And he had said no.
She had never felt so humiliated in all her life. She’d been young when she and Josh got together,veryyoung, so she hadn’t dated much, and she had never asked anyone out. The few guys she had dated since her husband died had been nothing serious, more like hanging out with a friend, but she had felt something for Nate, and she’d thought he felt the something for her. To find out he didn't made her feel so stupid, and completely turned her off the whole dating thing. Maybe you only got one real chance at love in a lifetime, and she had already had hers.
Now she couldn’t even look at Nate without feel mortified and stupid—but still oh so attracted to him—so the easier option was just to ignore him and …
The chiming of her doorbell pulled her out of her thoughts.
It was early, who would be here?
Rylla climbed out of bed and threw on an oversized t-shirt over the tank top and panties she slept in. She debated grabbing her gun but decided again it, if it was someone who wanted to hurt her, they wouldn’t ring the doorbell.
The sense of foreboding that often foreshadowed bad news descended on her, but she brushed it away. What bad news could she get? Her husband and daughter were already dead. What else was there for her to lose?
Nonetheless that feeling grew when she opened her door to find Matthew, and Jonathon Dawson and Allina Bennett standing there. Three cops on her doorstep before seven in the morning, that couldn’t be a good thing.
“What’s up?” she asked, wondering if there had been a break in the Fairytale Killer case and she had slept through a phone call.
“Can we come in?” Matthew asked.
The look on her partner’s face had her stomach dropping, but she pasted on a smile and shoved all bad feelings away. There was no news she could receive that would be worse than officers turning up at her door to tell her that her family had been killed in a car accident.
“Sure.” She held the door open and led everyone to the living room. As much as she wanted to ask what was going on, she kept her mouth shut. If she didn't acknowledge the somber presence in the room then maybe it didn't really exist.
Jonathon was Naomi’s brother-in-law, and he was steadfastly refusing to meet her gaze, as was her partner. Allina was looking at her but the look in her eyes was even more non-reassuring than the guys’ refusals to look at her.
Since it seemed none of them were going to start the conversation she asked, “What’s going on?”
“It’s your sister.” Matthew finally looked her way.
“Mila?” Panic shot through her. What had happened to her sister? Car accident? Home invasion? Fire? Had her niece and nephew been hurt too? “What happened to her?”
“She’s missing,” Jonathon blurted out.
That took a moment to sink in. “Missing?”
“After a date,” Allina added.
A date? Her sister was dating? She and Mila hadn’t been close since they were in high school. After her older sister and brother had left home some really bad stuff had happened and it had divided the family and torn them apart. She and Mila talked, but not regularly, and when they did it was more of a quick catch up because they both felt obligated to keep the relationship going. She knew that her sister was in the process of getting divorced, but she hadn’t known she was dating.
“With someone she met on a website,” Allina said gently.
Rylla felt her stomach drop. It was clear where this was headed but she clung to denial.
“The Happily Ever After Club. I'm sorry, Rylla.” Allina looked devastated.
That couldn’t be true. Why would her sister be looking for men in an online dating community when she was looking forward to getting divorced and spending some time figuring out her own life?
“There were rose petals on the front path, and she received a package earlier that day. A dress. I'm really sorry,” Allina said again.
“No,” she said firmly. “The Fairytale Killer didn't take Mila. She’s going through a messy divorce. She and her almost ex have been fighting over custody of Emmy and Mac. You need to look into Beau Drake. That’s her husband. I don’t like him. I never did. I told Mila he was no good. He must have done something to her so that he could get the house and the kids and everything else.”
“How would he know about the killer’s MO, Ry?” Matthew asked.
She shrugged, then stood and began to move restlessly around the room. “I don’t know, but I do know that my sister wouldn’t be looking for men online. And she’s smart. Even if she was hanging out in some dating chat room, she wouldn’t fall for whatever stupid story the Fairytale Killer would have made up. She has kids, she wouldn’t agree to meet some guy she didn't even know on her own, she would meet in a public place where she’d be safe, she always puts Emmy and Mac first. She just wouldn’t do it. She wouldn’t,” she argued against her friends’ stubborn silence. “You don’t know her like I do. Beau must have done something to her. He must have. My sister is not a victim of the Fairytale Killer.”
“Okay, okay,” Matthew soothed. He’d followed her when she began to pace and now grabbed hold of her shoulders, stilling her. “You know we’re going to look into everything. Everything, Rylla. We will find whoever took your sister.”
How?