Love you to Death by Shannon K. Butcher Read Free Book Online Page A

something.”
    “Suppose they do,” said Trent. “Suppose you find whatever guy she was with Friday. What then?”
    She reached into the fridge, pulled out two bottles of water, and handed one to Trent. “Then I start asking questions.”
    “Like what?”
    “Like where she went after she left, who she was with.”
    Trent ran a hand through his shaggy hair in frustration. “We searched for her car between here and the bar. There was only one stretch of road where her car would be hidden if she’d had an accident. We saw no signs of bent guardrails or tire marks. I checked again on my way to work, just to make sure we didn’t miss anything in the dark.”
    “So? All that means is we know she didn’t drive her car off the road
there
.” She opened the bottle and sucked down about half of the cold liquid. It did nothing to ease the worried burn in her stomach.
    Trent watched her mouth as she drank, like he was dying of thirst, but didn’t take a drink. “It also could mean she didn’t drive her car off the road at all. Sure, she could have had an accident driving home from some guy’s house, but the longer she’s missing, the more likely it is that she… met with foul play.”
    Elise was pretty sure he was going to say something different but censored himself for her benefit. “You mean that someone hurt her.”
    He cracked open the bottle and drank. She watched his throat move, watched his tongue lick away a drop left on his bottom lip. “It’s possible. What if you start asking questions of the guy who did it? You’re putting yourself in unnecessary danger.”
    “I may be putting myself in danger, but I don’t think I’d call it unnecessary. You know as well as I do that the longer she is missing, the more likely it is she’ll be found too late.”
    Or not at all.
    Elise couldn’t bring herself to say the words, but she knew it was a possibility. So would Trent. It just wasn’t one she could deal with yet. Not if she wanted to stay sane.
    “There are other things you can do to help—things that won’t put you in danger.”
    “Like what?” Elise had finished off her water, so she tossed the bottle into the trash. She wanted more, but those were the last two bottles in the house.
    Trent must have read it in her expression. He offered her his half-empty bottle, and Elise’s throat burned enough she was willing to take it. She thought she could taste some spicy hint of him on the plastic, but it had to be her imagination.
    “Talk to the press,” he said. “Get her name and photo out there.”
    “I already did that. I contacted all the Chicago stations and did a live interview earlier today—before the noon news. Guess you didn’t see it.”
    Trent shook his head. “I ate at the job site. No TV.”
    Good. She’d cried during the interview, despite her promise to herself that she wouldn’t. She didn’t really want Trent to think she was a basket case. Even if she was.
    He seemed to know what he was talking about, and she needed all the allies she could get. She didn’t want to scare him away with her tears. The fact that he’d seen her get sick was bad enough.
    “I’ve done all the safe things I can think to do,” said Elise. “Now, it’s time to move on.”
    He shot her a hard, level look of disbelief. “To unsafe things? That’s stupid.”
    “Not stupid. Desperate.”
    His mouth twisted with contempt. “Either one could end up with you just as dead.”
    Elise ignored his harsh words. She knew he was trying to protect her.
    She pulled in a breath, hoping it wasn’t a mistake to bring him in on her plans. “I have a plan I think is safe enough. Want to hear?”
    He crossed his arms over his wide chest, making his biceps bulge in a mouthwatering display. “Why the hell not. At least this way I might be able to tell the cops where to find your body.”
    Elise was not going to dignify his cynicism with a response, so she pretended he hadn’t spoken. “I’m going to Sally’s to