“Yeah, I know,” she confirms. “Tell the truth. You’re a hero. Someone broke into your girlfriend’s house and you got in a fight protecting her.”
His rejection is instant. “We’re not bringing more attention to Allie when we don’t even know who broke into the house or why.”
“I don’t care, Dash,” I quickly interject. “If it protects you—”
“No, Allie,” he bites out. “No.”
“Fine then,” Bella says. “You’re a former FBI agent, Dash, who still trains with your old buddies. One of them got you with an elbow, but don’t you worry, you got them with a knee. There. Problem solved. I’ll book it late in the week so you have time to at least get rid of the swelling and make your travel plans.” She doesn’t give him time to reply before she shifts gears to me. “Allie, did you look at Allison’s Instagram?”
“I did,” I confirm. “And it’s really weird that she stopped posting.”
“I have to agree,” she replies. “One of us needs to talk to Tyler about where she is.” Her phone beeps. “Damn. I have to go. Call you Monday with the meeting details, Dash. Bye, Allie.” With that, she hangs up.
My brows lift. “What about Tyler, Dash?”
“He doesn’t know where she is.”
“How can you be sure?”
“He told me.”
“He told you,” I repeat. “Do you even trust Tyler, Dash?”
“Tyler and I are better friends than enemies when it comes to secrets.”
I blink. “I feel like you’re talking in code.”
“Tyler and I were never what I call true friends. He knew things about me and because I was at the wrong place at the right time, I ended up knowing things about him, too. Bottom line, I could ruin him. He could ruin me. As I said, better friends than enemies when it comes to secrets. He has no reason to lie to me. He wasn’t lying about Allison. He doesn’t know where she is.”
“Did she talk to him before she left? Did she formally resign?”
“She did. And this all comes back to him getting too personal with an employee. They were together and then they weren’t. She couldn’t handle it. She needed a break. It was sudden and abrupt, but it was her free will. He honestly thought she left to allow that work-personal life separation, but then she ghosted him.”
“And everyone else. Is he worried?”
“He says this fits her personality. It’s not her first time to up and leave a place and do so without looking back.”
It all makes sense. It should be comforting, but it’s not. “What about the man that came to the shelter today?”
“Sounds to me like she blew him off and he doesn’t like it.”
He’s right. Of course, he’s right. He pushes off the counter and steps in front of me, his hands settling on my hips. “Jack has limited resources. I have a friend who left the FBI. He does private hire work. I’ll call him and have him discreetly locate her and give you peace of mind.”
“Oh God, yes. Please, Dash. Then I can stop worrying about her.”
“Will you? If I do this, will you promise me to stop looking for her yourself?”
“Because you’re worried she’s in trouble and I’ll get in that same trouble?”
“Because someone broke into your house, which was also her house. And that makes me uneasy. And because I’m asking you to let the professional do his job. He’s good, Allie. I am not if you get hurt. Do you understand?”
His voice is low, raw, affected, and this, in turn, affects me. Perhaps more so because there is a hint of something in him right now that is not about me, but the family—his brother and mother, even his father in some ways—that he has lost. I wrap one arm around him, pressing the other hand to his face. “I’m not going anywhere but to our living room where you’re going to open your computer and write your book.”
“Allie—”
“I’ll let him do his job, Dash.” I soften my voice. “Thank you for doing this.”
He studies me a moment, his expression unreadable as he says, “Tyler wants you to come back to work.”
“How do you feel about me going back?”
His hand settles low on my back and he folds me close. “I can’t protect you from Tyler. That’s your job.”
In other words, he still believes Tyler wants to sleep with me. It’s my job to turn him down. “He wants me because he wants to replace her.”
“You said it. Not me. Let’s go home.”
He releases me and we waste no time leaving Tyler’s house behind. On the ride back to the apartment, I call my bank and credit card companies. Once that’s done, it’s done. And only a half-hour later, we’re in the apartment, and Dash locks the necklace in his safe.
“What did Tyler say about the necklace?” I ask.