Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty-Six

Jackson

“Can you stop that?” Greg asked mildly.

I looked up, startled, before realizing I was drumming my fingers on his desk. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright. I’m just trying to think here.”

“Same.” I got up and paced the room, trying to relax the knot of tension in my gut. I couldn’t force Allison to miss work. Well, I could. But I knew she wouldn’t like it, and I didn’t want to be that guy.

“What are you thinking?” Greg leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head, spreading his elbows wide. It was a pose I’d seen many times before, the one he always took when he wanted to bounce ideas back and forth about a case. I was just glad he was letting me be in the loop on this one, even though technically speaking, I shouldn’t be anywhere near it.

He understood though. He’d been there.

I shook my head. “I feel like we’re missing something.”

“Same.”

I turned back and faced him. “I’m also thinking I should be at the clinic right now, making sure he can’t get near her.”

“She told you not to do that.”

“I know.” I went back to pacing before letting out a growl of frustration. “She’s not ready for Danny and Beverly to know we’re together, and she doesn’t want anyone to know she’s being stalked, either.” I wasn’t sure which one annoyed me worse.

“I’ve got Parker and Sanderson stationed outside the clinic,” Greg reminded me—for the third time that morning. “If he shows up, he’ll have to go through them. And God help him if he has to go through Parker.”

I grinned, despite my worry. Parker was one of our female deputies. She was only five-two and couldn’t have weighed more than a hundred pounds. But she was a third-degree black belt who could lay out a man twice her size without breaking a sweat. Training with Cole had made her even deadlier. If I couldn’t be the one to take this guy down, Parker would be my first choice to do it. I just hoped I’d get a chance to watch.

Greg’s phone rang. I immediately stopped pacing and took my seat across from him. He answered, then put it on speaker, his face dark. “Can you repeat that?” he asked. “I have Ford here and I’d like him to hear it too.”

“Yep. Like I was saying, we got a hit on your BOLO. Found the vehicle at a vacation rental outside Chattanooga.”

I frowned. Chattanooga? What the hell was he doing there?

“Have you made contact?” Greg asked.

“Not yet. I’ll update you if and when we do.”

“Thanks.” He clicked off and looked at me, mirroring the expression on my face. “Thoughts?”

“Odd place for him to be,” I said. “Too far from here, but not really on the way back to Memphis.”

“It’s a detour for sure,” Greg agreed. “Could be on vacation. Could be visiting family. Who knows?”

I nodded. “More importantly though, it means he’s probably not here.”

“Probably not,” Greg agreed. “The question is, what’s your gut saying? Relief or… ”

I crossed my arms. “Honestly?”

“Always.”

I shook my head, flattening my lips. “My gut says this isn’t over.”

“Same.” His phone rang again. He picked it up and listened, then closed his eyes and hung up.

“What is it?”

“I know this is the last thing you want to hear right now, but I need you on a case.”

“Now?”

“Now. There’s a missing kid.”