk clerk at the North Pier police station picked up in two rings and transferred them to the detective. The older man was quiet as they took turns running over the events of the day, and Grace wasn’t sure if he was listening and taking notes or playing Solitaire on his computer in the background.

“Anyway, we’ve been waiting for well over an hour now, and Jade never showed up. We tried calling her cell phone repeatedly, and even had the front desk at the Mistflower go up and knock on her door. Nothing.” Ben finished.

By the several seconds the detective took to react to the words, Grace guessed that the game of Solitaire was more likely.

“Well, I’ll make sure to file a report,” Hayles said at last. “But just like Ms. Fairhope, I’m sure Jade will turn up sooner rather than–”

“It’s Fairman,” Grace snapped.

“–Ms. Fairman,” the detective amended quickly. “The girls came here to enjoy spring break. Hooking up with boys, dancing in bikinis on the beach, drinking beer. That’sprobably what they’re both doing right now. I would think you young people would understand that better than I do.”

Grace cringed as the man spoke, but he wasn’t entirely wrong. Her parents had never permitted her to go on vacation for spring break, precisely to avoid everything he’d just described, and she couldn’t imagine Ben voluntarily going even if the Forges would have allowed it.

They’d had plenty of time to observe the behavior of the college kids since arriving on the Island, and she hated to think that both Katie and Jade had probably come here to do the same.

But that didn’t mean that they weren’t in trouble.

“Thanks for your help, Detective,” she heard Ben say calmly. “I guess we’ll see where we’re at in the morning.”

Grace worked up the nerve to give his bicep an approving squeeze. Ben didn’t usually suffer fools lightly, but he was wise not to argue with the man. He was a lost cause, and if they pushed too hard, he may not be willing to help them when they truly needed assistance.

“Just give Jade time to sleep off the hangover before you worry me,” Hayles quipped. “Good night.”

Ben looked down at the phone, his brows furrowed. The man hung up before he could say another word.

“So,” he said, stretching out his arms over his head and letting out a loud yawn. “I guess we’re on our own.”

Grace forced herself to focus on his words rather than his impressive muscles.

She nodded. “First, sleep. Tomorrow, we find out what on earth is going on on this island.”

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

CRAIG

---