Varo shook his head. “I don’t know. He said he wasn’t feeling well, so I went alone when Ms. Edwards went out.”
“Why are you just getting back now if Jensen and Nina returned more than an hour ago?”
“Traffic. Is there something wrong?”
I shook my head and tried to piece together what was going on. “I can’t find Nina. Jensen said he brought her back an hour ago, but she’s nowhere to be found.”
“Did you check the entire house?”
“Yes, and now West is nowhere to be found too?”
“I’ll check the grounds. See if you can find anything inside to give us a clue where she could be,” Varo said as he took off into the darkness.
I hurried back into the house and went straight to our bedroom. All her clothes still hung in the closets, and there didn’t seem to be anything missing in the drawers. Even her toothbrush still stood in the holder on the back of the vanity. As I checked each room again, I saw nothing in the house to indicate she’d been taken against her will either.
But something was very wrong.
Calling Jordan, I prayed Nina just decided to meet her in the city and this all was a misunderstanding. When she answered, I knew just by the tone of her voice Nina wasn’t with her.
“Jordan, this is Tristan. Is Nina there with you?”
“No. She and I went dress shopping earlier today, and she dropped me off after we had lunch. Is something wrong?”
“I’m sure there’s nothing wrong. I just came home expecting her here and she’s not.”
“Did you try her cell?” Jordan asked, trying to hide the worry in her voice.
“Yeah. She didn’t answer. I sent her a text too, but nothing.”
“Let me try. I’ll call you right back, okay?”
I pressed End and began pacing across the width of the entryway, suddenly worried I’d let my guard down too soon and Karl had finally found a way to get to Nina. After what felt like hours, Jordan called back and I instantly knew something was wrong.
“Tristan, she answered, but I couldn’t figure out what she was talking about. Her phone kept going in and out, but she said something about Kim and some girl. I couldn’t make out the name, but it sounded like Alyssa or Marissa. I don’t know anyone with those names. She was sobbing. Something happened. I know it. Kim did something, Tristan. I don’t know where Nina is, but wherever it is, she’s falling apart. You have to find her.”
My stomach sank as I listened to Jordan tell me what I’d feared ever since reading Joseph Edwards’ note to my mother explaining what he’d uncovered about me. Kim had finally found out about Melissa and told Nina, no doubt to hurt her intentionally. That fucking bitch!
“I’ll find her, Jordan. First, I have to find her sister to figure out what damage she’s done this time.”
“I don’t know what this is about, Tristan, but Kim is no good. Whatever she did, I’d bet a hundred bucks she did it on purpose.”
“Did she tell you where she was or say anything else?”
“No. I heard something in the background that sounded like a loudspeaker, though. Her phone went out and I couldn’t get her again.”
“Okay. Thanks, Jordan.”
“Whatever happened, you need to bring her home, Tristan.”
“I will. I promise.”
I stuffed my phone in my inside pocket, my hands shaking from the rage coursing through my body. If I didn’t get myself under control before I saw Nina’s sister, I might do just what she thought I was guilty of.
Varo knocked on the front door and walked in to explain he hadn’t found any evidence of anything wrong but he hadn’t found Nina either. “You won’t,” I said as I grabbed my keys. “She’s not here.”
“Are you going to get her now?” he asked, confused by my angry tone.
“I don’t know where she is. All I know is that her goddamned sister had something to do with this. I’m going to see her to find out if she knows where Nina went. Call Daryl and tell him I want you two to search everywhere, including the penthouse, her old job at the gallery, and anywhere else you two can think of. I want her found before Karl or his people find her. Do you understand me?”
Varo nodded, obviously shaken by the anger I no longer even tried to hide. As I pushed past him, I added, “And find out where the fuck West is!”
***
I stood on Kim’s front porch after making the three hour trip in less than two hours, my hatred for Kim fueling my driving with each mile. Not that it was entirely her fault. I knew that. I knew that I should have told Nina about Melissa, especially after I promised her I wouldn’t keep anything from her anymore, but how the fuck do you tell the woman you love about the woman who died as a result of your actions? I never found the right moment to explain that I’d been arrested and charged with the murder of Melissa, even though I’d been innocent.