In the Clinch: A Kira Brightwell Novel

Chapter 6

6

Trevor walked out of the local grocery store to his car with his arms loaded with bags. He gave passers-by a flash of his charming, white smile as he went, but he got mostly bewildered looks in return. He shrugged to himself and began to whistle. He knew he didn’t exactly fit in with the small town’s rustic flair. Everything about him shouted City Boy, from his perfectly fitting blue polo—which Kira would probably say was on the snug side, but what was the point of having muscles if you didn’t show them off?—to his khaki shorts, which he wore pretty much year-round. After all, that’s what heating was for.

His car might have also been a giveaway. He gave the red Lamborghini a rueful look as he loaded the groceries into the passenger seat and climbed into the sun-warmed leather seat. It was only one of several cars he and his father owned. It wasn’t exactly practical for driving around the boonies, but when he had found out that Kira had skipped town after all that had happened with her nephew and the Procurer, he had wanted to catch up with her as soon as possible.

He wrinkled his nose. He had picked up a roasted chicken at the store. Great. Now the Lambo was going to smell like food. He pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the highway, his thoughts drifting back to Kira.

She was a solitary soul, with only a handful of friends. Her relationship with her family had always been… challenging. So when the Procurer cut her off from both Rob and her detective friend, Nick Foster, she had been left with no one else to turn to.

Or so she thought.

Trevor knew Kira didn’t really think of him as one of her close friends. Not yet, anyway. After all, they had little in common, aside from her friendship with his younger sister, Stephanie. But Kira’s relationship with Steph had begun as tutor and student. Trevor knew that Kira would never want to burden his sister with her problems—especially when Steph had already been a victim of the Procurer herself.

Which only left Trevor to look out for her.

The highway stretched before him as he drove from town toward the cabin. Traffic was light and the open countryside flew by, accompanied by the steady purr of the engine.

If someone had told him a year ago that Kira Brightwell and Rob Alvarez—the two people he had tormented the most in high school—would become his main friends, he would have laughed in their face. But all the rest of his friends from school had moved on with their lives after graduation, leaving him behind to his own devices. And Kira and Rob had been the ones to help him rescue Steph.

Trevor had been pissing his rich, entitled life away with under-the-table poker games and other illicit gambling until the stakes had gotten too high. Steph’s disappearance had originally been a ploy to get his father to pay his outstanding gambling debts as ransom. But then Steph had really been abducted, and everything had gone sideways.

Kira had stuck with him through all that, even knowing he was at least partially responsible for his sister’s abduction. She hadn’t even ratted him out to his father, who had been her employer.

Trevor had been a mess during that case. His own guilt had made him feel next to useless. He had always known Kira was tough and clever. She had to be—dealing with bullies like him every day at school. But he came to appreciate her in a new light when she helped him to find his sister.

She made him want to be something more.

He had latched onto her after that, almost as if she were a lifeline. He had tried to use his considerable charm—to which both Kira and Rob seemed to be immune, which only made him question both of their orientations—to elbow his way into their cases. Really, it had been stubborn persistence more than anything that had worn them down.

He had done his best to be useful. After all, he had both money and connections. Still, he knew he blundered underfoot more often than not, despite his best intentions. But at least he was doing something.

Something that made a difference.

Besides, he had managed to actually help Kira a time or two, which he figured should at least balance out some of the trouble he caused. They had gotten through some dangerous situations together, just the two of them. Despite her reluctant friendship, Trevor knew Kira always had his back, which made him protective of her in turn.

So when he had found out from Rob about their big fight after Kevin’s rescue, he knew he had to go after her. Kira was very good at being independent. So much so that most people took her emotional and physical strength for granted.

But Kira was terrible at asking for help.

Trevor didn’t think she would do anything to deliberately harm herself if she were left to her own devices in her current state, but she might do something reckless. The Procurer had jammed her between a rock and a hard place.

Blue and red flashing lights caught his attention up ahead. He eased off the gas to drop back within the speed limit. A pair of white highway patrol SUVs were parked on the shoulder of the road. Both vehicles were empty.

Trevor slowed down even more and craned his neck to look. A vehicle had flipped over in the ravine. Black smoke rose from the twisted steel remains. Two men in uniform appeared to be combing the wreckage.

Holy s**t! I wonder what happened?

There was no sign of a second vehicle, but someone must have forced the truck off the road. Either that, or the driver had been really drunk.

An impatient honk from a minivan behind him drew him out of his reverie. He flushed and rose his hand in an apologetic wave before pressing down on the accelerator once more. The Lambo surged to life beneath him and soon the flashing lights were far behind. The highway patrol had more important matters on their hands than a speeding jackass like him.

He pulled into the gravel drive that led to the cabin owned by Kira’s grandparents a few moments later. The bungalow was located in an ideal spot along the coast, with a path that led right down to the beach. The term ‘cabin’ was a bit of a misnomer. It wasn’t the kind of full-scale suburban home you would find in La Valentia, but it was completely modern with rustic touches. No outhouse or water pumps here.

Thank God.

Trevor turned off the Lambo and gathered up the groceries. He used the spare key Kira had given him from the rack in the kitchen to unlock the front door.

“Honey, I’m home!” he called out in a mocking voice as he entered.

No one answered.

“Kira?”

He wandered through the living room into the kitchen and placed the plastic grocery bags on the island with a rustle. The rest of the cabin was silent.

Trevor ran a hand through his blond curls with a frown. Kira had left for her run before he had gone out for groceries. Trevor hadn’t wanted to be rushed through his daily grooming rituals before going out.

She should be back by now.

He walked through the kitchen toward her bedroom. He had been relegated to her sister’s room—not that he hadn’t suggested other arrangements. In case Kira got lonely, of course.

The door to Kira’s bedroom was open. Sunlight poured through the blue ruffled curtains that lined the window. The room was empty, the bed neatly made.

He moved on to the bathroom with the fleeting hope of catching her in the shower, but it was empty as well.

Huh. Maybe she’s at the beach?

He exited the cabin at a brisk pace, trying to ignore the unsettled feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. He arrived at the beach a few moments later. There was no one in sight on the glimmering, pale sand. He shaded his eyes with his hand and looked out at the churning surf. It was a bit cold for swimming, but maybe after her run…?

As far as he could tell, the waters of the western horizon were empty, aside from a few boats off in the distance.

Trevor’s heart sank. He had thought Kira had seemed in better spirits today—relatively speaking, at least. Had the run only been some kind of ruse?

I should have never left her on her own.

He knew Kira could take care of herself, but what if she had done something stupid?

As luck would have it, Trevor had taken steps against this eventuality. He hadn’t wanted to do it, but Kira had not been in a good place when he had first found her at the cabin. He knew he could try to stick to her like glue, but she would only put up with that for so long before needing some space.

Which would give her the perfect opportunity to slip off on her own.

He pulled out his phone from his pocket and unlocked it. He closed his eyes for a moment as he hesitated. What if he was overreacting? Maybe Kira had just met someone during her run and stopped to chat. He knew he had already violated her privacy by adding the tracking app to her phone in the first place, but if he never had to use it, she would never find out what he had done.

But if anything had happened to her…

He opened his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath.

Time to grow a pair.

He launched the tracking app. A dotted line traced the route of Kira’s run along the highway, leading eastward before turning back around. He blinked.

Her path had taken her much farther than she could have possibly run in the time since she had left. A blinking dot identified her current location. Her phone must still be on. He used his fingers to zoom in with a frown.

The phone almost tumbled from his fingers as he realized where she was.

Shit.

He headed back to the Lambo at a dead run.