Page 187 of Beyond the Badge: Nox

Yes, it was a risk showing up at the Knights’ sergeant at arms’ door uninvited. It wasn’t like he had a choice. Liyah could be over there with her sons. “Just get me the address.” He added, “Please.”

“Why do you need his address? Is there a problem?”

“I don’t know yet. I’m hoping not.”

After a slight hesitation, Jamison finally said, “I’ll find out where he lives and text it to you.”

“Thanks, brother.”

“Stay safe. And if you need anything…”

“Hopefully, this is simply some misunderstanding.”

“Nox, what’s going on?”

His grip tightened on his phone to the point of pain. “I haven’t heard from Liyah, and I just want to check to see if she’s over there. Just get me that address as soon as you can.”

Relief rushed through him when Jamison responded with, “Will do.”

* * *

The typeof house Nox thought Magnum lived in was not what he found at the address texted to him by the BAMC president.

He hadn’t expected it to look so… normal.

Like Magnum was some upper middle-class banker or something. It certainly didn’t fit the image most people had of the Dark Knight member in the least.

When the door was flung open, he stared at the most probable reason why.

Caitlyn Moore, Liyah’s stepmother.

“She here?”

Cait’s eyebrows pinned together. “What?”

Nox forced his way into the house by pushing past the petite blonde. “Please tell me she’s here.” He glanced around, but he didn’t see her. He didn’t hear her. He didn’t even see or hear Kee or Dev.

The alarm bells in his head began to ring at a deafening level.

“Liyah? No. What’s going on?”

He had to fight the temptation to grab Cait and shake the answers from her he wanted to hear. “I was hoping she was over here.”

“We haven’t seen her. What’s going on?” she asked again.

Her confusion was not helping his spiking blood pressure. “Liyah’s gone.”

She pulled her chin into her neck. “What do you mean, gone?”

He managed to swallow down his scream of,“She’s missing! She’s nowhere to be found!”But that wouldn’t help anyone. He needed to keep his shit together. To keep his head on straight and refrain from taking out his frustration out on someone not deserving of it.

He pulled in a deep breath to keep himself from unraveling in the house of someone who considered him an enemy. “She was supposed to come over to my place but never showed up.”

Cait’s brow furrowed. “She’s always running late.”

And while that was true… “I’m used to her being a few minutes late but after texting me that she was on her way, she never showed up.”

Cait started to pick up on his uneasiness. He could hear it in her voice when she suggested, “Maybe she’s at home.”