“Heard you went MIA.” Gabe met Luke’s pace.
“I need a favor.”
“What kind of favor?”
Luke picked up the speed, making sure they weren’t being followed. “The kind that could get me killed if anyone finds out.”
Gabe laughed. Luke did not.
“Shit. You’re serious?”
“I need you to go to Texas for me.”
“Luke, you’re not making any sense—” Gabe rested a hand on Luke’s shoulder.
“Keep jogging. If we stop, someone could hear us.”
“What are you talking about?”
He sounded crazy. That couldn’t be helped. Gabe was his only choice. The only person he could trust.
“Jess is alive.”
“Luke, buddy … what’s going on with you? She died. We were all at the funeral.”
“I saw her in Houston.”
“Sometimes we see people or things we want to see. You, better than anyone, know how the mind works.”
“It was her. Blond hair. Too thin. But it was her. She saw me too, for all of ten seconds before I was hauled off, injected with a sedative, and interrogated by some psycho.”
“What the fuck?”
“It’s a long story, and I don’t know half of it, but she’s alive, Gabe. These people, they’re watching me and they’ve threatened to kill me and my family if I try to find her or tell anyone. But for Christ’s sake … I saw her. I can’t pretend she’s dead.”
“So you want me to go to Texas to find her?”
“I need you to get a flight to someplace within driving distance. I don’t want you to fly directly to Houston. It would be a red flag. The hotel I stayed at in Houston … you need to do whatever it takes to see security footage of when I saw Jessica. You’ll see me in a line at the concierge’s desk around seven-thirty in the morning. Jessica was the second person in front of me. Blond hair in a bun. Make them retrace the footage to see what room she was in. Find out what name was on the room and any other contact information.”
“What if they won’t show me?”
“They will. Everyone has a price. Figure out what it is and I’ll pay it.” Luke stopped, his breath too labored to say much more. Hunched over, he rested his hands on his knees. “You can’t say a word to anyone, not even Kelly. Just make up some business trip excuse.”
“What if they don’t have footage of her coming out of her room?”
Luke shook his head, not wanting to think about that real possibility. “I don’t know, but it’s all I have right now.”
*
Two days and two burner phones later, Luke went back to work while Gabe flew to Dallas then made the two-and-a-half hour drive to Houston. Dr. Jones had a full schedule and not a brain cell left to devote to his patients. Only Jessica.
Finding her without anyone dying in the process required Dr. Jones to get back to work, giving the appearance of resuming his normal life. Jones got his usual walk with Luke around Fort Funston, and Lake came over for dinner.
“I talked to Charlie today. She said you ended it. What the hell, Luke?”
He set two bowls of lobster bisque on the table and sat down across from her, draping his napkin over his right leg. “I shouldn’t have stood her up in Houston.”
“No, you shouldn’t have dumped her in the lobby. Please tell me this isn’t about Jessica.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Complicated? How can it be complicated? I get it. Jessica was the love of your life and what happened was tragic, but it’s time to let go.”
“How’s your love life?”
With an eye roll, Lake smirked. “Nice diversion. It’s not the same thing. You lost your fiancée, I lost my boyfriend and my leg. I have yet to find a guy that thinks my bionic leg is sexy. I’ll probably die a virgin.”
Luke narrowed his eyes. “Mom caught you having sex in one of the guest rooms.”
“You know what I mean. It’s just an expression.”
“It’s really not.” He sipped a spoonful of soup.
“Why can’t you let her go yet?” Lake tapped her spoon on the edge of her bowl. Tap. Tap. Tap. Waiting for Luke’s answer.
“I guess I still can’t believe she’s gone. There’s a certain amount of closure that comes from seeing the body. We never got to see her body.”
“I know what you mean. When I came out of my coma to the news of both Ben and Jessica’s deaths, I couldn’t wrap my head around it. It’s like you spend the rest of your life waiting for that last goodbye.”
Luke never said goodbye. He didn’t want to say goodbye, and he didn’t care that God gave him 86,400 seconds in a day—he didn’t want to say thank you for taking her away.
Jessica. Period.
Luke wanted his life back.
“What happened with Charlie in Houston was terrible on my part. I like her … a lot.”