by Cameron Hart
“I know. I also know you’re itching to get back to Emma. I can’t wait to meet her, son. She deserves to be loved and cherished, and I know you are just the man to do that.”
I swallow around the lump in my throat and busy myself with putting the dishes from the dishwasher away. Mom hobbles over to me and rests her good hand on my shoulder, stilling my movements.
“Go get your girl, Roman. She wants you and needs you, even if she can’t see it right now. I was the same way with your father, you know.”
“He mentioned something about that,” I nod.
“I can’t really explain it. I was afraid that he was too good to be true. I was afraid it would all be ripped away from me, but more than that, I was afraid that maybe what we had was real. I didn’t know what to do with that kind of love, and I was afraid I was going to mess it up.”
"That's the sense I get from Emma as well. I just don't know how to make her see that I'm the real thing and that there's nothing she can do to push me away."
I sigh in frustration and run a hand through my hair.
“You know her better than I do, but for me, something snapped into place when your father got down on one knee and promised me forever. It was like his actions in that moment validated all the words he’d been trying to use to get through to me. I don’t know if that will work for Emma, but in case it does, it’d be such an honor to know your family could be a part of that.” She pulls out a velvet box from the pocket of her robe.
“Oh, mom…”
“It was your great-grandma’s ring. I know it’s probably a bit outdated, but you can get it altered in whatever way you think is best. I just want you to know we support you and we already love Emma because you love her so much.”
I blink back a few tears and pull her in for a hug.
“Thank you, mom. It means so much to me, and I know it will mean everything to Emma.”
She pats my back and wipes away tears of her own. “You be good to her, Roman. I see how much heartache I caused your father and now, of course, I feel like a fool. But he’s never once made me feel bad about it or brought it up to hurt me. Just know that however much you’re hurting right now, she is too. When she comes around, she will feel a lot of guilt, but don’t you ever use that against her. Promise me, Roman, you will only ever show her the love she deserves.”
“I don’t care about my pain right now. I only ache for her. I’m wrecked just thinking about why she feels like she doesn’t deserve good things. I’d never use that against her, I promise. I just want to fill her life with love. I want to make up for whatever happened that scared her into isolation.”
Mom pulls me into another hug. “I did a pretty good job raising you, didn’t I?” She laughs as she pulls back to look at me in the eyes.
“I think I turned out alright,” I grin at her.
“MOMMA! I’m home!” Tessa’s loud and dramatic entrance shakes us from the moment we were sharing.
Mom winks at me and pinches my cheeks one last time. I slip the ring into my pocket and greet Tessa.
✽✽✽
It’s almost midnight by the time I land in Atlanta. I’m itching to get to Emma, but I know I need to do this right. I head home and clean up before collapsing into bed. All night I dream of Emma and what it will feel like to hold her again. I still don’t know just how I’m going to win her over, but I know I won’t give up, no matter what.
I wake up ten hours later, despite setting my alarm for seven am. Shit, I must’ve been more worn out than I originally thought.
After putting on a fresh set of clothes, I head over to Emma’s apartment and knock at the door.
The door creaks open to reveal a small Asian woman who has to be in her seventies. “Hello?” She says, eyeing me warily.
“Hi,” I say, confused. “I’m looking for Emma. This is apartment 307, right?”
“What is it with you big men coming here and asking for people who don’t live here anymore?”
“Excuse me?”
“Today it’s you, but a few days ago it was another man. Older. Looking for Harper. I’ll tell you what I told him – I moved in here a few days ago. I’m not sure who lived here before, but they are gone now.”
My stomach drops.
“They don’t live here anymore?” I repeat like an idiot.
“That’s what I said, isn’t it? Maybe you should consult with the other man and you can stalk your girls together. I don’t care. But please don’t come here again.”
I nod in confusion. “Yeah…sorry to bother you, ma’am.”
I prepared for Emma to fight me, to ignore me, to throw out every excuse in the book, but I never thought she’d move away. Maybe their lease was up? I don’t even know where to begin looking for her.
After stopping by the coffee shop and the diner, I’m a fucking mess. I’m going out of my goddamn mind. Both places of employment said Emma quit two weeks ago. How the hell did all of this go sideways so quickly?
I call her, knowing she probably won’t answer, but needing to let her know I’m in town and I need to see her. The call rings once and then gives me an automated message saying the number is no longer in service.
Are you fucking kidding me?
How the hell did she just disappear in two weeks?
I call Tyler in a frantic haze.
“Roman, you and Emma done already?” He teases, but I’m in no mood.
“I can’t find her. She’s gone, man. Fucking disappeared. Moved out. Quit her job. What the hell? Where is she?”
“Woah, okay, Roman. We’ll find her. Where are you? Want to come over to my office?”
"Yeah. Yeah, I'll be there in ten."
I make it to Tyler’s office in a record six minutes and storm inside, slamming the door behind me.
“Take a breath, buddy. You gotta keep it together right now.”
I nod and try to breathe. It comes out as a growl, however. “I just need to find her. Right the fuck now.”
“What can you tell me about her? You’re a detective, so I know you’ve picked up on some details. Let’s use that. First, I’ll run her plates again, see if she’s been pulled over or anything.”
He gets to work and I wrack my brain for any useful information. I’ve been thinking about Emma non-stop these last two weeks. The taste of her skin, her small, perky breasts, her piercing blue eyes, her giggle that I know she’s only ever let me hear. Those details won’t do a goddamn thing to help me find her now.
“Roman, you’re going to want to see this.”
I walk around his desk so I can see his screen. “Her car was impounded?” I roar.
“Looks like it was abandoned. Want to see if you can use your detective credentials to go examine the car?”
It’s a less than legal option, but fuck if I care.
“Yeah. I’m going to go do that. Keep looking for her. I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Do you have anything for me to go on? My initial search only came up with her name, job, and college credits. She’s done a pretty good job of staying under the radar. No social media, no legal history, no credit cards, not even a bank account.”
Of course, I knew all of this after doing an initial search on her as well.
“Her friend and roommate. Harper…Harper…shit, what’s her last name? Her dad just got busted for a bunch of insider trading bullshit.”
“Crawford?”
“Yeah. Harper Crawford. And her man, Levi. I assume they are still together. Emma told me about him. Levi Burke.”
“I can work with that.”
Chapter 16
Roman
Fuck.
I pace around Tyler's office after a disheartening trip to the impound lot. Her car had a duffel bag, her purse, and a burner phone left inside. My girl was definitely planning on running, but someone got to her first. That shit doesn't sit right with me. The monsters of her past came back and I wasn't there for her.
I’m going to get her back, of th
at I have no doubt. I just hope she can forgive me for not being there.
I know Tyler feels like shit for advising me to keep my distance. He meant well at the time, but honestly, I’m still pissed. I’m angrier at myself, but there’s definitely anger towards him as well.
I can’t address his concerns, however, seeing as all of my mental capacity is currently working towards finding Emma. I have to bring her back. He seems to know I don’t have time to coddle his feelings right now, which I appreciate. Begrudgingly, of course.
“Harper and Levi should be here any minute,” Tyler informs me. I’m glad he had more success with his lead than I did with mine.
Right on cue, there’s a knock at the door. I swing it open, albeit a little too forcefully.
“Roman?” I recognize the man from the night of the frat party. I nod and let him into the office.
“You have information on Emma?” I bark.
“Take a breath, Roman. We’re not going to get anywhere if you’re this aggressive.”
I shoot Tyler a look that lets him know I want to fucking ring his neck.
“I understand,” Levi says. “I thought I lost Harper here just a few days ago. I was out of my goddamn mind.” He tugs Harper into his side and kisses the top of her head. The sweet gesture makes me ache. I have to look away.
“Emma actually helped me find Harper,” Levi continues.
“What?” Harper squeaks. “I didn’t know that! She said she left town. When did you see her?”
“Wait, you saw her two days ago?” Hope floods my chest. She’s only been missing a few days. That’s a hell of a lot better than two weeks.
“Why don’t we start at the beginning and get our stories straight,” Tyler says, ever the voice of reason.
Levi and Harper sit down, while I continue wearing a path in the carpet of Tyler's office.
“Emma and I were living in an apartment paid for by my dad and stepmom. They kicked us out two weeks ago… I’m guessing that’s the last time you saw Emma?” Harper asks. I nod, the pain evident across my face at the memory of having her in my arms and then waking up alone. “She loves you, you know. She didn’t tell me much, but she said you were good to her. That’s pretty high praise coming from Emma.” Harper smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.
"Anyway," she continues. "Emma set me up in a motel, paid for two weeks upfront for me. She said she had some stuff to take care of back home. Her mom died, and she had to go. If I knew she was in danger I never would have let her go alone—" Harper starts sobbing, and Levi pulls her into his arms.
“Shh, sweet girl. No one is blaming you.” He strokes her back and I have to look away again. Fuck, it hurts.
I clear my throat. “So that’s the last time you saw her? Two weeks ago?”
Harper nods and gets her crying under control. "She's been calling me every night though, to check in. She got a new phone and promised I wouldn't give anyone the number."
That’s why I never heard back from her. Goddamnit, I’m an idiot. I’m a fucking detective, how did I not look into any of this sooner? I should hand in my badge and gun after this is all over.
“You heard from her last night?” I know she probably didn’t, seeing as I found her phone in her abandoned car.
“Uh…shoot. No. It’s been a few days. I-I didn’t check in with her after Levi came back. I…God, I’m such a terrible friend!”
Levi pulls her into his lap, and she curls up into him. He looks up at me, and I know he recognizes the pain in my eyes. “I saw her two days ago. I was desperate to find Harper, so I went to the registrar’s office at the college and hoped to, uh…get some information about Harper’s schedule.”
I don’t begrudge the man for trying to bribe his way back to his woman. God knows I pulled some shady shit to get into Emma’s car. I nod, encouraging him to continue.
“But before I got the chance to do any of that, I ran into Emma. She tore me a new one, but then directed me to the motel Harper was staying at. I wish I would have said something more. She…” He falters for a second.
“She what?” I growl.
"She told me to take care of Harper, no matter what. Made me promise to never leave her. I got this strange feeling that she was handing Harper over to me."
“She said all of that?” Harper whispers.
“Yeah. She loves you a lot. I do too.” He kisses her forehead.
Harper climbs off of his lap and gets back into her chair, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“I love Emma too. It’s been me and her against the world for a while now and I’ll do whatever it takes to get her back.”
“Okay, then,” Tyler breaks in. “So you say she told you she was going back home. Where is that, exactly?”
“Tampa, Florida.”
“Do you know her home address?”
Harper shakes her head “no.”
"I only stopped by her house once, briefly. It was…it was disgusting. I only saw it from the outside, but it was falling apart and there was someone passed out on the front porch. It smelled like urine and…something else. Like window cleaner? Or like a chemical cleaner, maybe? I remember it because the place just looked so dirty that it seemed out of place."
“Fucking meth lab,” I grunt.
“What?” All three exclaim.
“It smelled kind of like a hospital? Sterile?”
Harper nods.
“That’s one thing we look for when busting a meth lab. Along with everything else you’ve said, it sounds like Emma’s mom or whoever she was living with was cooking meth.”
"Oh my God," Harper breathes out. "After I saw her place, I started inviting her over for sleepovers, and then I'd see how long I could get her to stay over. Sometimes it'd be weeks at a time."
I nod, encouraging her to continue. I’m thankful Emma had Harper to take care of her. Yeah, Harper is definitely sweet and innocent, like Emma said, but she is very intuitive and could tell Emma needed a place to stay but would be too proud to ask for it.
"When we were sixteen, my family moved here to Atlanta. I begged Emma to come with us. I still have no idea how I convinced my dad to agree to it, but he did. Emma refused though. She said we should keep our distance."
“Sounds familiar,” I grunt.
"But then something happened,” Harper continues. “She’s never talked about it. All I know is Emma showed up the day before we were going to move with a black eye and a few other scrapes. She refused to tell me anything. I don’t think she slept for three days after that, and when she did, she had nightmares almost every night for a while.”
I have to rub at the tightness in my chest at hearing Harper’s words. I’m so thankful Emma escaped, but I’m going to fucking murder whoever hurt my dandelion.
“Did she say anything in her sleep? When she had the nightmares?” I brace myself for the answer. It physically pains me to hear this shit, but my instincts as a detective are kicking in. This is a question I’d ask anyone involved in a missing persons case if the victim was said to have nightmares. Your body remembers that shit and sometimes the nightmares are the only place the truth of a haunted past can come out.
“Mostly she’d just scream, but sometimes she’d apologize to someone named Craig.”
I shoot a glance over at Tyler, who is dutifully jotting down notes.
“She told me you brought her dandelions every day.”
Harper nods, her eyes filling with tears. “They are her favorite.”
I try to offer her a smile, but I don’t think I quite manage it.
“Anyway. Sorry. All that to say, I don’t know her address.”
Tyler takes a minute to collect himself after what Harper said. It was hard to hear for everyone, but he’s a professional, so he’s able to recover and move on, which is exactly what I need right now.
“I assume you two met at school? Do you remember the school district? Or your address so I can look up the school district? That might narrow things down a bit.”
“Is there anything else you can tell us about Emma? Did she ever say anything about her mom? Or any debt collectors or drug dealers or anything?” I ask Harper.
“No, I’m sorry. She’s such a private person. I wanted to know more, but I was afraid I’d push her away, you know? I wanted to know all of her, but I took whatever she was willing to give me.”
I get it. I really fucking get it.
“I know. I feel the same way. Thanks for your help, Harper. You too, Levi. I think that’s all for now, but I will keep you both updated.”
I shake Harper’s hand and then hold out my hand for Levi. Instead, he pulls me into a hug, clapping me on the back.
“Stay strong, friend. We’ll find her.”
I nod and clear my throat, not wanting to lose my shit in front of him.
Once they leave, I step out and take a walk outside to clear my head. I take out my phone and look at the picture I set as my background. She let me take a picture of us right after we went paintballing. We both have paint splattered in our hair, still messy and wild from taking off our facemasks. Emma is laughing, a true laugh that spreads all the way up to her eyes. She’s looking at the camera while I’m kissing her neck in one of her many (many) ticklish spots.
“Hang on a little longer, dandelion. Stay strong and beautiful for me. I’ll always bring you back.”
Chapter 17
Emma
Turns out being a prostitute is pretty much exactly what you'd expect. Angelica "showed me the ropes," aka best corners to hang around, how to avoid cops, and most importantly, what to charge a John (which apparently is what you call someone who pays for sex. Who knew?)
"So…is Craig our, uh, our pimp?" I ask Angelica as we stand nonchalantly against a brick wall in an alleyway. Okay, she stands nonchalantly. I, on the other hand, am stiff and anxious and can’t help but babble on and on to try and calm some of my nerves. I mean, these girls are going to be my, er, my co-workers, right?