Page 72 of Dust and Desire
“Me too,” Ali added.
Caroline looked like she wanted to argue, but one look at my facemust have convinced her otherwise. “Alright, but we stick together. If somethin’s wrong, we don’t need to be wanderin’ around alone.”
We threw money on the table and headed for the door. The sun was starting to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink that would have been beautiful under different circumstances. Now it just felt ominous, like time was running out.
Caroline led us to her truck, and we piled in, Ali in the middle. As we drove toward Alex’s apartment above the feed store, I tried calling him again. Straight to voicemail this time.
“His phone’s off now,” I said, my voice tight with worry. “It’s not even ringing.”
“Or dead,” Ali offered, but she didn’t sound convinced.
The apartment was dark when we arrived, no sign of Alex’s truck in the small parking area behind the building. Caroline produced a spare key from her pocket.
“Logan gave this to me when Alex first moved in,” she explained at my questioning look. “In case of emergencies.”
This felt like an emergency.
The apartment was empty, but it looked like Alex had been there recently. His bed was unmade, clothes scattered on the floor like he’d changed in a hurry. But what made my heart stop was what I found on the small kitchen table.
A note, written in Alex’s familiar handwriting.
I’m sorry, Dustin. Don’t look for me. - A
Chapter 26
Dustin
My hands shook as I held the paper. “This doesn’t make sense. Why would he just leave? We told each other we loved each other. We were building something together.” I felt my breath catch in my throat. “I… I was sure he wouldn’t leave.”
Ali came up beside me, gently taking the note from my trembling fingers. She studied it, her well-trained eyes scanning for clues I might have missed.
“Something’s not right,” she said quietly. “This is too abrupt. Too final.” She looked up at me, her expression serious. “This isn’t the note of someone who fell out of love, Dustin. This is the note of someone who feels they have no choice.”
Caroline leaned against the kitchen counter, arms crossed over her chest. “I gotta agree with city girl. I might not’ve known him long, but Alex ain’t the type to run without a damn good reason. And he sure as hell wouldn’t leave you high and dry like this. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
I sank into a kitchen chair, feeling like the floor had disappeared beneath my feet. “But what reason could he possibly have? If he was in trouble, he could have told me. We could have faced it together.”
“Unless he was trying to protect you,” Ali said softly, setting the note on the table. “Unless whatever he’s running from is dangerous enough that he’d rather leave than risk you getting hurt.”
The words hung in the air, heavy with implication. My mind raced back through every conversation with Alex, searching for clues I might have missed.
“I’ve been feeling like he’s hiding something for a while now,” I answered truthfully, even if it hurt to admit. “But I figured he’d tell me when he was ready. I didn’t want to force his hand.”
“It looks like somebody already has,” Ali said, folding the note and tucking it into her pocket.
“Any idea who it might be?” Caroline asked.
I shook my head. I had no idea. Alex had been hiding something, but it had remained well hidden. I didn’t even know where to start.
“The sheriff,” I said suddenly, standing up so quickly the chair nearly toppled over. “Marcus. He stopped by the night after Alex’s apartment was broken into to check on us. Maybe… Maybe he knows something.”
Caroline nodded grimly. “Good thinkin’. Marcus has been keepin’ an eye on things around here lately. If there’s been trouble brewin’, he’d know about it.”
“He knows about us too,” I added, trying to reassure myself mostly. “If he knows anything, I think he’ll help.”
We locked up Alex’s apartment and piled back into Caroline’s truck, the silence heavy between us as she drove toward the sheriff’s station. The sun had nearly disappeared behind the horizon, leaving the sky a deep purple that matched the dread settling in my chest.
The sheriff’s station was still lit up when we arrived, and I could see Marcus through the window, hunched over paperwork at his desk. He looked up when we walked in, his expression immediately shifting from tired to alert when he saw our faces.
