Page 105 of Sweet Shots

“Hello?” I answer.

“Hi, I’m looking for Dominic Blake.”

“This is him.” I keep my eyes on the officer, who is knocking on the front door. I’m out on my porch, needing to see what is going on.

“This is Officer Harris from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.”

“Do you have news? Where is Mikah? Is he okay?”

“Mr. Reed is okay—”

I blow out a sharp breath, my head falling back on my shoulders as tears sting my eyes. Holy fuck, he’s okay. He’s okay! My knees nearly give out.

“But this is never easy to say,” he adds.

“What?” I ask, my body going still.

“Mr. Reed was found safe, sir. But he’s requested that his whereabouts remain undisclosed.”

“I’m sorry, what?” I ask as my veins turn to ice.

The officer sighs. “I’m sorry, Mr. Blake. But Mr. Reed doesn’t want you to know where he is.”

My breath catches in my lungs. My chest is tight. I can’t fucking breathe.

“What? No. That can’t be. Something is wrong. He wouldn’t do that. He… someone must be telling him to say that. He’s in trouble,” I shout.

“I assure you, he is fine.”

“No. If he doesn’t want me to know where he is, then something iswrong. Someone is forcing him to be there against his will. He wouldn’t do that.”

“There’s nothing more I can say, Mr. Blake. I am sorry.”

“ButI—”

“I’m sorry,” he says again, this time more firmly. “Have a good day.” He ends the call, and I’m staring down at my phone with bile in my throat.

“Are you the concerned neighbor?” I look up, blinking, my eyes blurry.

When did the police get next door? When did they get into the house?

I manage to nod, but can’t speak.

“Everything is good over here, sir. There is no cat in the house.”

“No cat?” I ask, my voice barely making a sound.

“No, sir. Whoever was here must’ve taken the cat with them when they left.”

“When they left?” I bark out, moving down the stairs as the officer heads toward his car. “What do you mean?”

He blinks at me, raising a brow. He jerks a thumb over his shoulder. “Whoever lived there, left. Clothes are gone. No food. He probably took the cat with him.”

“He was missing,” I say in disbelief.

The cop runs his hand over his chin. “I’m not really sure what to say about that, sir. Did you file a report?”

“Yeah, in Vegas,” I grit out.

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