Page 25 of Kiss Across the Universe
“And my gut,” Kit added. He didn’t care about being called paranoid now.
“And she’s not answering anything,” Aran added. He lifted his phone to his ear.
Kit heard the call go through. The ring at the other end. Then the mellow voice of the voicemail prompt.
Aran disconnected with a grimace. “Same shit, twenty-four hours now.”
“She hasn’t blocked you for some reason? You two didn’t fight?”
Aran looked affronted.
“Man, I fight with my family all the freaking time,” Kit said with feeling. “You didn’t say something bad enough for her to ghost you?”
Aran’s mouth pulled into another rueful expression. “Nothingthatbad,” he said. “So you call her. She’ll answer a call from you, at least.”
“I don’t have her number,” Kit said.
“Shit. Okay. Hang on.” Aran put his duffel on the edge of the verandah at the top of the stairs, then swiped at his phone.
Kit’s phone buzzed. Aran’s text message had Alannah’s phone number, which Kit’s phone had helpfully turned into a live link for instant dialing. He thumbed the link.
The call connected and rang. And rang.
Kit let it ring out and the computer voice kick in, then disconnected.
“She could be in Canmore.” Aran’s tone said he didn’t believe that any more than Kit did.
“Or Calgary,” Kit said.
“She didn’t take Mom’s truck,” Aran pointed out. “I’m going to check the house. Maybe that will tell me something that you missed.”
Kit stepped aside. “If you can findanythingthat sheds light on this…”
Aran nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
Chapter Eleven
Aran paused just inside thefront door. He didn’t bother examining the lock. Kit had told him it was busted because someone had forced the door in from the outside, and Aran trusted Kit enough that he didn’t need to confirm it for himself. Instead, he looked around the room.
There were signs everywhere that Alannah had been here. Cups and books, and the window seat that she loved to use for snoozes during the day, and the blanket she had kicked to the end of the seat instead of folding it.
Typical Alannah.
“Just one person has been living here for a few days,” Kit said, behind him.
“Yep. Mom andAtharandFarleft a week ago, right after Thanksgiving.”
“They didn’t mention the trip,” Kit said.
“It was unexpected. A friend of theirs rented a villa on the sunshine coast in Spain. They jumped at the chance of a few days of no snow.” The lie came easily and sounded very sincere, because Aran had been lying like this all his life. He barely had to think about it.
He also couldn’t tell Kit that he’d jumped to Canmore the moment Kit had told him about the busted door lock, then lied about having the willies twenty-four hours before, lied about the helicopter charter, but had waved down the uber guy so that he arrived at the house the conventional way. All of it he’d done without thinking.
He also couldn’t tell Kit that he knew Alannah was somewhere in Canmore. He’d found her instantly on the timescape. And he would have considered that perfectly normal except for the busted lock.
And Kit’s screaming instincts.
He would have to find some way that looked human-normal of letting Kit know she was in the town. Aran mulled over the problem as he moved through the house. Everything looked perfectly normal to him. More normal than even Kit felt it should be. The clutter was typical for Alannah. Shedidclean up after herself, but only on her own terms and in her own sweet time, when it was convenient.
