Gone (Deadly Secrets #2)(71)

They were the words she’d longed to hear for three years, and she wanted that second chance for them too, more than she could ever express. But not if it meant she might one day lose him for good.





CHAPTER FIFTEEN


“This is a stupid idea.” Raegan’s jaw tightened as she sat in the cab of Alec’s truck, her arms crossed over her chest and a frown pulling at her lips. “You don’t need this stress on top of everything else. The cops can talk to her just as easily as you. You should be home resting, and you definitely shouldn’t be driving.”

Alec tried not to be irritated by her lack of support and looked back out the windshield as he drove. They’d already been through this a dozen times. “My arm feels fine. You heard the doctor. As long as I’m not taking pain pills I’m free to go back to my normal routine.”

She huffed and looked out at the passing scenery. “This isn’t your normal routine, and I don’t care what that doctor said. You should still be in bed.”

“I would be”—he shot her a smile, hoping to lighten her mood—“but someone wouldn’t stay there with me.”

Instead of looking at him like he wanted her to do, she scowled and continued to stare out the window.

Sighing, he refocused on the road and told himself not to read anything into her mood. He was having a hard time doing that, though. She’d been acting strange ever since he’d been discharged from the hospital. Two days had passed in which he’d spent most of his time in her apartment being waited on by her. She’d climbed into bed with him at night and wrapped her arms around him, but during the day she’d pretty much left him alone while she’d cleaned the apartment, done laundry, or worked on her laptop. She hadn’t once talked about those missing kids, hadn’t even mentioned Emma. And every time he brought up contacting Bickam at the FBI to find out if they’d learned anything about that stuffed animal, she’d told him someone would call when there was information to pass on and that they should be patient.

It wasn’t like Raegan Devereaux to be patient. He liked her impatience. Liked that she knew what she wanted and went after it, even if sometimes he didn’t agree. But on this he did agree. Ever since he’d seen that stuffed animal, he wanted to expand their search and find their daughter. Only now Raegan was the one dragging her feet.

He knew what had happened to him had scared her, but instinct told him this was more than that. Something was bugging her. Something she wasn’t talking to him about.

He made a left onto a gravel road dotted with potholes. The truck jolted, sending a sharp stab of pain up his arm. He winced but covered it quickly so she couldn’t see. “So you never told me what happened at KTVP the other day. Everything go okay?”

When she didn’t answer, he looked across the cab. “Raegan?”

“Everything’s fine.”

“Fine.” There it was again. His favorite word. There was definitely something going on with her.

Lifting his foot from the gas pedal, he pulled the truck to the side of the gravel road and killed the ignition.

“What are you doing?” Her brows snapped together. “Is something wrong with the truck?”

The lift in her voice at that possibility was just a little too hopeful, kicking his suspicions up even more. “Nothing’s wrong with the truck.” He twisted in his seat toward her, ignoring the tug in his arm. “But something is wrong with you, so spill.”

Her shoulders dropped, and she focused out the windshield, careful, he noticed, to keep her eyes off his. “I’m fine. Let’s just keep going.”

“Not until we talk. You’ve been acting weird, and I want to know why.”

She pursed her lips but didn’t turn his way.

The blunt approach clearly wasn’t working. He’d have to try flirting. “Those little frown lines between your eyes are going to get stuck there if you’re not careful.” He leaned toward her and reached for her hand. “I could kiss ’em away if you want.”

Her eyes fell closed, and the heartache he saw on her face pushed his suspicion to full-on worry. Drawing her hand to his lips, he kissed each knuckle, one by one. “Come on, baby. Talk to me. We said we wouldn’t keep secrets anymore, remember? Tell me what happened at the station.”

“It’s not the job. I quit the other day. I don’t even care about the station.”

“You quit your job?”

Her eyes fluttered open. “Yes. I didn’t tell you because of . . . everything. Jeremy wanted me to run my story. Not the cases we’ve been looking into but my personal story. About Emma. It was never about those other missing kids. He just steered me toward those articles because he hoped I’d dig until I created a link to Emma’s case. Then he could use her disappearance to get his tearjerker, Emmy-winning story.”

Alec’s impression of the dickhead took a serious header. And that wasn’t saying much because his impression didn’t have far to fall. “You told him where to go, I’m guessing.”

“Of course I did. I’m not about to let him use our daughter as a ratings ploy.”

He thought about that for a moment. “Unless it could help us find her.”

She sighed, and her shoulders dropped. “I know that. And I would have agreed if that were the case, but it wasn’t. He wanted the focus on me, not on Emma.” She glanced out the window. “Anyway, I can find another job. And I have my trust fund in the meantime.”