So I climbed out of the car and followed him up the street toward The Main Squeeze.
CHAPTER NINE
Remy
I was pretty sure her best friend was missing.
After talking to the staff at The Main Squeeze, who told us that Myles claimed he was heading home to shower and eat before going to a party later, there was no reason to assume he had some excuse for not answering Lark.
With any normal person, I would say that the phone died or something. But Lark had been insistent that Myles was attached to his phone. She claimed he carried two power banks because he never let his phone go below twenty percent.
So, yeah, I didn’t want to say it, but it wasn’t looking great.
“Do you see his car?” I asked as we drove around the lot at his apartment building.
“Yeah, that’s it,” she said, pointing toward a yellow Jeep. “Maybe he like fell or something,” she said, getting out of the car, and walking fast enough that her ribs had to be hurting, but she was too anxious to care.
As for me, I kept pace with her, but my gaze was scanning the lot and the building, looking for anyone who seemed out of place, who might be lying in wait to try to get Lark when she realized her friend wasn’t answering.
“Is that necessary?” Lark asked, eyes widening as I pulled out my gun when we got to Myle’s door.
“I hope not,” I told her as she found her key on her ring and put it in the lock. “But I would rather be prepared,” I added, giving her a little push out of the way so I could move in the door first.
She didn’t wait, though. I could feel her at my back as I moved into Myles’s common area that included the living room, dining area, and kitchen.
Everything was gray and white, very modern and streamlined, without a lot of personal touches, save for the yellow surfboard next to the door, the bike on a rack on the wall, and a laundry bin full of what looked like various board shorts on the coffee table in the living room.
“He’s not here much,” Lark explained, seeming to read my thoughts as I moved down the hall.
The bathroom was empty, but Myles had definitely taken that shower he’d mentioned to his coworkers. There was still a trace of steam on the mirror and a wet towel slung over the bar. Sunblock sat on the counter, the top open.
“Could he have gone to the beach?” I asked.
“Without his bike or board?” she asked. “I mean… anything is possible.”
“And if he was in the water, he wouldn’t be answering his texts or calls,” I reasoned with her, even as I moved back out of the bathroom and toward the bedroom.
It wasn’t until then that I was pretty damn sure something had happened.
Because there were signs of a struggle.
And traces of blood on the blue bedspread.
Not a lot. A small enough amount that I wasn’t even sure that Lark saw it.
“Did you see his keys out in the living room?” I asked, tone light.
“I don’t remember. I’ll double-check,” she said, turning to walk away, so I could move forward to touch the blood, finding it wet.
“Fuck,” I hissed, exhaling hard.
“They’re here,” she said, coming back. “That’s not good, right? I mean, even if he went to the beach, he would need his keys to get back into his apartment. It was locked. What?” she asked, seeing the tightness to my jaw.
Taking a breath, I raised my hand, showing her my fingers.
“Is that blood?” she asked, face going white.
“Yeah, it’s blood. There’s a little on the bedspread,” I told her, motioning toward it.