quickly continued.
“A couple of weeks back, I contacted her and asked her why someone wouldn’t report their child missing.”
“And?”
“She thought I was Brandon.”
I froze at his mention of my boyfriend. With War it was easy to suspend reality and play house in his castle on the ocean. But times like these, when my past collided with the present, I had a hard time merging the two worlds.
“He’s okay?”
War nodded and revealed what he knew. About how Brandon had come to see her. Nobody believed him. My parents had withdrawn me from school. How Stark thought it was all some elaborate story from a sad boy who hated the fact his girlfriend was being homeschooled.
“So why didn’t you tell me all of that, War? What the hell is going on?” My voice had risen several octaves and I stood from the table.
He shrugged and let out a huff. “Because it wouldn’t do anything, Baylee. We knew something was fishy. Now, though, things have gone from fishy to unbelievable.”
“What happened?”
“Stark replied. Said Brandon’s parents filed a missing person report on their son. He just vanished. Stark is fairly certain he’s gone off the grid to look for you. She doesn’t think he was taken or anything. But she’s asked about my identity. And blatantly asked if I had you in my possession.”
My flesh grew cold on my cheeks and my jaw hung slightly open. “What did you say?”
“I told her Gabe’s name. I said she needed to open an investigation in regards to him and some illegal activities he’d been involved in,” he said and turned his phone to me. “I told her to open her eyes and look into sex trafficking rings in California. Now she seems to be concerned about your whereabouts.”
I took the phone from him and read all of their emails.
“Do you think she’ll talk to Dad and Mom? I just can’t believe they’d go on with life as if I never existed.” Hot tears formed in my eyes and spilled over.
His gaze fell to my wet cheeks and he frowned. “I don’t know. Obviously she was being vague to me in her messages and is probably doing everything in her power to find out who’s sending those messages to her. Of course it’ll never lead back here. You’re safe with me.”
“How can we find out what she does? She’s not going to just come out and tell you her plan, who she’s going to question, or anything. I feel so helpless, War!”
He reached for me, briefly, but jerked his hand back as if he remembered he wasn’t capable of comforting me. “You’re not helpless. You have me and I am quite resourceful. Your parents are spending the money I’m sending. Every dime is being withdrawn. I’ve been researching every lead to find out what’s going on. We’ll figure it out, beautiful. Just like I promised.”
My anxiety lessened at his words. “And then what? After we figure it all out? After we discover my parents don’t give a shit about me. Huh?”
His eyes meet mine and he pins me with a serious stare. “I’ll take care of you no matter what because I do give a shit about you. You’re mine, Bay.”
I’d spent the rest of the night on the computer next to War on the couch. Both of us tapping and clicking our way through the web in search of answers and only coming up with more questions.
My thoughts return to our kiss from earlier in the day yesterday. It started out so carnal and needy. For a moment, he’d shoved away his demons to kiss me. While it only lasted seconds, it was beautiful and perfect.
But it’s my dream last night about Brandon that still hangs thick in the air. After I discovered he was missing and had been searching for me, I’d thought a lot about him. What happens if this detective finds Gabe and hauls him off to jail? Will Brandon come back home? Will I go back home? Do my parents even want me? Will things go back to normal?
Images of War sitting alone in this house with nobody to talk to. Nobody to eat with. Nobody to play chess with. It’s all too much. He’s grown on me too much to abandon him and run back home. Even if Gabe went to prison and all went back to normal, I don’t think I could ever leave War on his own again.
It would crush him.
The doorbell rings again and I leap from the