23. Hazel

Chapter 23

Hazel

I an’s face remained solemn as we walked back to his apartment. The information we’d just discovered was unsettling, to say the least. It worried me to know that Fred had taken an interest in Ian.

He was likely the one responsible for his ex-wife’s disappearance so who knows what plans he might have for Ian? Why was he stalking him? Why did he show up at Ian’s apartment pretending to be a fan? What was Fred trying to achieve here? I had so many questions, but I knew I wouldn’t get any answers until we found Fred. The situation was complicated, but I was certain we were getting closer to the truth. We now had two suspects, and they both had motives for hurting Emily.

Olivia felt betrayed when Emily married Fred. Maybe she still hated her for it. Maybe she hated her enough to kidnap her.

Fred cheated on his wife and that was what likely led her to end their marriage. He was the reason their marriage ended but u wouldn’t be surprised if he blamed her for it. That might have led him to kidnap her in a morbid attempt to get his wife back.

We still didn’t know which one of them was guilty, but one thing was clear. We needed to find them if we wanted to get Emily back.

I just hoped the poor woman was still alive. She’d been through enough already. She’d been betrayed by the two people closest to her. From what I knew, she and Olivia had known each other since they were kids. Their friendship was older than the one I had with Jade.

Yet Olivia was willing to throw that all away - over a man. I couldn’t imagine putting my feelings above my friendship with Jade.

I looked over at Ian and felt instant guilt. In a way, I was putting my feelings over Jade. I wasn’t betraying her the way Olivia did Emily, but I was still keeping something really important from her. She didn’t know I was in a relationship with her brother.

Are you? The voice in my head asked.

It made me realize what I’d been avoiding since last night. Ian and I still hadn’t talked about what exactly we were doing. How could I tell Jade about us when I didn’t even know what we were?

It was all so confusing.

“Are you okay?” Ian asked.

I looked at him and forced a small smile onto my face. This wasn’t the time to be discussing our complicated relationship. We had much more important things to do, like finding Emily. She was the only thing that mattered right now.

“Yeah, I am.”

He sighed and nodded. Ian poured water into two glasses. He stared at them when he was done as though his mind had traveled so far away from here that I would need a spaceship to reach him. I could tell he was thinking back on his interactions with Fred. I just hoped he wasn’t blaming himself for not figuring it out.

Fred lied to him and pretended to be someone he wasn’t. It wasn’t Ian’s fault that he didn’t see through his lies. I just hoped he knew that too. I reached over the counter and placed my hand on his. He didn’t look at me until I squeezed it gently.

He smiled softly as he stared at me, then he offered me the glass of water and took the other one for himself. “At least now we know that Eddie—” he paused and ground his teeth before continuing. “Fred is in town. He probably had something to do with Emily’s disappearance. Who knows, maybe he and Olivia planned the whole thing.”

I took a moment to think about what he was suggesting. It made perfect sense. Olivia and Fred were lovers. Maybe they wanted to get Emily out of the way so they could be together in peace.

There was only one problem with that theory — Emily was already out of the way. She divorced Fred. That meant that Fred and Olivia could have gotten together without having to hurt Emily. So why would they do it?

I drank my water in silence as my mind roamed over everything we’d discovered since the investigation began. The pieces were coming together but not fast enough. We needed to involve the police now and tell them about Fred’s visit to Ian’s apartment. They had the resources and manpower to find him faster than we ever could.

Ian smiled when I mentioned going to the police precinct. “I’m sure Howard will be thrilled to see us,” he said and I couldn’t help laughing.

I found myself feeling grateful that he was with me through all of this. He made the difficult moments less difficult. He made the burden I had feel lighter. It was… comforting.

Wow. I certainly never thought a day would come when I would think of Ian Carter as comforting. I didn’t expect it but as we sat in his car, on the way to the precinct, and his hand held mine while his thumb stroked the back of my hand, the only word to describe what I felt was comforted.

He pulled into the precinct driveway, and we stepped out of the car. Ian held my hand as we walked into the building. As expected, Howard wasn’t too happy to see us. Well, me in particular.

His tune changed when we told him we were there to report a stalker. And he was singing a completely different tune entirely when we told him that the stalker was Emily’s ex-husband, Fred Warren.

“Thank you for this. We’ll get to work right away,” Howard said, seeming genuinely interested in the case for the first time in a while.

It was as if our report had stirred him to action once again and I was happy to see it. We left Howard so he could focus on tracking down Fred. Hopefully, he’d be found soon and he could answer for his crimes.

“Home?” Ian asked as we walked to his car.

I nodded in response. It was still rather early in the day but I needed to rest in my own bed after the day I’d had. Ian drove me home, and he even walked me up to my apartment. We shared a passionate kiss before he left, leaving me with a truckload of confusing thoughts.

Even as I lay in bed trying to sleep, I still couldn’t stop thinking about him. His scent was still on my sheets so that didn’t help. He’d spent the night in this bed and just now he kissed me before leaving.

What did it all mean? Were we a couple now or was it something less serious?

Thoughts about Ian plagued my mind until I finally fell asleep. When I woke up, it was early the next day. I hadn’t realized how tired I was. Thankfully, it was a Sunday, so I didn’t have to go to work.

I pulled myself out of bed and walked into the kitchen to make breakfast. I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning when Ian cooked. I could still smell the aftermath of the meal he made in my kitchen. I would never admit it to him but it was one of the best things I’d ever tasted.

After putting something in my stomach to stop the growling, I moved to the living room to watch some TV. I stared at the screen but Ian was still all I could think about. He hadn't called me or sent me any messages.

Should I call him?

I agonized over what to do until the sound of my phone ringing put me out of my misery. It was Ian. “Hi,” I said as I picked up the phone.

“Hey. How did you sleep?”

I spent hours thinking of you and when I finally fell asleep, I saw you in my dreams.

“Fine. Thank you.”

“That’s good to hear.”

The line went temporarily quiet before Ian spoke again. “I was wondering if you wanted to come over because we… we still have a lot to uncover with Emily’s case and we work better together.”

“Yeah, I agree. Plus, if I’m over there, I can help you keep an eye out for Fred. We don’t know when he might show up again.”

“Exactly.”

We both knew I wasn’t going over there because of Fred. Even if I lied to him, I couldn’t lie to myself. I told myself I was going there to keep an eye out for Fred but deep down I knew I was going there so I could be closer to Ian.

It was easier to tell a different story though because if I didn’t then I would have to ask myself the important questions.

Why did I want to be closer to Ian? Why couldn’t I stop thinking about him? What did these new feelings mean for us and could I really handle a relationship with the guy I’ve spent most of my life hating?

Those were only some of the questions on my mind.

“I’ll pick you up.”

And then he made statements like that and my questions faded away. It didn’t matter what happened between us in the past. All that mattered was that I liked him, and he cared about me deeply.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll drive,” I said.

Ian agreed after much convincing and we got off the phone. I didn’t want him to pick me up because I wanted to take my time to get ready. It was the second time I found myself wanting to dress up and look nice for Ian Carter.

Somewhere in the world, pigs are flying , I thought as I walked back into my bedroom.

I got to Ian’s place about an hour later. He opened the door with a smile and for a brief moment, I was speechless. He’d never smiled so brightly at me before, never been so happy to see me. It caught me off guard.

“Hey, you’re here.”

I didn’t have time to say anything because he leaned in and kissed me. I kissed him back, and it dawned on me just how much I’d missed him. We’d only been apart for a few hours, but I missed it. I couldn’t even explain that. When had things changed so—

“Hazel?”

The voice of my best friend shattered the rose-colored glasses I’d been wearing. I pulled away from Ian and turned to meet Jade’s eyes. In them, I saw a range of emotions from anger to hurt to betrayal. She settled on anger.

“What the hell?” Jade demanded.

“Jade, I can explain.” I walked over to her and tried to touch her but she recoiled.

“Explain what? How you’ve been seeing my brother behind my back? You two were supposed to be working together to find a missing woman but— ”

I interrupted her before she could finish. “We are doing that.”

Jade rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah and did you find Emily in my brother’s mouth?”I didn’t have a response to that. Jade shook her head at me before walking away. I took one last glance at Ian who stood by the door staring at me with wide eyes. It was as if he still couldn’t believe his sister had just caught us and neither could I. I met his eye briefly before I ran after Jade.

She was about to enter her car when I caught up to her. “Jade, wait! Please!”

“What do you want, Hazel?” she asked as she swung back to glare at me.

“Please just let me explain.”

“There’s nothing to explain! You lied to me!”

I shook my head and desperately tried to say something to make her understand me. “It… It all happened so fast. I didn’t mean to… It wasn’t my intention to lie to you. I was going to tell you.”

“When, Hazel? When you and Ian were on your fourth child?” Jade lifted a hand and shook her head. “You know what? I don’t need this. You were supposed to be my best friend, but you betrayed my trust. I want nothing to do with you.”

She walked to her car and drove off while I stood there in the parking lot. My vision blurred as tears flowed down my cheeks. I felt my knees weaken, and I was certain I was going to fall to the ground.

Right before that happened, strong arms came around my waist, pulling me into a hard chest. I looked up and through my hazy vision, I could see Ian. I leaned against him and let all the pain I felt pour out of me.

I’d just lost my best friend, and it was my own fault.