Page 49 of Forged in Secrets

He paused to peer out the peephole of the door every few minutes. There was no sign of Jade, but so far, his entire break-in had proven pointless. He couldn’t find so much as a sheet of paper, let alone a cell phone or laptop.

Either Jade had nothing to do with Katie’s disappearance, or she was a whole lot smarter and more careful than he’d first assumed.

The sudden sound of his phone jangling loudly from within his pocket almost stopped his heart.

He hit the green button to answer without so much as looking at the screen, desperate to silence it.

“Yo, Benny boy,” came Asher’s voice in his ear. As usual, his twin brother sounded about as serious as an episode of Seinfeld. “How’s the tropical island treating you?”

“We still haven’t found the missing girl,” he said, fresh guilt welling up within him as his adrenaline began to calm once more.

He’d lied to Grace, and for what? So far, his criminal activities had been nothing but a waste of time. And that was assuming Jade didn’t become suspicious when she saw the place.

“I figured,” Asher said. “Gabe updated us. I just wanted to check in, is all.”

Somewhere in the background, Ben could hear one of his brother’s favorite obscure 90s grunge albums playing. The spring break party music was about ten times more annoying than his brother’s worst playlists, and that was saying something.

As Asher updated him on the latest happenings back in San Antonio, Ben started unpacking and repacking the final suitcase Jade had left on the bed. His stomach wasbeginning to growl with hunger. A late evening dinner with Grace sounded perfect right about now. Assuming she was still awake.

“So, how’s all of the alone time with our missing office manager?” Asher said, seeming to read his thoughts.

“Oh–uh–it’s been fun,” he said quickly, wishing he’d used a more appropriate adjective to describe a missing person’s investigation. “I mean, despite all the sand and drunken college kids, it’s beautiful here.”

“Ah, so only the island is beautiful, and not the woman you’re sharing it with?” Asher teased.

“Whatever, bro. How’s it going with that girl you were seeing?”

“Surprise! She cheated on me.”

“You don’t exactly sound torn up,” Ben said carefully. His twin had a way of attracting the worst women possible, and he suspected that Asher set himself up for failure to avoid having to actually commit. Not that he’d say it out loud. Usually, he left the psychoanalyzing and nagging to Gabe.

“I mean, Dad keeps telling me that I won’t find the love of my life at a rock concert, and I keep ignoring him. Not that I’m looking for her or anything.”

Ben rolled his eyes. He might not exactly have his own love life sorted out perfectly, but he was glad he wasn’t spending his Friday nights in a sweaty mob like his brother so often did.

He was about to tell Asher as much when he heard the sound of scuffling shoes in the hall.

He bit back a curse as he headed for the peephole, hoping it was nothing but another passing gaggle of girls.

“Look, bro, I’ll call you back,” he whispered into thephone, hanging up without giving his brother a chance to say goodbye as he peered through the opening.

It wasn’t Jade standing on the other side of the door.

It was Grace.

CHAPTER

EIGHTEEN

GRACE

Grace stood with her arms folded over her chest, waiting for Ben to respond to her knock.

Still, she was surprised by the sadness that flooded through her body when he pulled open the door, as though a part of her had been holding on to hope that he wasn’t lying to her after all.

“Hey,” Ben said, giving her a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I thought you’d still be a little bit longer. I was going to come ask you if you wanted to get some food.”

Ignoring the growing hunger that had replaced her earlier tiredness, she reached into her tote bag and took out her phone, holding it up in front of his face for emphasis. “It’s been over an hour. And, yes, despite my reputation, I am capable of finishing my work early now and then.”

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