Page 3 of Keeping Collette

Astrid hugged her again. “We’ll help you find your sister. I promise.”

Collette believed her, but she hoped they would find Courtney in time, because she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all too late.

Chapter Two

Kayce “Deal” Simmonds took a sip of his strong black coffee as he walked into the Alliez Security offices. It was quiet, and Yolanda wasn’t sitting at her desk to greet him with her usual, “Good morning,” and happy smile she bestowed on anyone coming in.

Of course, she wouldn’t be there. It was Saturday morning, and she didn’t work weekends. The only times he’d ever come in on the weekend was if they were preparing to leave for an assignment and they needed to go over their objectives and plans.

This time, though, they were all meeting to help Collette, someone who worked with Astrid.

He’d been annoyed when she’d barged in on a private event. After what they’d been through recently, he was wary of strangers coming into their group, even after it was clear she was known to Growler and Astrid.

But then he’d seen the tear trickle out of the corner of her dark brown eyes, a part of him softened, and he’d conceded she did look extremely distressed. And she wasn’t faking it just to get close to them.

Didn’t mean he was happy about having to come in on a Saturday, but here they were.

Maybe her sister had turned up overnight. That would be the best outcome. He could go home and relax in front of the TV, like he always did on a Saturday. He’d watch whatever game was on and let the week’s stresses seep away.

Deal headed for the conference room, where he heard the low hum of conversation. “Morning,” he said as he walked in, noting that Irish and Cass were already there, along with Astrid and Growler. He guessed they must have left their boys with someone, likely Teresa— Angel’s wife—as they were all close. The woman in question, Collette, sat in between them. Her blonde hair was scraped back in a ponytail, and the dark purple rings under her eyes suggested she hadn’t had a lot of sleep the night before. Or probably longer than that.

If he had siblings he was close to—and he didn’t, as he was an only child—he imagined he’d be like this. Worried. Concerned. Not sleeping either.

The men he served with were his brothers. When they hurt, he hurt. When they bled, he bled. When they were happy, he was happy. Recently, there’d been a mix of heartache and happiness amongst them.

Happy times with Jag finding love with Steffanie, a woman they’d rescued from a sex trafficker. And heartache because their team leader, Fox, had his heart broken by a woman who’d fooled them all.

From what Jag had told him, Steff was suffering with guilt over the whole situation, because Cynthia had been her friend, although not a true friend as it turned out, and it was through Steff that Cynthia and Fox had gotten together.

He’d never seen his friend so smitten with someone. Cynthia’s betrayal had cut deep, not only with Fox, but with everyone in the room.

Would Fox be there today?

He hadn’t been at the party for Steff’s birthday the previous evening, but he was sure someone would’ve contacted him. It would be all hands-on deck, and then Ox would appoint someone to lead the operation. It would likely be Growler, considering Astrid’s connection with Collette.

As if aware that he was watching her, Collette looked up and gave him a small smile. A flicker of warmth infused him at the simple gesture. He inclined his head in return and took another sip of his coffee.

He understood her need to find her sister, but her appearance had changed the nature of the party. After she’d left, the jovialness that had been around them all night had tempered down, and everyone had been a little more subdued. Growler had stayed close to Astrid, knowing that she needed the support because of what her friend was going through.

Ox walked in along with the other members of Alliez Security. Julian, their FBI contact, also joined them. Ox must believe Collette’s assertion there was more to her sister’s disappearance if he’d asked Julian to join them.

It had taken Deal a while to warm to Julian—the man’s history was sketchy at best— but he’d proven to Deal that he’d left his past behind. They still weren’t the best of friends, but he wasn’t so curt with Julian anymore.

“Morning everyone,” Ox addressed the group, before directing his attention to Collette. “Has there been any news over night?”

Collette shook her head, her ponytail swinging from side to side. “Nothing.”

“Can I get her phone number?” Cass asked, popping her head over the top of her laptop.

“Are you hoping to call her? Because there’s no point. I’ve tried calling, and it goes straight to voice mail. The battery is probably dead. She’s been missing for almost a week now.”

“That long? Why didn’t…” Deal swallowed the rest of what he was going to say. She’d said the authorities weren’t taking her seriously the previous night.

“Why didn’t I what?” Collette challenged him. “Go to the police? Badger them constantly to look for my sister? Tell them I couldn’t get hold of her on her phone? Or that she wasn’t at all the places she usually hung out at? You think I didn’t do that? You think I didn’t do everything humanly possible?” She finished with a whisper, her voice breaking. “Could I have asked for your help sooner? Possibly, but Astrid is my boss and my friend, and I didn’t want to take advantage of that. I wanted to go through the proper channels first. Although that seems like a waste of time now.”

Deal didn’t shy away from her angry words, he deserved them. He’d been a jerk. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have intimated that you hadn’t done everything you could to find Courtney.” He remembered her sister’s name because he’d mentally rolled his eyes at the fact the sisters names both started with a C.

He didn’t bother looking around the room; he was sure everyone was staring at him with disbelief in their eyes. Listening to their clients and not making snap judgments were the things Alliez took pride in, and he’d shat all over those rules in the space of two minutes.