Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 90919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“You’re good,” I assured him, the same guilt sitting heavy in my gut. I hadn’t been paying attention either. I hadn’t even been home in months. “No one expected you to keep tabs on her.”
“I’ve got the spare key to her apartment,” he said. “You think I should go over and check there?”
Visions of my baby brother finding our sister hurt or worse in her apartment raced through my head, and my hand shot out instantly. “Give ’em to me. I’ll go check. You stay here with Mam.”
“You sure?” he asked, digging the keys out of his pocket. “The cops’ll probably be back soon to check in.”
I looked down at the black hoodie, faded jeans, motorcycle boots, and Aces cut I was wearing. “Cops aren’t my biggest fans,” I joked, scratching at my beard. “Let me know if they’ve got any news, yeah?”
Ronan nodded and leaned back heavily. “This waiting bullshit sucks.”
“Better you’re waitin’,” I reminded him. “Means nothin’ is set in stone yet.”
“I hear you,” he said, closing his eyes.
I let Aoife know where I was headed and left the hospital. My baby sister had an apartment right in town. She said she liked being able to walk everywhere, which made me happy because she was a shitty driver. Normally, I’d be stoked that she wasn’t on the road, but it didn’t make me happy to find her car in the little covered parking area at the apartments. That meant she hadn’t left it somewhere for me to find it. At least that would’ve given me a jumping-off point on where to find her.
When I let myself into Aisling’s apartment, I let out a small breath of relief. The place was spotless and smelled like coconuts and vanilla. Nothing felt off except the fact that my sister wasn’t there. I did a walk through, checking the bathroom and the bedroom, but just like the living room—everything looked pretty standard. There were a few clothes thrown over the end of her bed and some makeup on the bathroom counter, but everything else was neat and tidy. It looked like she’d just gotten ready and left.
Walking back into the kitchen, I checked out the dishes and the mail in the little basket on the counter. Nothing odd there. Her fridge had food in it. Fuck, I didn’t even know what to look for. I was a goddamn mechanic. I wasn’t an investigator.
Then my eyes caught on the coffee machine. I recognized it because a few years before, Aisling had gotten Aoife one for Christmas and she’d made a big deal about how she could program it to turn on in the morning before she woke up, so Aoife could have coffee waiting for her.
The coffee pot on Aisling’s counter was completely full. At some point it had turned off, but there hadn’t been anything poured from it. If she’d set it before she left to go out, that meant she’d planned on coming home and drinking it in the morning. That was something. She’d planned on waking up in her own bed.
“Jesus, Ash,” I muttered into the quiet. “Where the fuck are you?”
I made my way back through the apartment, giving it another look before turning off all the lights. Half of me was tempted to stay in case she came home, but I knew that wouldn’t get me anywhere. If she was going to come home, she would’ve already.
I locked up as I left, looking around the apartment complex. Aisling was a tattoo artist and was pretty fucking spectacular at it, so she made good money and the place wasn’t a dump. The landscaping was all taken care of, there was plenty of parking, and maintenance was on top of shit.
“Oh, hello,” a man said as we passed each other on the stairs. His arms were full of grocery bags, and he scooted against the railing to let me pass.
“How’s it goin’?” I greeted with a distracted nod. Then I paused. “Hey, man, I’m looking for Aisling. Have you seen her around today?”
He just looked at me.
“I’m her brother, Cian,” I continued, reaching my hand out. I dropped it when I realized that his fucking hands were full and he couldn’t shake it. “She lives in 34B. Long brown hair. Tall.”
“I haven’t seen her today, sorry,” he said with an awkward smile.
“No worries. Thanks.”
I started back down the stairs but only made it a few steps before he spoke again.
“The last time I saw her, she was leaving with a guy,” he said, a little hesitantly. “That was last night though—around six. Sorry.”
“Thanks,” I said, my gut churning. “That helps, actually. Hey, if you see her today, could you tell her to call her family? Our brother-in-law’s in the hospital.”
“Oh no,” he murmured with a grimace. “Not Richie?”
“You know Richie?”
“Well, I’ve met him,” he said with a shrug. “Just in passing, you know. When Aisling moved in. He came and introduced himself. I thought your sister was going to sink through the floor in embarrassment.”