Page 80 of All the Missing Pieces

Colt frowned, little lines bracketing his mouth amidst the scruff. “You took this to law enforcement?”

I couldn’t help but scoff. “I’ve taken it to six local PDs, three state police forces, and even pled my case to the FBI. They all thought I was some little girl grasping at straws.”

His jaw worked back and forth as if he were trying to loosen it, to force the tension to release. “You have files on all of these cases?”

“What do you think?”

“That you’re not an idiot,” Colt muttered.

My lips twitched. “So he can learn.”

I was hoping for a chuckle, one of the ones that felt like warm grit skating over me. But Colt wasn’t there. Not now. “Get the files, Chaos. We’ll work in the dining room.”

A buzz lit beneath my skin, hope that just maybe he believed me. I was moving before I could stop myself, heading back to Bessie and unlocking the drawer that held all my secrets. The stack of files barely fit in my arms, but I managed it.

As I headed back to the house, I found the front door open. An invitation. I just hoped like hell it was one I would be glad I’d accepted.

I moved inside, shutting the door behind me. I wound my way to the dining room, where a long gleaming table sat in front of floor-to-ceiling windows. But not even the gorgeous view could distract me now.

Colt was there, and he’d brought our food inside. There were plates now. Sodas to go with the meal. And there was a stack of office supplies—highlighters, legal pads, pens in an array of colors.

He looked up, hair looking just a bit unkempt, as if he’d been running his fingers through it repeatedly. “Tell me where you want to start.”

“With Avery,” I whispered. “You should start where I did, so you can follow the points I connected.”

“All right.” Colt pulled out a chair for me, and we began.

Everything came in fits and starts. Colt asked countless questions, ones I had answers to and ones I’d never even thought of. We approached things from different angles. Colt’s was precise and measured. Mine was a little wilder, running on instinct. But the processes complemented each other somehow, each one filling in blanks that the other had left open, finding a few more of those missing pieces.

We talked for hours, long after the sun had sunk beneath the horizon. Papers and files had started to be organized in a timeline across the dining table. And when we finally finished, Colt sat back in his chair and stared at it all.

I didn’t say a word. Simply let him process everything.

But the wait killed. I couldn’t read Colt’s face now. He’d turned inward, that impassive mask slipping over his features.

“Will you stay here?” he finally asked.

My brow furrowed. It was the last thing I’d expected to come out of his mouth. Maybe I’d hoped for him to shoutGenius!or worried he’d tell me to take a long walk off a short pier. “What do you mean?”

Colt’s gaze lifted from the papers, and he turned to me. “Tell me you’ll stay here. I’ve got an alarm system and a dog that, while old, will definitely tell you if someone’s here who shouldn’t be.”

Something shifted, some slight rearranging in the cavity of my chest. Colt was worried. About me. It didn’t feel like the controlling machinations of my parents. Or even his interfering from the past few weeks. It felt like warm honey spreading over me. Someone wanting to know if I was okay.

“If I stay, will you help?” It was a barter, and I knew it. But I wasn’t above striking a deal.

Those dark eyes of his swirled with different shades of shadow. “I’ll help, Chaos. But you are going to stay safe. No more putting your ass on the line.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Colt shut me down with a single look.

“We aren’t taking chances. Not with you. Not ever.”

33

COLT

I slammedthe door to my SUV a little harder than necessary. Okay, maybe more than a little, based on the way the vehicle rocked with the force of it. But I had to get the tension out somehow.

Runs weren’t doing it. Hitting the heavy bag at the station gym wasn’t helping. Not even ice-cold showers every night.

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