Page 136 of Every Broken Piece
“Her phone was found crushed on the curb.” One of the policemen asked if I could identify it. Right away I recognized the I ?? NY phone case. The screen was completely destroyed and the police took it as evidence.
“She was so excited to show you her new website,” Pax whispers.
I didn’t think my heart could continue to break but each minute destroys it a little more. “She will,” I say. “When we see her again, she can show us.”
His look of defeat is also filled with pity. My jaw tightens because I’m not giving up on her. If I have to search for her for the rest of my days I will.
“Wait!” He wraps his fingers around my wrist. “Her computer. She had her computer with her. In a backpack. She has her computer.”
My brows lower in confusion. The beeping of the monitors intensifies with his overexcitement.
“Pax, you need to—"
“You can track her through the computer. I added it as a device. You can find her. Dad.” He gives my wrist a shake because I’ve gone still. “Dad. You can track her.”
I pull my phone out of my pocket. “How. Show me how.”
Pax takes my phone, the IV lines rattling against the bed rails, and taps a few things then turns it toward me. Theres a circle with Tess’s picture in it, one I took while hiking. Pax zooms out and the dot is now in the northern suburbs.
“There she is,” Pax says. “She’s on...” He zooms in on the dot and frowns. “I can’t find the street name.”
He takes a screenshot and hands my phone back to me. “You have to find her. You have to go get her.”
I glance at Jack who’s hovering over my shoulder, looking at my phone. He pokes me in the ribs. “Go. We’ll be fine here.”
I look at Pax. “I don’t want to leave you.”
Pax grins. “I won’t start my Olympic training until tomorrow. Please go get our Tess.”
Our Tess.
My Tess.
This woman effortlessly slid into my little family, and they love her just as much as I do.
I kiss Pax on the forehead. “Thank you,” I whisper.
Chapter sixty
Gabe
Itry to keep a low profile in my private life. I’m not loud or flashy. I don’t announce my presence when I enter a building. I crave privacy.
But when it comes to finding Tess, I’ll pull out all the stops. I shamelessly call the police chief. We’ve met several times at fund raisers. Bonded over whiskey, our mutual dislike of said gatherings, and our love of the Broncos.
I tell him where I think Tess might be. He tells me to meet him at the PD.
I’d dismissed my driver hours ago and am driving the SUV. All I can think about is that little dot on my phone screen. I’m well aware of the odds that she might not be at that location. They could have tossed the backpack out of the van. They could have tossed her—
My phone rings. I press the button on the steering wheel.
“Hardwick, tell me what you know.”
“Carter’s not in Chicago anymore. I’m sorry, Gabe.”
Rage has me clenching the steering wheel so tight that the leather creaks. “You’ve been telling me for days that he’s holed up in Chicago and that you have eyes on him. What the hell happened?”
“Chicago PD has an undercover guy in O’Malley’s organization. He’s been keeping his eye on Carter, but obviously this wasn’t his priority. Carter left Chicago two days ago.” She pauses. “He’s rogue, Gabe.”
