“Did you offer her help or…never mind, of course you did. What do you need from me?”
“Get V to work his magic and track her phone. She’s at a pawn shop right now but I don’t know where she’s going next.”
V was short for Vadim, a man they’d both served with during their time in the Marines. Oddly enough, not at the same time. Though Wyatt and Iris had both been in the Marines at the same time—though she’d been in longer than him—they’d never done any missions together or been stationed anywhere together that he knew of. Somehow they both knew Vadim and when Wyatt had invited his old friend over for dinner two months ago—in an attempt to hire him—it had been a surprise to V, Iris and Wyatt that they were all acquainted. Thankfully his old friend had taken the job because the man was a genius when it came to computers. Now Wyatt desperately needed that expertise to help someone they all considered family.
And he still needed to get in touch with Jay. But he wasn’t leaving Brannon to follow Ellie on his own.
Chapter 3
I’m ready to move on. Please don’t search for me. Please just let me go.
Jay tried to wrap his mind around the insane letter from Ellie he’d just finished reading. It went on to say that she’d had fun with him but was done with their relationship and her time in Vegas and she’d get the rest of her stuff later. What. The. Hell.
Slamming it down onto his kitchen table, he forced himself to take a deep breath and tried to think rationally. Whatever had brought on this note, it wasn’t because she didn’t love him. He knew Ellie. She might have kept a part of herself separate from him and the rest of the world, but he knew her better than anyone.
And there was no way in hell he’d let her go.
He pulled his cell from his pants pocket and cursed when he realized he hadn’t turned the ringer back on. He’d had a space of time in between interviewees and needed to run home before he met Ellie for lunch. With half a dozen missed calls from Wyatt, a lead ball congealed in his stomach. If she was truly done with her time in Vegas… He hadn’t even been thinking about her job. As Jay raced up the stairs, he dialed his boss.
“Where are you?” Wyatt asked, his tone tense.
“Home.” He paused as he took in the bedroom he shared with Ellie. Her soft touches were everywhere, from the four poster bed with the gauzy canopy draped over it that she’d declared wasn’t too girly because of its simplistic style. Whatever that meant. It was frilly and if any of his buddies from the Teams could see what he slept in they’d give him so much grief—and he didn’t care because it made Ellie happy. He’d made love to her there too many times to count. The thought of crawling into it without her made him feel hollow inside.
“Ellie quit. You know anything about that?” His boss spoke cautiously, as if he didn’t want to anger a rabid bear.
Which is what Jay felt like at the moment. His throat tightened as Wyatt’s words registered. As the reality of what was actually happening settled into his bones, slicing at him with no reprieve. “She left a note. Ending things. I just found it.” He barely rasped the words out as he went straight for their closet. Most of her stuff was there, but one of her bags was gone and he could tell certain clothes and shoes were missing.
“What the hell’s going on?”
“I don’t know.” But he had to find her. Now. “Things have been great between us. This morning we…” He trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence. He’d planned to propose to her tonight, and she’d taken off. Deep down he wondered if maybe she’d somehow found out and that was why she’d left. Racing back downstairs, he said, “We’ve gotta find her. Ask V to—”
“Already on it. He’s tracking her phone as we speak. Brannon and I followed her to a pawn shop. I went in after she left and Brannon is tailing her now. She sold some nice jewelry, Jay. Including earrings I know were a gift from her grandmother.”
Hearing that was like a punch straight to the face, swift and sharp. Ellie would never sell those diamonds. Not unless something was seriously wrong. Heart pounding fast as he headed to the garage, he found his voice. “We’ve got to find her. Whatever’s going on is bad. She wouldn’t just leave like this unless she was scared.” And Jay was going to figure out what the hell had scared the woman he loved enough to bolt like this. Because this had come out of nowhere. If something had been bothering her, he’d have known, so whatever this was about, something had very recently scared her.
“I know. I bought the earrings back.”
Relief slid through him even though that was the least of his worries. “What’s your location?”
After Wyatt rattled off a familiar street that would take Jay a solid twenty minutes to get to if he took a shortcut, he said, “Brannon’s calling. I’ll call or text with our next stop.”
“Don’t lose her,” Jay ordered, not caring that Wyatt was his boss.
“We won’t.”
As they disconnected, Jay slid into his truck and gunned the engine. He called Ellie twice, but each time it went straight to voicemail. Not exactly a surprise considering that note and the fact that she’d quit her job. Emotions battled inside him. He was scared for Ellie, but he couldn’t shove back the anger that she’d just up and left like this. Before he’d made it to the end of his street his phone pinged with an incoming text. He read the message from Wyatt and froze.
Ellie had just parked at one of the sleaziest strip clubs in Vegas. And had gone inside using one of the side doors. Alone. Of her own free will. Fighting panic and a big dose of anger that she hadn’t trusted him with whatever the hell was going on, Jay took a sharp left and broke too many traffic laws to
think about as he made his way to a shady part of town Ellie had no business being in. He was going to get his damn answers and help her whether she wanted it or not.
* * * * *
This was the last place on earth Ellie wanted to be, but the owner of Teaser’s, a low rent strip club in a seedy part of town, might lend her the money she needed. She’d realized she couldn’t sell her car and would need a bigger chunk of cash since her jewelry hadn’t sold for as much as she’d thought either. Considering it was practically rolling off her in waves, the owner of the pawn shop had likely sensed her desperation. It sliced deep that she’d had to sell her grandmother’s earrings, but if she could get Kevin out of her life forever, it was a price she was willing to pay.
She couldn’t even think about what Jay’s reaction would be when he found her note—or if Wyatt got to him first. Because she wasn’t stupid enough to think Wyatt wouldn’t tell Jay. Tears burned her eyes at the thought of Jay’s pain, but she brushed them away and ruthlessly shoved down her guilt and agony.
Instead of using the main entrance, she headed around the side of the building toward the back. She’d been here years ago with Kevin when he’d done a couple shady deals and had used the club as a distraction/cover for said deals. She still couldn’t believe what an idiot seventeen year old she’d been and how she’d ever thought he was anything special. Now she realized how lucky she’d been to come out of that relationship unscathed.
It had been a dark time in her life, especially after her sister’s death, but it still disgusted her that she’d ever thought Kevin was boyfriend material. He was barely human being material.
She glanced up at the video camera in the upper hand corner above the door. Kevin had confided to her that the thing was fake and it still looked as if it was the same one. Which was probably why there was a peephole in the door. Bracing herself for the no doubt uncomfortable conversation she was about to face, she rapped her knuckles against the door.