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Leander slipped his cell phone out of his pocket with a resigned sigh. Putting the call on speaker, he kept his attention on Olivia. It rang four times before it went to Cole’s voicemail. He hung up without leaving a message and spread his hands.
She turned to me, brows raised expectantly.
“Are you serious?” I blinked at her.
“Yes. He fucking ghosted me, Bennett. I want to know where he is and what sorry ass excuse he’s going to try to give me.”
Rolling my eyes, I, too, called Cole’s phone. After four rings, I, too, went to voicemail. However, I opted to leave a message in an English accent as my way of letting Olivia know how ridiculous I thought she was being. “Cole, darling. Do give us a ring when you get this. The missus is quite beside herself. Frankly, I fear for the safety of my testes if you do not establish some line of communication in the near future. Hoping you’re merely out of cell range. Cheerio.”
“You’re a dick,” she sneered as I hung up.
“What more do you want from me? He’s apparently ghosted all of us. Feel better?”
Leander pushed his chair out and stood, dropping his napkin in his empty seat. “Let’s see if he’s home.”
“Seriously?” I made a face at him and gestured to my half-eaten chicken scampi.
“I already went by there. He’s not there,” Olivia said with a huff.
“Then we’ll wait, seeing as it means that much to you.” Leander arched a brow and swiped his keys off the hook by the back door.
Groaning, I stood and followed them out of the house.
We drove to Cole’s together in absolute silence. Olivia oscillated between looking pissed and looking ill. She twirled a lock of hair around her finger the entire time, staring out the window.
I stretched my arm out and draped it across Leander’s shoulder as he drove. Running my fingers through the bottom of his curls, I tapped the back of his neck three times. I didn’t need to ask the question out loud — he was already thinking it, judging from the way his brows slanted.
His gaze slid over to me before shifting to the backseat. “I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.”
Olivia snorted but withheld a comment as the car rolled up in front of Cole’s house.
It was dark and quiet. There was a pile of newspapers in the middle of his driveway. Considering Cole devoured the sports section on the daily, I doubted he would let them keep sitting there.
Climbing out of the car, I wandered over to the detached garage, looking up at the row of small windows in the top of the door. “See if his car is there,” I said to Olivia, lacing my fingers together and stooping down. Nodding, she stepped into my hand and I boosted her upwards.
“I can’t believe it!” she growled. “Heishere!”
Unlacing my fingers, I caught her around the waist as she fell. I set her on the ground gently, squeezing her ass in the process. She shouldered past me to follow Leander and when she turned to flip me off, I blew her a kiss, swaggering after them.
By the time I got to the back door, they were already inside, courtesy of a spare key Leander must have known about.
An old, yellow lab ambled toward us, wagging its tail slowly.
“Since when does Cole have a dog?” I asked, patting its head as I passed.
“Since Leander murdered his owner,” Olivia replied flatly, marching into the living room.
“Did you murder Annabel’s owner too?” I asked Leander with a smirk.
Not even deigning to answer, he tossed a glare my way before trailing after Olivia.
Seeing the dog’s stainless steel bowls were empty, I took a moment out of the manhunt to fill them with food and water. Scratching behind his ear one last time, I met up with the others in the living room.
Everything looked to be in order, but it still felt off. Cole’s house had always been tidy, but lived in. This wastooneat. Too clean. The distinct scent of bleach lingered in the air, turning my stomach.
“Guys! Come here!” Olivia yelled.
We followed the sound of her voice down the hallway, locating her in Cole’s room.
