Harlequin Romantic Suspense April 2021 by Karen Whiddon (good e books to read txt) 📗

“No.” Heart in her throat, she took it from him. “I think that’s Micha’s,” she said, turning it over in her hands. “In fact, I’m positive it is.”

Jones cursed. Carly raised her gaze to his. “This means Micha is in danger.”

“We don’t know that,” Jones argued. “Do you know his passcode to unlock his phone? We might find some more info there.”

“I don’t,” she said thoughtfully. “But I bet I can guess.” She typed in 0922, which had been the date she and Micha were originally supposed to get married. The screen vibrated but the phone didn’t open. “That wasn’t it.” Considering, she tried Micha’s birthday. “Nope.”

Jones watched her with a mixture of concern and amusement. “Not as easy as you thought, I take it?”

“I’ll figure it out,” she replied. “Clearly, guys think differently than women. How did you decide on your passcode?”

Jones shrugged. “Do you remember the date you and Micha first met?”

“Of course.” Without waiting, she typed that in. And just like that, the phone unlocked. “I’m in. Good job, Jones. But how did you know?”

“Just a lucky guess.” Jones grinned. “What’s open on the screen?”

“It looks like Micha was in the middle of texting me,” she said. “He’d typed, About to be... About to be where? Or what?” She frowned. “What did he mean?”

“Maybe, about to be home?” Jones suggested. “Since it looks like he was texting you on the way toward your front door.”

“Which means he was grabbed?” Heart beginning to pound, she stared at her brother in horror. “Should I call the police?”

“Not yet.” Jones held out his hand for Micha’s phone. “Let me take a look and see if I can find any other clues.”

She stood close, watching as he scrolled through the list of recent calls. “He’s been busy,” Jones commented. “He made several calls this evening. Several of them out of state. Let’s check his web browser.”

Though doing all this felt like a huge invasion of Micha’s privacy, Carly nodded. She didn’t see where they had any other choice.

“There are a couple of websites still open. Look.” Jones showed her. “A few army ones, and he did a search for someone named Andy Shackleford. Does that name ring a bell with you?”

Carly shook her head. “No. Micha never mentioned him.”

“What I think we should do next is call some of the numbers that Micha did. Maybe a few of those people might have some insight as to where he’s gone or what he was doing.”

Again, Carly had to quash back her uneasiness. “Do you want to call them or should I?” Glancing at the clock, she winced. “You realize we’ll be waking all of these people up.”

Jones patted her shoulder. “It’s for a good cause. I’ll do it. I don’t mind.”

She thanked him. “Do you want something to drink? Water, tea?”

“Do you have any coffee?” he asked. “I know it’s after two in the morning, but I just got off work. I’ll be up for a long time yet.”

“Sure. I can make you a cup.”

He followed her into the kitchen, still scrolling on Micha’s phone. “He made all of these phone calls much earlier today. There hasn’t been any activity since around ten-thirty.”

Eyeing him while the coffee brewed, she shook her head. “Maybe we should let the police handle this. I doubt any of those people had anything to do with Micha disappearing.”

Watching her, Jones slowly nodded. “You’re probably right. Let’s call January’s fiancé, Sean, since he works in Homicide, alongside Detective Joe Parker, who is also on the case. I’d rather deal with someone we know rather than Dispatch and then whichever officers happen to be on duty.”

“I agree.” She took a deep breath, calling on her nurse’s training to remain calm. “I’ve been dealing with a police officer named Charlie Crenshaw. He’s one of Micha’s friends. I’m going to speak to him while you’re talking with Sean.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Jones gave her a brotherly hug. “It’s all going to be okay. If there’s anyone who knows how to take care of himself, it’s Micha.”

Though she nodded, she couldn’t help but think of the car explosion and the person who’d shot out her front window. Whoever had Micha meant him serious harm. She could only hope Micha would survive this. She couldn’t lose him again.

“I love him,” she said out loud, shaking her head. “I really, really love him.”

Jones stared at her. “Well, duh. Why do you sound so surprised? The entire family knows how much you and Micha love each other. Just like January loves Sean and Heath loves Kylie.” He shook his head. “Now let me make my call and you make yours. The sooner we get law enforcement working on this, the sooner we can find Micha and get him back home safe.”

“I agree.” Turning her back to Jones, she located the number Charlie Crenshaw had given her and called it. As she’d suspected it would, due to the lateness of the hour, the call went straight to voice mail. Carly left her name and number and a quick description of what they thought might have happened to Micha. Right before she was about to end the call, she remembered to add the name Andy Shackleford.

When she’d finished, she turned around to find her brother clearly doing the same thing and leaving his own message.

“No one wants to take a call at this time of the night,” he said, shrugging. “But at least the messages will be there whenever they check.”

Bridget growled, the hair on her back rising. She rose from her dog bed, eyeing the front door.

“What’s wrong, girl?” Carly asked.

Jones grabbed her arm. “Come on,” he said. “Out the back door right now.”

“I’m not leaving my dog.” Quickly, Carly clipped a leash on Bridget’s collar. Then, with Jones urging her along, they all rushed out the back door, down the steps and into the yard.

“I want you to hide in the storage building,” Jones told her, giving her a