“Wake up, sunshine,” Till said, sauntering into my room, kicking the foot of my bed.
“Jesus Christ, I knew I shouldn’t have given you a key,” I grumbled, clearing the sleep from my eyes.
“Like you had a choice. I made the down payment on this baby.”
“It was a gift, and I said I was gonna pay you back, asshole.”
He lifted a silver boxing glove keychain in the air and jingled it at me. “Yeah, but until then . . . I get full access.”
“Why are you here”—I rolled over to look at the clock—“at six A.M.?”
“Well, I would have been here at three, but Eliza made me wait. She also made me feed and change little Slate since I was already awake. That took forever. That boy has entirely too much of Quarry’s attitude in him.”
“Did he flip you off and tell you to fuck off like this?” I asked, giving him the finger as I sat up, only mildly amused by the conversation.
“He might as well have. The kid’s only four months old, but I swear to God he said ‘shit’ the other day.”
I let out a loud chuckle, shaking my head. “Seriously, why are you here?”
“Oh, right. You need to get dressed. We’re going on a road trip.”
“If this has anything to do with scouting another fighter, it can wait until I clock in at nine.” I rested my elbows on my knees, cradling my head and wishing I could go back to bed. I still had two hours before my alarm clock went off; I was in no mood to go on any impromptu road trips.
He didn’t say anything for several seconds until I glanced up to find him watching me warily.
“What?” I growled.
He took a giant step back, well out of my reach, before he said the words I’d both dreaded and dreamed about for over three years.
“We found her.”
My stomach dropped.
My heart stopped.
Flames shot through my veins only to be iced by the nerves that immediately collided against them.
“What?” I repeated on a whisper.
“She’s about ninety miles away. Someone at Willing Hearts homeless shelter started digging around on Victoria Mabie. It pinged on our end, and when the guys got there, they found out she’s been living there for over a year.”
Chills spread over my body as rage brewed in my soul. I blankly held Till’s eyes while anger, relief, and hope all warred inside me.
He pulled his phone from his back pocket and passed it to me. Sure enough, there was a picture of Ash smiling, huddled between two elderly women at what looked like some sort of office Christmas party.
Same hair.
Same eyes.
Same face.
Completely wrong smile.
Before Till could even object, I hurled his phone as hard as I could, shattering it and denting the wall.
“Well, okay, then. We’re gonna need to make another stop now.”
“Fuck her,” I said, pushing to my feet and grabbing my forearm crutches, which were leaning against my nightstand.
“Flint—”
“Get out,” I snapped, limping my way to the bathroom.
“Flint, don’t do this.”
Oh, I’m doing it. “I need to get dressed. Have the coffee ready,” I snapped.
Till loudly clapped his hands. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”
Less than two hours later, Till and I arrived at Willing Hearts. It wasn’t the hellhole I had expected, but it still infuriated me that she’d lived there—just within my reach—for so long.
“We’re here to see Judy Jenkins. My name’s Till Page. I believe she’s expecting us,” Till said into the small intercom at the front door.
“Oh hi, honey. Come on in,” the friendly voice replied as the door buzzed, allowing us entry.
The smiling face of a gray-haired woman in her late sixties greeted us.
“Hi, I’m Judy. So nice to meet you.” She extended a hand toward Till.
“I appreciate you seeing us today. This is my brother, Flint.”
Her eyes flashed to mine, growing wide before filling with tears. “Of course it is.” She grabbed her heart and continued to watch me with gooey eyes usually reserved for twelve-year-old girls, not elderly women.
“Where is she?” I barked, causing Judy’s warm smile to fall.
Till kicked the foot of my crutch out from under me, sending me stumbling forward. Just before I crashed to the ground, he grabbed my arm and stepped in front of me.
“Whoa, easy there,” he said. Then he snarled into my ear, “Less abusive ex-boyfriend, more long-lost love.”
I gave him the side eye as I got my crutches positioned on my forearms again. Taking a deep breath, I pasted on a smile I was positive looked no more authentic than it felt.
“So, where’s Ash?” Till asked when he turned back around.
Judy was still eyeing me as she answered his question. “Tori . . . I mean Ash is out on a breakfast run. Every morning, she delivers food to the people we can’t take on at night. There’s just so many of them, and our space is really limited.”
For a brief second, my smile turned genuine.