40. Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Thirty-Nine

I go absolutely crazy over the next four days.

I don't hear a peep from Sev. I've gone to the cabin and to his house—nothing. His truck wasn't at either place, and neither was he. Not unless he was hiding under the bed. I checked the windows, tried to open them too but they were all locked. So were the doors. I banged on both doors for at least thirty minutes. I'm confident he isn't there.

I don't know where else he could be. His phone is off now. Has been since yesterday morning. The moment I woke up, I called. Straight to voicemail. Now every time I call it does the same thing. My texts are still unread.

I'm coming up on the end of day four of not talking to this fucker and it's stressing me out. Why the fuck is it stressing me out?! I can't tell which is bothering me more. The fact I'm pissed that I'm worried about him or the fact that I'm worried about him.

When I see him I'm going to kick his ass.

I should be in California already. I've accepted there isn't anyone after me other than Sev and he made that shit up. Other than that one car that took off and the letter from my mother—that very well could have been from Sev—nothing has happened.

I got my payout, and fuck is it nice. Problem is I can't focus on looking at houses because I'm too worked up over this shit with Sev. He's taking up my every thought.

I feel like I'm going fucking insane. I've showered. Drank. Slept. Gone to the diner. To a bar. Tried to watch TV. Nothing fucking works. I need to do something to keep my mind off this asshole but all I want to do is figure out where he is. I need to talk to him.

It's still possible he was arrested. Or killed. Maybe there was another family to hit on his list, but he got caught. They took him instead. Killed him. Hid the body. I'd never know.

I'd never fucking know.

Fuck, this sucks.

I pull my phone from my pocket and call the only person I know who is going to give a shit enough to help me.

"Yo, ya big oaf," Reese answers.

"I'm freaking out," I blurt out.

"Uh, what's going on?" he asks casually, as if it's no big deal.

"Sev is missing."

"Missing how?" he asks.

I grit my teeth and take a breath. This is calm for Reese. He's trying.

"I haven't spoken to him in four days. Have no idea where he is. I checked his house and his cabin, and he isn't answering my calls."

I checked his house and his cabin.

I checked his fucking house and his cabin.

That's what he meant. This whole time I've known where to find him… how to kill him. Yet, I never did.

Because I didn't want to. Fuck, what a time to have this realization.

"Justin?"

"Yeah, sorry. What?"

Reese sighs. "Have you reached out to Banks?"

"Banks will not be able to find him," I say adamantly.

"Banks can find anyone."

"Trust me, Reese, he won't be able to help me."

It's quiet for a moment. I hear some rustling in the background, which makes me check the time. Fuck, it's late. Even with the time difference, he was probably in bed already. It's on the tip of my tongue to apologize, but he'll know something is truly wrong with me if I start being nice.

"Okay, I'll believe you. But only because it's you and you're not stupid. How can I help?"

I let out a relieving breath at his tone, grateful he's trying.

"I'm not sure that you can, I just needed to talk to someone."

"Ah, is this like a panic attack? I used to have those." His tone is way too chipper now. They don't match what the hell he just said, but that's Reese.

"No, I don't think it's a panic attack. I'm fine. Just panicking…" It's silent. "Okay, I realize how that doesn't make sense, but I'm fine. Just worried."

"Does this mean you two are a thing now?" he asks. I hear the grin in his voice.

"No."

"No?"

"No," I growl. "We're not a thing. We're just…" I groan, resting my head back. "I don't know, and it doesn't matter. I do need to know where he is though."

"Sev is a big boy. I'm sure he's fine and just busy. What does he do for work?"

I bark out a laugh. "Are you seriously asking me that?"

"Well if he's in your line of work, maybe he's on a job."

"He'd have told me," I snap.

"Maybe he wanted to but couldn't?" he offers.

"That's what I'm worried about!"

I scrub a hand down my face. Now I'm regretting calling him. He's trying to help me but I'm not sure anything can help me right now. And I have no patience for his questions.

"Right, okay. Change of subject. How's, uh… how's—shit."

Christ, this fucking sucks.

"I'm moving out there," I say.

"Really? When?" His tone goes up a few pitches, and I crack a smirk. He's happy I'm moving there.

"Soon. I need to look at houses. Can you help me with that?"

"Fuck yeah, I can. I'll see what I can find in me and Ezra's neighborhood. Not too close, because I know you like your space, but it's a good area. Quiet and shit. You'll like it."

I relax the smallest bit over Reese being so welcoming and not giving me shit over this. Also how well he knows me.

"That would be great. Thanks."

"I'll send you links to what I find. If you like anything, I'll scope it out for you. Make sure it's legit." Okay, I'm suddenly grateful for my cousin. "What's your price range?"

"Not looking to spend more than a million. It doesn't need to be big. Don't need a lot of land or anything like that."

"There are some small places by the water."

The water?

"Fuck!" I jump up, running for my keys.

"What? What happened?" Reese asks quickly.

"I gotta go. I think I may know where he is."

"Call me later."

I end the call, and run out my door, wondering how I could be so stupid as to forget about his yacht. I was literally just fucking there.

This man really knows how to fuck with my head.

The moment I'm on the highway, I realize I have no idea where the fuck I'm going and I have to pull into a rest stop to figure it out. I wasn't paying attention on the ride to or from the docks, all I know is it was on the Hanson River, and about forty-five minutes away. Don't even think I caught a town sign.

I pull up the map on my phone, and scroll along the river. I look for places that'll be about forty-five minutes away, then search up docks that hold boats. There are two different ones. Thank fuck there aren't any more than that. The first one is a little less than an hour, while the second is about an hour and a half. I'm banking on it being the first because the time makes sense, but who the fuck knows. I jump back on the highway and drive as fast as I can.

The drive takes forever, and when I pull into the parking lot, I let out a relieved breath. I have the right place. I don't see his truck anywhere, but that doesn't mean shit. I hop out, and jog to the docks, grateful when I see his boat. Only to realize that probably means he isn't here. If the boat were gone, he'd be on it. Which could be a good thing, but also a bad thing because who knows where he could be then.

"Sev?" I call out when I reach the boat, but the lights aren't on and neither is the engine. I step onto it. "Sev? You here?" I use the flashlight on my phone to check downstairs, but there's no one here.

"Hey, hello? I'm going to need you to come up here, sir!" A voice I don't recognize shouts from the top deck. I walk up the steps to a flashlight shining in my face. "Can I help you, sir?" he says firmly.

"Have you seen the owner of this boat? He's a friend of mine and he's missing." I stop a few feet from the security guy. I can't see his face from the position of his flashlight, but I can make out his uniform.

"Haven't seen him in about a week," the guy says.

I nod, ignoring the disappointment that settles in my chest. "Okay, thank you. Sorry for the trouble."

He steps back, staying on the boat but giving me room to step off. Once I do, he gets off after me. He stays behind while I drag ass back to my truck. Once inside, I drop my head to the steering wheel. Where the hell is this asshole?