Serve ‘N’ Protect by Tee O’Fallon
Chapter Thirty-One
Before parking in front of Ian and Fiona Morgan’s house, Markus ended the ten-minute call he’d had with Detective Chang. At first, the guy had been reluctant to divulge any information over the phone, even after Markus identified himself. Eventually, he sweet-talked the detective into at least divulging that they had no leads and the owner of the stolen pickup hadn’t been anywhere near Leonardtown at the time of the incident.
Immediately, something bugged him. It was dark out, but he could see that Cassidy’s celery-green VW bug wasn’t in the driveway, nor was it parked on the street. Ian had said she was staying here, so where was she? Could be they’d played it smart and stowed her car in the garage to keep it hidden from view.
The outside of the house was as he remembered, fully decked out with strands of icicle lights, evergreen garland wrapped around the porch railing with big red bows, and several inflatable holiday figures on the front lawn.
He shut off the engine, grabbed his tactical flashlight from the center console, then let Ghost out of the back seat. A blast of cold, wintry air blew his jacket open.
The first thing Ghost did was run up to the giant inflatable reindeer and start barking at it. Markus clicked on the flashlight then looked through one of the windows on the garage doors. No VW bug. The only vehicle inside was a white Jeep Cherokee. He hoped to hell the only reason her car wasn’t here was that another family member had borrowed it.
“Ghost, let’s go.” Ghost followed him up the stairs where he knocked.
A moment later, the door opened and Fiona Morgan stood on the threshold. Her lips twisted slightly in dismay. Cassidy hadn’t told her dad what had happened between them. From the look on Fiona’s face, apparently she had told her mother.
Graying brows bunched as she gave him a hesitant smile. “Markus, it’s nice to see you. But Cassidy isn’t here.”
He had a feeling she’d say that. “Where is she?”
Fiona hesitated. “She’s out running errands.”
Trying to keep the anxiety from his voice, he asked, “Do you know where?”
“No.” She crossed her arms. “Markus, I like you. Very much. But she said you and she broke up.”
Oh, boy. Groveling had fully been in the ops plan, but he hadn’t figured on having to lay it on Cassidy’s mom.
“We did,” he admitted. “But as I told Ian twenty minutes ago, I’d like to rectify that situation.”
“You spoke to Ian?”
“Yes, ma’am. He called me.”
“He called you?”
“Yes.” Markus nodded. “He told me about the attempt on Cassidy’s life, but I was coming here to speak with her anyway.”
She arched a brow. “To say what?”
Markus swallowed. Cassidy was the only person he’d intended to say it to, but first he had to get on her mother’s good side. “That I’m in love with her.”
With excruciating slowness, Fiona’s solitary arched brow lowered, then a bright smile lit her face. “Well, why didn’t you say so? You and Ghost can come in and wait for her.”
“Thank you.” He exhaled a heavy breath as she stepped aside for him and Ghost then closed the door behind them.
“Hello, Ghost.” Fiona ran her hand along Ghost’s back, eliciting a hearty tail wag. “I’m not sure when Cassidy will be back. I always thought you two were good together. I can’t say why, but a mother knows things.”
If his mother were still alive, would she know things, too? Would she have liked Cassidy?
He followed her into the living room where she sat on a sofa next to a basket of unfolded laundry. He took the chair opposite her, next to the Christmas tree. Ghost lay down in front of the tree that still took up an entire corner of the room. “You said Cassidy was running errands. Who’s with her?”
“No one.” Again, that gray brow arched in obvious displeasure as she began folding a T-shirt. “I was downstairs doing laundry when she snuck out of the house. She left a note on the refrigerator so I wouldn’t worry.”
“How long ago was that?” Someone was trying to kill her, and she’d left the house alone? If Cassidy walked in the door just then, he didn’t know whether he’d kiss her or spank her for being so careless with her life.
“Oh, about forty minutes ago.” Fiona grabbed a pair of socks from the basket. “At first, I was really quite upset about it, but then we texted, and she assured me she was just running errands and that she needed a little space. You know,” she said, continuing to fold things, “after her car accident, we hovered over her. Too much, I realize now. Regaining her independence is important to her. Being stuck with her parents again probably isn’t what she had in mind.”
“Fiona, would you mind trying to call her again?” If he made the call from his phone, she probably wouldn’t answer.
Fiona set down a pair of jeans, saying nothing for a moment. “Should I be worried?”
Markus wanted to say no but couldn’t. Not when his mind was going crazy with worst-case scenarios. Like Cassidy lying in a ditch somewhere, a bullet hole in the back of her head.
His gut twisted like a pretzel just thinking that.
“Couldn’t hurt to check in with her,” he answered instead.
When she stood and headed for the kitchen, Markus followed. Along the way, a phone beeped.
Fiona smiled over her shoulder. “That’s probably her now.” She picked up a phone from the kitchen counter. Her smile changed to one of confusion.
“Something wrong?” Markus asked. Those hairs on the back of his neck were starting to wave back and forth.
“No.” Fiona continued to stare at the screen. “She says she’s going to stay with friends for a couple of days.”
“What friends?” He recalled Cassidy saying she had to wait until she completed her audit before resuming her social calendar.
“She didn’t say. I’m just surprised because she never mentioned this earlier.”
He went to the far side of the counter where a laptop—the one he’d bought her—sat next to a stack of documents she’d been using for her audit. “Do you believe her?” Markus asked. “That she’s really going to stay with friends?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
He held out his hand. “May I look at the text?”
“I suppose so.” She gave him the phone.
Markus read the message, then read it again. Nothing in the words she’d used sent up any red flags. He scrolled up, reviewing previous messages Cassidy had sent her mother. Nothing pegged as being inconsistent or out of character.
“May I text her from your phone?” Picking up on his worried vibes, she nodded. Using some of the vocabulary Fiona had used in her previous texts, he tapped in: That’s great, honey. What friends will you be staying with?
He waited a full minute, willing a response to come through. It didn’t. He went into Fiona’s recent call list and tapped on Cassidy’s name. Her voicemail kicked in. This is Cassidy… He ended the call then did the same from his own phone. Again, This is Cassidy…
He ground his teeth. Something wasn’t right here. He could feel it from the top of his head all the way down to his boots. “What room is she staying in here?”
“Her old room. Upstairs.” Fiona pointed to the oak staircase.
“Show me.”
A minute later, they stood in the middle of a bedroom with yellow walls and a four-poster bed with a gauzy white cover. A life-sized poster of Justin Timberlake graced one wall. Several cycling and volleyball trophies lined the top of a dresser. Clothes were draped across the bed and hung from the back of a blue upholstered armchair.
As Markus looked around the room, absorbing every detail for clues, Cassidy’s earthy, honey scent filled his lungs, bringing with it painfully sweet memories of the last time they’d been together.
Ghost did a sweep of the room, sniffing the rug first then the clothes on the chair and the bed.
Beside him, Fiona stood wringing her hands. “What exactly are you looking for?”
“I don’t know.” But he would know it if and when he found it.
He opened the closet, praying he wouldn’t find…her suitcase, but there it was. A rolling black Samsonite. Damn. This didn’t bode well, but he wasn’t ready to go nuclear. Yet.
Next, he went into her bathroom and flipped on the lights. Her scent was stronger here, and his body shuddered involuntarily as he fought off more sensual memories. Tubes of hand and face cream along with several other cylindrical containers lined the vanity, along with a tube of toothpaste and a cupholder containing a toothbrush.
The luggage…the clothes…the toiletries. He’d never really lived with a woman before, but he knew enough to understand that when women went anywhere, even for one night, they took their toiletries with them.
“Markus?” Fiona stared at him, her eyes becoming more concerned by the second.
He punched off the rocker switch, shutting off the bathroom light. “Get a list of Cassidy’s friends together and call them. Every single one until you verify who she’s staying with.” His gut told him no one would be able to verify that, but he couldn’t be sure. “Ghost. Let’s go.”
Ghost snapped to attention, ears alert as he trotted from the room ahead of Markus.
“What are you going to do?” Fiona followed him as he headed down the stairs. “Where are you going?”
“To Cassidy’s house.” Before opening the door, he pulled out his cell phone. “What’s your number?” When she recited her number, he called it. As soon as the phone she’d left in the kitchen rang, he opened the front door. “If you hear from her, call me. Call everyone in the family and ask if they’ve heard from her. Calls, not text messages. If you talk to her, tell her to get back here right away, then let me know she’s okay.”
But as he and Ghost ran to his SUV, his gut told him he’d never get that call.