her blue eyes to shine brighter. Her alluring, rosebud mouth curved into a smile.
He clearly recalled the taste of that mouth, and he would experience it again as soon as his interview with Paris ended. The jarring ring of his phone pulled him out of his thoughts. Shifting, he dug into his pocket and pulled it out.
“Shit,” he muttered when he saw the number on the screen. He swiped the green button. “Hello, Paris.”
“Hello, Mr. Vares.” Paris sounded a little breathless as she called him by his pseudonym. “I can’t make it to the common.”
Dante refused to sound annoyed when he replied. “I can meet you somewhere else then.”
“I have a lot going on today.”
“I understand, but Julie’s mother is really concerned about her, and I think you can help me find her.”
“I don’t know what I can do.”
“A lot of times, in cases, people see or hear things they don’t think are useful, but they’re wrong. You could be what brings Julie home.”
“But what if she doesn’t want to come home?”
Though she tried to hide it, Dante heard the hitch in her voice. “Have you talked to her recently?”
Paris sniffled before replying, “Not in a couple of weeks.”
So, her last contact with Julie was around the same time as her mother’s. “I understand this is difficult for you, but I won’t take up much of your time. However, we must speak.”
She released another sniffle before muttering, “Okay, but I don’t want to meet by the swan boats.”
“Where would you prefer to meet?”
She pondered this before replying, “The No-Doze Café on Boylston Street.”
Before Dante could reply, she hung up.
Cassidy held her breath as she studied Dante’s countenance. The set of his jaw and the muscle twitching in his cheek were the only indications of his irritation. He returned his phone to his pocket and stared ahead as he told the driver their new destination.
“Do you think she’ll be there?” Cassidy asked when his shoulders relaxed a little.
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
Paris was the best lead he had to Julie; she had to be there. If not, he was going to have to hunt the girl down, and stalking teenagers was a little creepy. However, the tears in Mrs. Abbott’s eyes, and the heartbreak she would experience if he failed to bring her daughter home, ensured he would camp out in front of Paris’s house for a month if that’s what it took to get some answers.
He’d seen his mother’s heartbreak in her eyes every day after Maya disappeared; he would not fail another mother.
“If she doesn’t show up, I’ll hunt her down and get the answers from her,” he murmured.
Cassidy did not doubt that; he wouldn’t let himself fail in this, but he didn’t realize it wouldn’t be a failure. There were some things in life he couldn’t control. However, he probably knew that better than anyone. Yet, he was sitting here, beating himself up because of the whims of a teenage girl.
He was too tough on himself, but she didn’t think there was anything she could say to change that. No matter what, he would always see his inability to find Maya as his failure when it wasn’t. And if they didn’t find Julie, he would beat himself up more.
That only made her more determined to help him find the girl and bring her home. She couldn’t stand to see him like this, and she would do everything she could to stop it.
Dante drummed his fingers on his knee as he debated if Paris would be at the coffee shop or not. He didn’t understand why the girl was so difficult about this, but after Missy, he wasn’t sure Julie had any real friends. Which made him feel worse about the whole thing. She needed someone to fight for her, and he would do it.
When Cassidy settled her hand over his, some of his tension eased, and his fingers stopped tapping. Without thinking, he twisted his hand in hers and held it. The beautiful smile she gave him caused a small ray of hope to pierce through his dismal thoughts.
Chapter Twenty-One
When the taxi pulled up in front of the coffee shop, Dante paid the driver and opened the door. He clasped Cassidy’s hand and helped her to stand beside him on the sidewalk. He closed the door, and the driver pulled away.
“Do you know what she looks like?” Cassidy asked as they entered the coffee shop.
The scent of fresh-baked pastries and brewing coffee washed over her. Warm, gooey treats