Emma frowned. “That’s why she packed a suitcase.”
“Exactly. Joshua claims he arrived at the meeting place late and she wasn’t there. But he can’t provide me with an alibi.” Reed shifted his hold on Lily, careful not to wake the sleeping baby. “To complicate matters, Bonnie worked as a paralegal for Judge Norton. She and Will had been dating but broke up shortly before she got involved with Joshua.”
Emma’s head was spinning with all of the information. Will Norton was the county prosecutor. He was also Judge Norton’s nephew.
“Hold on, let me make sure I understand everything,” she said. “Will Norton and Bonnie were dating. They broke up. After that, Bonnie and Joshua started dating.”
“Right.”
“Bonnie and Joshua got serious and were planning to elope. They set up a meeting and, according to Joshua, Bonnie never showed.”
“Yes. Will told me that he and Bonnie met for lunch on the day of her disappearance. They were talking about getting back together.”
“If that’s true, why did she pack a suitcase?”
“My guess is Bonnie didn’t know what to do. That could be why she called me. Bonnie and I often gave each other advice.”
“I remember you were very close.” Emma tapped her fingers against her lips. “Okay, so Bonnie packs a bag, goes to the meeting place and...what? She tells Joshua she can’t go through with marrying him?”
“Or Bonnie told him she still had feelings for Will. Either way, I don’t think the meeting went the way Joshua wanted it to and there was an altercation between them.”
“Where were they supposed to meet?” she asked.
“At Franklin Park on the edge of town. Her cell phone was recovered from the park, smashed into pieces. Her car, purse and suitcase are still missing.”
“What about Bonnie’s phone records?”
“They show Joshua tried calling her several times on the night she disappeared, but that doesn’t prove anything. He’s had run-ins with the law in the past. He knew we’d check her phone. It’s possible he called Bonnie to bolster his own story.”
“But you can’t prove it.”
“No.” He drew in a deep breath. “While Joshua doesn’t have an alibi, there’s no physical evidence linking him to the crime. The former sheriff never took the case seriously. Leads weren’t tracked down. By the time I was elected to take his place, the trail had gone cold.”
She rose from the bed and placed a hand on his arm. “Reed, that’s awful. I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how painful this has been for you.”
Emma’s touch was comforting, but it was the warmth and understanding in the depths of her gorgeous eyes that was Reed’s undoing. Time had changed them both, given them pain and edges. But it hadn’t shifted Emma’s bravery or kindness. Standing there, with Lily in his arms, he felt the wall closing off his heart cracking.
“I always took my cases seriously, Emma. Always. But being on the other side...it changes everything.”
“Of course it does.” She met his gaze. “It seems I’m not the only one God gave a mission to.”
“No, although it’s difficult to understand why Bonnie had to go missing to make it happen.”
She touched Lily’s back. “I don’t know why Mark had to die either, but there are some things at work bigger than us. We need to have faith, as hard as it is.”
“You don’t think I’m crazy to believe Bonnie might be alive?”
“There is nothing wrong with holding out hope, Reed. I’ve worked search-and-rescue cases when things looked bleak. Either the person had been missing for a long time or the weather was terrible. Wonderful things happen. I’ve seen it, and if there’s a chance Bonnie is alive, then we have to try to find her.” She leaned closer. “You said yesterday I wasn’t in this by myself. Well, you aren’t either. If there’s any way Sadie and I can help, then we will.”
He reached out and cupped Emma’s face with his hand. Her skin was soft. Reed ran his thumb over the crest of her cheek. His breath caught as Emma’s gaze drifted to his mouth and lingered.
He wanted to kiss her. Desperately. The spark created when they were eighteen still lingered, their connection unchanged by time or distance.
He was a fool. Reed knew that now. He’d tried to avoid it, tried to keep her squarely in the friend zone, but his heart didn’t know how to resist her special brand of compassion and strength. She was his own personal kryptonite.
His thumb swept across the line of her lower lip. Emma inhaled. Their eyes locked in and time stood still. She edged closer.
The ground shook under their feet as a blast of light blinded them. The explosion rattled the windowpane with the force of an earthquake. Reed grabbed Emma. Tucking Lily between them, he used his body to block them from the glass.
The lights in the hospital went out.
NINE
“Reed, that was some kind of explosion.” There was a faint tremble in Emma’s voice, so soft, anyone else would’ve missed it. “Could it have been a transformer? Is that why the lights went out?”
“Possibly.” Reed didn’t say it, but he didn’t have to. Emma was smart enough to realize it could also be the second attacker, Grenade Man. “Any moment, the backup generators should kick on. Here, take Lily.”
Reed transferred the baby to her arms. Thankfully, the explosion hadn’t woken Lily, and he was careful not to either. Whatever was happening, it would be better if the baby slept through it. “Hold on to the back of my shirt, Emma.”
His mind was racing but he kept his voice calm and controlled. He turned. Emma grabbed the fabric of his shirt with a tight hold. Reed pulled his weapon. “Vernon is still here in the hospital. He’s under guard, but he’s one floor above us.”
“If that was a bomb, he didn’t plant it. But his partner may be trying to break him out.”
The room was pitch-black except for a faint
