“We will try,” Levi says looking at her, then Tamara. “I think we have all we need from you for right now, Tamara, but I’m going to give my number to your grandmother. If you think of anything else at all, call my cell, and Mrs. Albergastey, if you think of anything, you can do the same.”
“It’s that man . . . ,” she huffs, shaking her head at Levi. “That man Juan that she’s been seeing, I told her that he’s no good, but my daughter is stubborn and refused to listen to reason. He did something to her, I know he did.”
I feel my heart lodge in my throat. I hope she’s wrong. I hope—as bad as it is—that she just needed to get away and took off for a couple of days. I hope that nothing happened to her.
“We will do our best to find your daughter, Mrs. Albergastey,” Wesley says, then his eyes move to Mrs. Thompson. “Where can I get a list of addresses and phone numbers for Tamara’s mother?” he asks, and Mrs. Thompson looks at me.
“I’ll be back in a moment. I’m going to have Samantha print the information out.”
“Sure,” I agree, watching her leave the room with Wesley.
“Will you find my mom?” Tamara asks, and I look at Levi. I can tell he’s torn between lying to her to give her what she needs and telling the truth.
“We will do our best,” he states, and she nods, moving her eyes to me.
“How will I get my schoolwork and stuff?”
“I . . .”
“I will stay with you in the city until this is sorted, honey. That way you won’t have to miss class,” Mrs. Albergastey tells her, and her body relaxes right before she comes over to give me a hug.
“Thank you, Miss Reed.”
“Any time, and if you need me, you can call Levi’s number, okay?” I whisper, and she nods against my chest. Catching her grandmother watching us, I let her go, then stick my hand out toward her. “I’m sorry for not introducing myself earlier. I’m Miss Reed, Tamara’s teacher.”
“I’ve heard about you. Tamara said you are the first person she’s met who may love books more than she does,” she says, and I find myself smiling as she pulls me in for a hug. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Now, we really should get going. We need to go to my place and pick some stuff up,” she says, ushering Tamara toward the door. “And please, the second you know anything, anything at all, you call and tell me,” she says to Levi. He nods as I wrap my arms around my waist, watching them leave huddled together.
“You okay?” Levi asks as soon as they’re gone, and I shake my head no.
“I’m worried. Do you think her mom’s okay?”
“I don’t know, baby. But I’ll find out.”
“Okay,” I whisper, and his eyes soften as he takes a step toward me.
“Got the stuff we need, you ready?” Wesley asks, breaking into the moment, but Levi doesn’t take his eyes off mine. I can tell that he wants to touch me—I can almost feel the energy flare between us.
“I’ll be okay, I’ll see you tonight,” I say, and his jaw ticks.
“See you tonight. Call me when you get home.”
“I will.” He nods, then looks to Mrs. Thompson, who’s looking between the two of us with curiosity. “It was nice meeting you.”
“You, too.” She gives him a smile, then he and Wesley leave through the open door.
“I hope they find her,” Mrs. Thompson says, and I pull my eyes from Levi’s retreating back to look at her.
“I hope so, too.”
She shakes her head, then pulls in a breath. “Go on home and try to enjoy your evening.”
I won’t be enjoying my evening. In fact, I will most likely spend the rest of the night until Levi gets home pacing the apartment, but I don’t want to stay around the school any longer than I have to.
“Have a good night, Mrs. Thompson,” I say as I head to the door with my stuff, saying a silent prayer as I put on my coat that Levi is able to find Tamara’s mother alive and well.
Hearing my cell phone ring, I drop the book I’ve been reading to my lap and pick the phone up quickly. “Levi?”
“Yeah, baby.”
“Is everything okay?” I ask, glancing at the clock, seeing that it is already after two in the morning.
“Yeah, just wanted to tell you to go to sleep.”
“How did you know I wasn’t asleep when you called?” I smile, rubbing the top of Muffin’s head when she drops onto my lap on top of the book resting there.
“Were you?”
“Well, no.” I sigh. I hate when he’s working late at night, and after today it’s even worse.
“You need to sleep, baby.”
“I know,” I agree, but it’s hard to find sleep when he’s not in bed with me. “Have you found anything out?”
“Nothing yet. What are you wearing?”
“Your shirt.”
I can hear the smile in his voice when he mutters, “My girl misses me.”
“Yes, I do, so please be safe and come home soon.”
“I will, baby. I’ve got one more stop, then I’ll be home. We sleeping at mine?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be there soon. Go to sleep, gorgeous.”
“Night, Levi,” I murmur, then drop my cell to the bedside table and put my book away before flipping off my light. I lie there awake for another hour until he finally gets home and crawls into bed with me.
Chapter 13
PLAIN OL’ IN LOVE
FAWN
Waking to the smell of coffee, I roll to my stomach, lift my head toward the clock, and frown when I see it’s only seven. Levi always sleeps late on the weekends, and last night—just like the three nights before—he didn’t get in until after midnight, so I know he must be tired. Doing a stretch, I roll out of bed and grab my dad’s old flannel shirt from the back of the door. Slipping it on over my tank top and sleep boxers, I head for the bathroom and clean up, then make my way back through the bedroom and open the door. Levi is sitting on his couch, shirtless, wearing a pair of sleep pants with his laptop open in front of him on the coffee table.
“Morning, baby.” He grins as I crawl into his lap and cuddle against his chest.
“Morning.” I press my lips against his neck, then turn to see what he’s doing on his computer, but he minimized whatever he was looking at. “You’re up early.”
“Couldn’t sleep,” he says as his fingers run over the top of my bare thigh, causing a tingle to slide through me.
“Have you gotten any new leads?” I ask the same question I’ve been asking him every day for the last few days.
“Nothing new.”
“That’s not good. Have you guys been able to question Juan?” I lean back to see his face.
“He’s MIA and no one’s talking. I have a couple informants that are checking into things, but I’m not sure they will be able to find anything more than I can.”
“Do you think that maybe Tamara’s mother is on drugs or something?” I ask hopefully. I know that wouldn’t be good, but it would be better than her being dead.
“There is always a possibility that she could be b—”
“What?” I cut him off when he breaks off and his body gets tight with tension under mine.
“What I’m about to tell you stays between us, do you understand that?” he asks quietly but firmly. I know I won’t like what he tells me very much.