Page 99 of Only Be Mine

Hope.

Because if they were bringing a detective out… if they were asking me…

Then maybe John was alive.

Maybe they’d found him. Maybe he was in a hospital bed somewhere, confused, injured, ashamed. Maybe he’d lost his memory. Maybe he’d been held. Maybe…

Maybe he’d come home.

I squeezed my eyes shut so hard it hurt.

Don’t. Don’t do that. Don’t build a miracle out of nothing.

Seth stopped pacing long enough to mutter, “This is bullshit,” he ran a hand through his hair. His knee bounced when he sat down, faster and faster, like it was trying to outrun the moment. “They can’t just…” He stopped himself, jaw tightening.

The woman behind the glass didn’t blink.

A door opened down the hall, and footsteps approached, the sound echoing.

A man appeared, folder in hand.

He was young. Too young. His blonde hair was neatly combed and he wore a suit that didn’t quite fit, like he was trying to look more official than he felt. His face was calm in the way people got when they had to say bad things for a living.

My skin prickled.

“Ms. Larkin?” he asked.

“Yes. That's me.”

“I’m Detective Marshall,” he said. “If you’ll come with me.”

Seth stepped forward with me immediately.

The detective held up a hand. “I’m going to need you to wait here, sir.”

Seth blinked. “What? No. I’m with her.”

“Next of kin only.”

The words hit like a slap.

Seth’s face flushed deep red, anger and helplessness tangling in his expression. “He doesn’t have next of kin. His parents…”

The detective’s gaze flicked to the folder. “That’s… why we called, but procedure…”

“Procedure,” Seth echoed, voice rising. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

I grabbed Seth’s arm. He felt rigid beneath my fingers, like he was barely containing himself.

“Seth,” I said quietly. “Wait here. Please. If this is… if this is him… I need to know.”

Seth stared at me like he wanted to argue and couldn’t find the words. His throat worked.

“Tell him I’m here,” he said finally, his voice hoarse. Not to the detective. To me.

I swallowed. “I will.”

The door closed behind me with a heavy, definitive thud that made my stomach drop.