Page 3 of Faith
They all stopped, waiting for Zeke to answer the phone. In their business, when someone called, they answered. No matter what.
“Donovan,” Zeke barked into the phone, locking his gaze on Montgomery’s. He didn’t need words to communicate with his boss.
“Zeke?” a voice whispered.
Every inch of Zeke responded to that voice. One word, and he knew exactly who it was, even if it had been twelve years since he heard her. He glanced at Montgomery. Why was she calling Zeke instead of her brother?
Zeke tore his gaze from Montgomery’s. He was wrong. He had to be. It couldn’t be her. And he couldn’t tell his best friend it was or Mont would be crushed all over again.
They’d all lost hope, and having it back, even for a few seconds, was worse than never having it at all.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t have long. I need you.”
“Where are you?” Zeke was halfway to the door, moving toward the front of the building and ready to go.
“The convenience store we always hung out at when we were kids. Do you remember?”
“I’m on my way. Don’t move.”
“Please hurry. Park in the back.”
“I’ll be there in two minutes,” Zeke said.
She hung up.
Zeke felt like he’d been punched. Twelve years. It had been twelve years since he heard her voice. Twelve years since the woman he loved walked out of the house and never came back. Twelve years.
His heart pounded. His palms were sweaty. Every inch of him said he would never see her again if he didn’t get there soon.
He couldn’t let her disappear again. He couldn’t.
“Who was that?” Montgomery asked, surprising Zeke.
“Just a client. Needs me to go get her.” Zeke never kept anything from Montgomery. Brothers in every possible way. The look in his best friend’s eyes said he knew there was more to the story, but he also knew if Zeke wasn’t sharing, there was a reason for it.
“Are you okay to go alone?”
Zeke nodded, trying to calm his racing heart. If it really was Nina, he would bring her to Montgomery so he could see his sister. Know she was alive. Twelve years was a long time to assume she wasn’t, and false hope would crush him.
Which was why Zeke said, “All good. I’ll check in later. How long are you here?”
Montgomery looked at his watch and shrugged. “Another hour, at least. Are you coming back?”
“Possibly.”
Montgomery tilted his head. When they picked up a client, they took them somewhere safe. That rarely meant the office. “Are you sure everything’s okay?”
Zeke nodded. “I think so. I’ll try to be back soon.”
Montgomery nodded, even as his face betrayed his confusion.
Zeke was cutting it close and had to go. He wasn’t far from the convenience store, but he didn’t want to risk her leaving. He raced to his SUV and cranked it up, pulling out of the lot without bothering with a seatbelt. She was more important.
A black SUV idled in front of the store. The man behind the wheel glanced up, then returned his focus to his phone. The rest of the parking lot was empty. The store appeared to be as well, except for the clerk behind the counter.
Zeke pulled in from the other side, where the man in the SUV and the clerk wouldn’t see him. He eased his SUV to a stop next to the door that said Employees Only.
