Page 21 of One More Betrayal

Troy

June, Present Day

Maple Ridge

* * *

Daybreak hasn’t even arrived when I push myself upright in bed with my good arm.

My injured shoulder curses me. The painkiller I took four hours ago has long since stopped working.

I have no idea why I even bothered going to bed. It’s not as if I slept much. Between my aching shoulder, getting comfortable in a position I don’t normally sleep in, and Jess going missing, I barely got in more than two hours of sleep.

I grab my phone from my nightstand and check it. There are no texts or missed calls from Jess. No texts from Zara or Simone or Emily to tell me they know where she is. No messages from my brothers.

No missed calls from the police department—which may be a good thing, considering Jess has my truck. It means they haven’t found it crashed somewhere.

But as much of a relief as that might be, it means I need to file a missing persons report. It isn’t like Jess to disappear.

Except…I’ve only known her three months. What do I really know about her? Maybe her disappearing is exactly what she’s like.

Kellan’s words from last night replay in my mind: “Someone might be looking for Jess because of who she is. Or it’s possible someone found out who she is and threatened to expose her.”

What the hell was he talking about?

He knows something she hasn’t shared with me. He’s being loyal to her, which says a lot. He’s more concerned about protecting her than he is about what the secret could mean for me or our friends or our family.

I have to trust him. And I do.

But that still doesn’t solve anything. What am I supposed to tell the cops? She’s missing, and so is my truck.

I go downstairs and feed Butterscotch, make some extra-strong coffee, and pace in my living room. I think back to all the conversations Jess and I have had over the past few months. Hints of where she could be.

I think about the people she knows outside of Maple Ridge, but other than her grandmother who died more than five years ago and a niece, Jess has never mentioned anyone else, including a sibling. Whenever I try talking to her about her life before Maple Ridge, she quickly changes the topic.

I check the time on my phone. Someone at the vet clinic might have an idea where she went. But it’s Sunday, which means it’s closed—except for emergencies and to pick up animals who can go home after staying overnight.

It’s also too early to drag any of my brothers out of bed and ask them to drive me to the clinic. Or in Garrett’s case, to drag him away from his latest manuscript. I turn on the local news, then call the Maple Ridge Police Department’s non-urgent phone number and tell the man who answers about the situation.

“Do you want to file a stolen vehicle report for your truck, sir?”

“Unless someone has abducted my girlfriend and is using my truck as the getaway vehicle, my truck isn’t stolen. I loaned it to her.” I don’t need a cop pulling Jess over after locating her and scaring her to death because they think she stole my truck.

He asks me all the necessary questions, like: When did I last see Jess? What was she wearing? What is the make of my truck and the license plate number?

Once the report is filled out, I’m asked to email a recent photo of Jess. I don’t exactly have many because she’s more comfortable being behind the lens than in front of it. I send the only photo I have of her on my phone, but she’s not even looking at the camera in it.

Then all I can do is wait. Wait for the police to call me if they find anything out. Wait until I can call Garrett to help me search for her.

I spend the next two hours pacing while listening to the news. Nothing is mentioned that sounds like it has something to do with Jess. I call Garrett. “Hey, I need a lift to the vet clinic.”

“Is this for Butterscotch, or did you want to check on Bailey?”

“The second option,” I reply, “and to see if anyone there knows anything about Jess’s disappearance.”

“You do realize it’s Sunday? No one’s going to be working there other than one veterinarian nurse.”

“And maybe she talked to Jess yesterday and has all the answers I need.”

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