Page 92 of Searching for Bristol
Rocky sighed in frustration. “I don’t know. But shit, Simon, you know Bristol. Everyone loves her. And the last thing she’d ever do was flaunt the fact that she’s rich.Youdidn’t even know until I mentioned it earlier.”
Simon shrugged. “I know. Just trying to figure out a motive.”
“What about Theodore Lorenzo Allen?” Rocky asked. “Could he have done this? Hired one of the people he claimed to know to grab her?”
Simon’s lips pressed together. “I’ll look into it.”
“Or maybe that Mike guy. You know, the asshole who left her in the woods in the first place? Maybe he still can’t accept no for an answer when it comes to being with her.” Rocky knew he was grasping at straws, but he was having a hard time believing this was happening.
“He’s on my list of people to check out,” Simon reassured him.
Rocky struggled to force himself to think. “All her stuff’s still in the apartment. Her phone, purse…shoes are still by the door. I think she had to have opened the door. Maybe she knew whoever it was.”
“I don’t know,” Ethan said. “This is Fallport. Even if she didn’t know the person, she might’ve still opened the door.”
Rocky knew his brother was right.
“When my officers are done looking over your apartment, we’ll canvas the neighborhood. See if anyone in the complex saw or heard anything. Then we’ll spread out to the businesses and homes nearby,” Simon said.
Rocky nodded, but inside, a deep, intense anger was beginning to burn through the shock and fear. Someone had taken his woman. He had no doubt that she hadn’t gone willingly. She would never just up and leave without a word.
He and Bristol were on the cusp of a wonderful life together. A life he never thought he could have. And he wouldn’t stop searching for her, ever.
“When I call the Kingsport police to ask about this Mike character, I’ll see if they can do a welfare check of her house. Maybe, just maybe, she decided she was homesick and went back there,” Simon said.
Rocky didn’t believe that for a second. Bristol was already considering Fallport her home. She wouldn’t go back to Kingsport without telling him. And certainly not without her phone, purse, and fucking shoes.
No, someone took her. Rocky was sure of that.
He didn’t want to think about what that someone was doing to her right now. That wasn’t something he could deal with at the moment. Once he found her, they’d deal with whatever she’d gone through together. He would be there for her no matter what.
For now, he needed todosomething, anything.
Rocky turned to Ethan. “I need you to coordinate the search.”
His brother nodded. “Already planned to.”
“And I have to be involved. I can’t sit home and wait.”
“Don’t blame you.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Simon started, but Rocky turned on him.
“I’m doing this,” he said between clenched teeth. “You’re not stopping me.”
“It’s not smart. Your presence could hurt a criminal case down the line.”
“Someone will be with him at all times,” Ethan assured him. “If we find anything, Rocky won’t touch it.”
Simon sighed. “All right. The criminal case thing…that’s mostly just an excuse. I’m trying to protect you, Rocky. If she’s found…not alive, I don’t want you to see her that way.”
The chief’s words turned Rocky’s blood to ice, but he didn’t show what he was feeling. “I’m not a noob,” he told him. “I know there’s a possibility that we’re looking for her body. But I have to do this.”
He didn’t tell Simon that he didn’t think Bristol was dead. That he’d somehow feel it deep inside if she was. The man wouldn’t believe him, but Rocky didn’t care. He believed enough for both him and Bristol.
“Fine. But do not touch any evidence you might find. I mean it,” Simon warned.
“This isn’t our first search,” Ethan said, the irritation loud and clear in his tone. “We know how DNA works.”
