Page 94 of Believing in a Billionaire
Tears burned her eyes, pinching her features.
“Aw, sis, we’ll find him, okay?” Alicia rubbed her arm before she returned her hand to the wheel.
A warm hand wrapped around her shoulder and squeezed. “Yeah, Step-mommy, we’ll find him. I’ll bet my mom is so busy hating everyone that she never even thought of Kyle. Because…he’s kind of not really family.”
Though the words reflected Sierra’s ungenerous position on her newfound half-brother, she knew she meant well. Julia swallowed hard as she blinked her tears away. “Thanks, Sierra.”
Sierra leaned back in her seat. “Sure. He’s probably just on a bender. You know, like I was after I found out about the pictures.”
Julia tried to find solace in the words, but they did little to soothe her nerves. If this lead didn’t pan out, they’d be left with nothing. Although, they may already be too late. Her mind tried not to go to the worst, but she couldn’t help it. Was Kyle already gone?
The moon cast long shadows across the deserted road, turning each rustle of wind into a whispered threat.
She flicked her glassy eyes over the landscape, her brow furrowing as something glinted in the moonlight ahead of them.
“Stop, stop,” she said, poking a finger toward a clump of overgrown bushes on the roadside.
“What?”
“I saw something in those bushes,” Julia said as Alicia eased the car onto the shoulder and came to a stop.
Julia leapt from the passenger seat, hurrying forward in the darkness toward what she’d seen.
“Julia, wait!” Alicia called as she hurried after her. “Let me check it out first.”
Julia slowed, her heart thudding in her chest as the shape of a vehicle became obvious in the dim light. “That’s his car.”
A cold shiver ran down her spine, her earlier fear solidifying into a tangible dread. The door hung open, whispering a chilling tale of a hasty departure or worse.
“Okay, fine, just…stay here for a second, okay? Let me go first.” Alicia tugged the gun from the holster and thrust it forward, balancing her flashlight on top.
She crept forward as she approached the vehicle, hastily hidden behind the leafy bushes. The methodic crunch of her feet in the dry dirt made the hairs on the back of Julia’s neck stand up.
Sierra waited next to her, an arm wrapped around Julia’s shoulders. “Do you see anything?”
Alicia finished her circle of the vehicle. “Nothing. Front door’s open, keys are still inside.”
“Seriously?” The words ripped at Julia’s heart. Why would he abandon the car?
“Maybe he got out and then fell,” Sierra suggested as she glanced over the embankment.
Alicia holstered her weapon and aimed her flashlight over the edge. “Could be.”
“Why would he get out?” Julia asked.
Alicia shrugged as she crossed back to them, her flashlight beam still trained over the edge of the embankment. “Maybe he was sick. Drunk. If he was upset, he could have had too much to drink, pulled over to sleep it off, felt sick, got out of the car, and fell.”
Julia lifted her chin to peer over the edge as her sister called out to him.
Sierra stomped her way further down on the shoulder. “Kyle!”
Julia’s pulse raced as she hurried back to the car and retrieved another flashlight. She approached the car, shining her light over the edge near it. “Kyle!”
“Kyle! It’s your sister! If you can hear me, answer!” Sierra stamped a boot on the ground. “He’s so frustrating.”
Alicia scrambled further down the embankment to where it leveled off and searched the area.
“What are you looking for?” Sierra called.
