No wonder I was scared of letting him get too close.
Wilder Shaw might be the one person who could really hurt me.
I followed him to the house, keeping a professional distance. The front door opened before we could knock, revealing a pretty blonde girl who was about my height. She had round cheeks and a full figure, and radiated the kind of sweetness that couldn’t be faked. One look at her and you wanted to befriend her.
“Genie?” Her cheeks were faintly blotchy, and tears shimmered in her big blue eyes.
I wanted to hug her, and we’d never met.
“Yes. I’m Genie. This is my…” I glanced at Wilder. Well, that was a discussion for a different time and a lot less clothing. “This is Wilder Shaw.”
Wilder smiled at her, keeping his charm reined way back upon seeing how upset she was.
“Thank you so much for coming.” She stuffed a Kleenex in a pocket on her dress and extended her hand to me, which I shook. “I know this must seem so strange to you, but…I just…” Her lower lip trembled, and one tear escaped her eye, rolling down her cheek. “I didn’t know who else to ask.”
She opened the door, letting us into the foyer. I could tell by the way she was eyeing Wilder that having a man in the house made her uneasy, but it was clear she had bigger fish to fry at the moment.
“Cash didn’t tell us much about your situation…” My sentence dropped off when it dawned on me I had no idea what her name was. She seemed to realize with a start she had forgotten to introduce herself.
“I’m Tansy Murphy. I’m the chapter president.”
That sort of made her alpha of the house. I had been courted by a sorority during my time at Tulane. It hadn’t stuck, but I still remembered some of the hierarchy details.
I noticed for the first time how eerily quiet the house was. It was a big place, with probably enough bedrooms to house at least ten or twelve sisters, minimum. So why was it so silent? It seemed like the only people breathing were the three of us in the foyer.
Four of us.
Cash appeared from a nearby room and leaned in the wide doorway, keeping his distance from us while also standing close enough to Tansy to be a peripheral comfort to her.
Though it had been several months since I’d last seen him, Cash hadn’t changed much. He was tall, with earthy brown skin and a trimmed black goatee. His hair was still cut short, and the only thing missing was his big, toothy grin. Guess this wasn’t the most ideal scenario to see it in. He watched me carefully, his gaze only briefly cutting to Wilder before coming back to me. Tansy seemed oblivious to the tension in the air.
“Genie.”
“Hey, Cash.”
“Tans, babe, maybe we should show them the room?”
She nodded, but I raised my hand to symbolize a pause in the proceedings. “Could I get like a CliffsNotes version of what’s going on? It’s been a pretty busy morning so far, and honestly I have no idea why I’m here.”
Tansy shot Cash an exasperated glare, but when she looked back to me, it was all apologetic sweetness. “I’m so sorry. I thought you knew.”
I shook my head. “Cash mentioned something to Wilder about a missing girl.”
“Three,” Tansy corrected.
“Pardon?”
“Three missing girls.”
Okay, now that was definitely noteworthy. “Three girls in how much time?”
“A w-week.” Tansy wandered out of the foyer and into the room Cash had come from. Wilder and I followed them into a large sitting room with several couches and armchairs.
To avoid any awkwardness I sat in one of the chairs. Wilder, being Wilder, stood right behind me rather than parking himself on a couch. I suppressed a sigh and leaned forward in the chair, closer to where Tansy was sitting. Cash was next to her, holding her hand.
They seemed pretty cozy. How soon after our breakup had they met? Or had Cash, a fraternity brother, known Tansy beforehand?
Red flag.