“Hey, Clare. Sorry I wasn’t home. What x bf? A few seconds passed. Clare must have her phone in hand.
“The tall, muscular, sexy one. Ur favorite.”
“Who? Where r u?”
Millie had a funny feeling in her gut. What the hell was this about? But now Wyatt and his deputies took precedence over the texts. Why are they here and looking…upset?
She stood up and looked at Wyatt as he got out of his truck. He appeared determined as he approached in quick strides toward her and then she saw Marco and Deputy Kenny Jones get out of the cruiser.
“Who’s on the phone?” Wyatt asked and his tone frightened her.
“What’s wrong?” she replied.
“You’re not talking to anyone on there, are you?” Marco asked with just as intense of a tone as Wyatt. All three men looked angry.
“No. I was just checking voice mail and text messages. I was texting my friend Clare back. She just texted me.”
“Millie, give me the phone,” Wyatt commanded as he reached out for it and climbed the porch steps. Marco and Kenny were following close behind him. Millie stepped back and held the phone away from them.
“No. What the hell is going on?” she demanded to know as she looked up at all three men. They were each very big and filled with muscles. She knew she shouldn’t challenge their authority, but she wanted an explanation for their abrupt behavior.
“Give it to him now,” Marco demanded She jumped and then immediately handed her phone over to Wyatt without a word, shocking herself. Wyatt glanced down at the phone and scro
lled over the messages.
“Shit! She didn’t say where she was so it should be okay,” Wyatt told the other deputies, but he still hadn’t made Millie aware of the situation. Millie felt her gut clench with fear. Something was wrong.
“Please, tell me what’s going on?” Millie asked.
“Millie, honey, I heard from Detective Flynn.”
She glanced at Marco and Kenny.
“Wyatt, maybe we can discuss this in private.”
She didn’t want them to know what was going on.
Wyatt continued. “They know what’s going on. Marco and Kenny, as well as the other deputies, know what the situation is. I told you that we protect the people we care about.”
She felt the tears reach her eyes.
“You’re scaring me,” she whispered then felt someone touch her hand. She flinched a moment then looked to the side to see that it was Marco. He squeezed her hand and she looked up until she locked gazes with his eyes. They were dark blue and appeared beyond concerned. Marco was stocky and a bit over six feet tall. She felt his presence entirely. She looked back toward Wyatt as he spoke and simultaneously her cell phone chimed, indicating another text message.
“Honey, Detective Flynn called from New York. Your friend, Clare, has gone missing.”
“No, that can’t be. I was just texting…”
Millie realized as the words left her lips what exactly was happening here. Clare texted me last night. She was at my apartment with the award. Detective Flynn called Wyatt. Clare is missing.
She covered her mouth with her free hand and gasped. She was shocked and then she reached for the phone.
Wyatt pulled it away.
“That could be her. I was just talking with her through texting.”
He shook his head.
“She was reported missing yesterday.”