Losing Chelsea (Saving Bliss #2)

by Rachael Brownell

  “Then you understand that we all grieve differently. We all heal differently. There isn’t a magic amount of time it takes for someone to be ready to date again.” Because it’s Bliss and not Owen, I have a hard time sounding angry even though this conversation is getting on my nerves.

  “You’re right. There isn’t a set amount of time people wait to date after losing a loved one. But that’s not what this is about, Jay, and you know it.”

  What the hell is she talking about?

  “And by that you mean?” I ask. I’m sick of her insinuating everything. I’m not a chick. I don’t speak in codes like they do. Straight to the point has always been my preferred style of conversation.

  “I mean you’re holding yourself back. You won’t allow yourself to move on.”

  And now I wish I had never asked.

  Click.

  I never thought I would see the day when I would hang up on Bliss. Owen, sure. All the time. If he pisses me off or oversteps, I hang up. He waits a few days, calls me back, and we pretend it never happened. For the sake of rebuilding our friendship, it’s been like that for the last two last year, since the day he called and asked for my help.

  We’re men. We don’t need to talk about shit for it to be resolved. We’ve never been that way, even when we were younger. Back then, we’d punch the shit out of each other to solve our issues. Living as far apart as we do, we don’t have that option. It wouldn’t be a good idea to try it either. We’re both stronger now. Someone might actually get hurt. Probably me since he has two inches and forty pounds on me.

  I’d never tell him that, though.

  And if he did want to fight, I’d take him on.

  Pushing all thoughts of Owen, Bliss, Chelsea, and dating aside, I power up my home computer and attempt to focus on my work. A new client contacted me this morning, and I promised him information by the end of the week. Tomorrow. That means I need to get started.

  Five hours later, it’s dark outside and my eyes are aching from staring at my computer screen. I’ve uncovered what he was looking for. Under normal circumstances, this is the point where I contact my client and tell them the good news. I have a feeling of accomplishment.

  Not this time.

  This time I’m disappointed.

  My client is going to be disappointed.

  When he walked into my office this morning and asked me to find his daughter, I was relieved for a simple case after the last few months. I figured it would take me a day or two to locate her. She would leave enough breadcrumbs for me to track her down.

  She did. Or rather, someone did it for her.

  My fingers are poised to type the email I know I need to send. I’ve already attached the evidence. It’s a father’s worst nightmare. If it’s breaking my heart to be the one to tell him, I can only imagine what it’s going to do to him.

  Focus, Jay.

  She’s alive.

  That counts for something.

  But you could save her.

  It’s not your job to save her.

  But you could do it. It would save him from heartache.

  Damn it! Some days, I hate my job more than others. I see bad shit all the time. I look for it. It’s what I do. Investigating people and crimes pays my bills. And I’m damn good at it. I found his daughter in a matter of hours. Not days or weeks like it would take the police. Hours.

  Knowing that I won’t be able to send him the information without destroying him, I delete the attached files and ask him for more time. I tell him I have a lead and that I need the weekend to investigate. Hopefully, he’ll understand. I’ve given him a glimmer of hope. Now, I hope I can deliver.

  New York City, here I come.

  Knowing I’ll need back up, I call my team. The only people I trust to back me up in a situation like this. I’ve hired each of them for the variety of skills they possess. They’ve all spent time serving our country in one department of the military or another. They’re the best of the best.

  It’s going to be a long couple of days. As long as her phone doesn’t die, she won’t either. I’ve dealt with the lowest of the low. The first thing they do is kill or ditch the cell phone. Either these guys are amateurs or they don’t know about the phone.

  I don’t care either way. I have a way to track her as long as her phone is on. The second the battery dies, I’m shit out of luck. I’m not sure how long it’s been on, so I need to move fast.

  Twenty-four hours later, I’m leaving the police station. We found her, along with twenty other girls, in a shipping container ready to leave port. All of them blond with bright blue eyes.

  The police were grateful for our help. We blew open a case they had been working on for two years. My client’s daughter had only been missing for four days, but he was concerned enough about her to call me. If he had waited even another twelve hours, she would have been gone forever.

  As soon as the hotel room door closes behind me, my phone rings. Squeezing my eyes closed, I pray it’s not another case. I’ve been up for almost forty-eight hours straight. All I want is to sleep right now.

  “Wright,” I say without looking at my caller ID.

  “Normally, I am,” he says, a hint of laughter in his voice.

  “What do you want, Owen?” I’m not in the mood for his bullshit right now.

  “Nothing, man. Bliss said you hung up on her yesterday, and I just wanted to tell you what a dick move that was.”

  “Tell her I’m sorry.”

  The line is silent for a minute. I hear Owen talking to Bliss, and then he’s back.

  “She says you can make it up to her by visiting,” he replies.

  “Fine.” I don’t want to fight right now. I don’t have the energy, and Bliss is exhausting until she gets her way.

  “Really? Why are you so agreeable right now? This isn’t like you. Does someone have a gun to your head? Say the safe word if you’re in trouble.”

  “You do realize that if I were to actually be in trouble someday, the safe word would probably get me shot instantly.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t imagine you’ll ever be in a situation where you need to use it. That’s what makes it so great.”

  “Pickle,” I reply, just to humor him.

  “I’m on my way,” he laughs. “Seriously, though. You okay?”

  “Fine, just exhausted. I haven’t slept in a few days. Can I call you guys tomorrow? I just walked back into my room, and the bed is calling my name.”

  “Jay, oh Jay. Come cuddle with me,” Owen teases in a high pitched voice.

  “Dude, really? I’ll call you later.”

  “Fine. Just text me when you know what time your plane lands tomorrow and I’ll pick you up.”

  “Uh, I’m already in the city,” I confess.

  Forgot to mention that. Probably should have waited until tomorrow. If he tells Bliss, she’s going to insist I stay with them. All I want is a few hours of silence so I can sleep. If I go over there, she’s not going to let me sleep until she sleeps.

  “Okay. Sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow when I pick you up,” he replies, emphasizing the word tomorrow.

  I’ll have to thank him for covering for me. After hanging up, I strip myself of the clothes I’ve been wearing for far too long and crawl under the sheets. Sleep is calling me.

  “Jay!” Bliss hollers as she wraps her arms around my neck. She’s the only person I’ll let hug me. Not because I like it but because I can’t seem to stop it from happening every time she sees me.

  “Hey, Bliss. It’s nice to see you, too.” Stepping back and holding her at arm’s length, I see a devious smile spread across her face. “What did you do?”

  “Nothing,” she replies, looking over my shoulder at Owen.

  “Bliss. You promised,” Owen scolds.

  “I had my fingers crossed.”

  “No. You lied to me.”

  Stepping out from in between them, I walk into the house and leave them to fight outside. I’m still tired and cravi
ng a good cup of coffee. Knowing Bliss, she’s brewed a fresh pot just for me.

  Stepping around the corner into the kitchen, I stop dead in my tracks when I see a raven-haired beauty bent over, reaching into the refrigerator. I quietly retreat and head for the front door. Owen, looking at me apologetically, walks in with Bliss on his heels. She’s still sporting a devious smile. It falls when she sees the look on my face.

  “Thank you, Bliss, but no thanks. I told you I wasn’t interested.”

  “Can you at least meet her? You never know–”

  “No. Please don’t push me,” I reply, cutting her off. If I give her a chance to say anything else, she’ll talk me into this.

  “Hey, man. Let’s go grab a cup of coffee down the street,” he says. Turning to Bliss, he adds, “We’ll be back in an hour. Then the three of us can plan the rest of our afternoon.”

  “Fine,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest and pursing her lips. Owen will get an earful later, I’m sure.

  4

  “Sorry about that, man,” he says as soon as the front door closes behind us.

  The air is crisp today. Fall in New York City is my favorite time of year. The colors are changing, and people aren’t pissed off because it’s not cold yet. Give it a month or two and they’ll be complaining nonstop.

  “I want to say no big deal, but you know it is. At least to me. I wish she understood that.”

  Owen knows that defending Bliss’ actions would be pointless, so he drops the subject as we turn the corner toward the coffee shop. It’s about a block away, but I can smell the rich aroma already and my mouth begins to water.

  “So what brought you to the city?” he asks as we take a seat at a small table by the window.

  It’s a nasty habit, but I need to people watch as much as I can. Owen knows this. In the line of work I’m in, you can never be too careful. If someone recognizes you, someone you don’t want to recognize you, you need to be ready. You need to see them coming before they see you coming.

  “Work,” I reply, scanning the room.

  “Of course. Did you solve the case?” he inquires as he takes a sip, curing under his breath as the scalding hot coffee hits his tongue.

  “Yeah. My team pulled through just in time again.”

  “Have you ever thought about moving up this way? Work seems to bring you here occasionally. It would be a more central location than the middle of nowhere Alabama.”

  He’s asked me this before. He knows why I won’t leave home. It’s not something I want to rehash with him again today.

  Scratch that. Let’s talk about it.

  “I’ve thought about it and decided against it. I don’t want to leave your sister. She deserves at least one person visiting her regularly. I wasn’t able to for a long time and now that I am, I’m not going to leave her again. Maybe you should move south. It would give you a chance to visit more often… or at all.”

  It was a low blow. Even if his face hadn’t contorted from the verbal slap I just administered, I would have known it was a shitty thing to say.

  Visiting Chelsea is hard for him. As far as I know, it’s only happened once, right after she passed. For me, being with her brings me a sense of peace. For him, I imagine it’s different. Not harder, just different. He still blames himself. There are days I still blame him, too, even though I’ve let it go for the sake of our friendship.

  “We’ve been talking about it, actually. Bliss wants to get out of the city. She wants to start a family and we want to raise our kids somewhere more low key. I’m not sure I want to end up back home, but closer, for sure. Somewhere more rural with room for the kids to run and play outside. Somewhere with land and privacy. There’s no privacy here. I’m pretty sure our neighbors hear us loud and clear every time we have sex.”

  Relaxing back into my chair, I take him in as he talks about having kids and growing his family. He looks happy, genuinely happy. I saw the change in him after he fell in love with Bliss. His determination to get her back was almost unbearable to watch, especially when I knew there was a chance we wouldn’t be successful. I didn’t want his heart to break again. He deserved to be happy.

  After everything he went through, everything we went through together with both Chelsea and Bliss, he came out the other side with a mended heart. It’s almost like it took nearly losing Bliss to heal from the pain of Chelsea’s death.

  “That would be great, man. It sounds like you have your happily ever after all figured out.”

  “Um, no. Bliss has it all figured out. I’m just along for the ride.” He pauses and stares at me curiously. “Really? Happily ever after? Who the hell are you and what have you done with Jay?”

  “Shut the fuck up.”

  “And he’s back, ladies and gentlemen,” Owen announces loudly. A few people turn in our direction but seem disappointed that there’s not a show going on.

  “Anyway, I’m happy for the two of you. Let me know what you decide.”

  Our conversation fades to a comfortable silence as we both drink our coffee and keep watch for familiar faces. Owen never was one for people watching. Not until he was hired to be Bliss’ bodyguard. It became his job to scan the room and remember faces. It was part of protecting her.

  He failed. I’d never admit that to him, but he did. The signs were there. He wasn’t looking for them. He was distracted by the beautiful woman he was shacking up with. Maybe he was focused at first, but the second she crawled into his bed, things changed. He watched her instead of watching what was going on around her.

  It turned out okay, though, so no need to rub it in his face.

  Owen sends Bliss a text to say we’re headed back to the house. She replies instantly, causing Owen to chuckle.

  “What?” I ask as we come to a stop at the intersection.

  “Nothing, man. Coast is clear according to the wife.”

  “Does that ever get old? Calling her your wife?”

  “Nope. Not at all. In fact, I smile every time I say it. Marrying her was the best decision I ever made. She’s changed my whole life, in a good way.”

  Nodding like I agree with him, I keep my focus on our surroundings. Bliss and Owen live in a great neighborhood just outside the city. There’s plenty of places they can walk to without the hustle and bustle of living in the thick of things.

  On our walk here, we passed a florist, two restaurants, a dry cleaner, and a bookstore. Being Saturday, there’s a steady flow of foot traffic today, but nothing compared to downtown. There’s still room to breathe on the sidewalks here.

  “Bliss wants to hang out at the house for a while and then head into the city for dinner and drinks.”

  “Alone?”

  “Yes, just the three of us. Unless you have to get back.”

  “No. I’m game. I just wanted to make sure she wasn’t trying to set up another meet and greet.”

  “I think she got the message loud and clear. She’s not happy about it; Kate is a really good friend of hers, but she gets it. She’ll back off for a few months, but I make no promises that she won’t push you again.”

  “Gee, thanks. Get your woman under control, Hudson,” I tease, assuming calling Bliss ‘his woman’ will more than likely piss him off. He shoots me a glare without turning his head, confirming my suspicion.

  Dinner was delicious. The one thing I miss about living in a big city is the food. There’s a different restaurant on every corner, serving every type of cuisine you could ever want. Tonight, Bliss suggested we go to a new Thai restaurant she’s been dying to try. We weren’t disappointed.

  Night falls as we walk uptown for drinks. I’m not a fan of walking in the city after dark. Predators prey at night. You can’t always see the enemy approaching. If I can’t see them, I can’t stop them.

  The bar is almost empty when we walk in. I’m not sure why Bliss chose this place. We passed at least three other bars on our walk here. It looks like it’s been remodeled recently, but the years of wear and tear are still
evident. I compare it to a polished piece of shit as I slide into a booth across from Owen and Bliss. They’re both smirking at me.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Any idea where we are?” Owen asks.

  “Not a clue. We’re close to campus, so I’m guessing the place will be crawling with co-eds in about twenty minutes,” I reply, looking at my watch.

  “True, but that’s not why we brought you here,” Bliss answers, emphasizing the word not. That’s reassuring. If she was staying true to her word, she wasn’t going to attempt to play matchmaker again. At least not this trip.

  “You really have no clue?” Owen asks when I don’t reply.

  “Why don’t you enlighten me, man,” I say, frustrated at the game they are attempting to play with me. After a nice dinner out, I was hoping for a low-key end to my visit.

  “This is where I was abducted,” Bliss finally says, her voice low enough that only Owen and I can hear her.

  5

  Fuck!

  Why would they bring me here?

  Why would they want to come here?

  I told them never to visit here again. I can’t believe I didn’t realize where we were. We must have passed Bliss’ old apartment building, and I didn’t even recognize it. Not that I spent that much time staring at her building, but I should have recognized the area I was in.

  This is exactly why I hate being out in the darkness. It hides so much.

  “What the actual fuck, Owen?” I ask, louder than necessary. I don’t give a shit who can hear me. If we’re here, we’re not safe.

  “Calm down. It’s been closed until a few weeks ago. It was finally sold and then they remodeled the place. We’ve got nothing to worry about. I checked.”

  “You checked?” I ask, shooting him a skeptical look. “What? You Googled the new owners? That’s not going to give you the information you need to make sure you’re actually safe. Someone could still have it out for you and Bliss. That’s why I never understood why you stayed here. It’s not safe, no matter what you think.”