Running To Him - Forbidden Hearts Series Book 6

21| Operation Find Jamie

Standing in the middle of my living room, I stared at the giant whiteboard. It was filled with dozens of location ideas of where Jamie might have run off to. We had a lot of places in the United States in one corner of the board, a few places in Central America in the other, and about a half-dozen in Europe listed at the bottom. Even though we technically had no reason to worry since she left a note stating that she was leaving...we were still fucking worried. 

I lifted my wrist to check my watch again. Ten minutes. Everyone was going to be here in ten minutes to discuss what the best course of action would be in this scenario. Since everyone already nixed my idea of calling the police and filing a missing person's report, this was our only option. 

Yeah, yeah. I know she wasn't technically missing, but...well, she wasn't here. And we had no idea where she was! After all the losses we've suffered, none of us could handle any more right now. Not only that, but many of us also knew what it felt like to lose a parent. Hell, Nate and I lost both of ours in one night. We knew how devastating that can be. Jackson lost his mom. Karma also lost hers. 

But the difference in these situations was that we all had someone to help us through it. Our 'lifeline', as Jackson liked to call it. But Jamie was on her own. There was no lifeline for her. No emergency raft. No distress signal. Just radio silence. One thing about me was that I did not handle silence well. The last time I had to deal with a deafening silence like this was when Ayden and Nate were missing overseas for three weeks. Jamie was one of my best friends, and I couldn't just sit back and twiddle my thumbs while she was out there alone and in pain. 

If only there was a way we could know she was okay, then—

"Hey, Goddess." Ayden came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my neck softly. "How's it going in here?"

Leaning back against him, I shrugged a shoulder. "No progress. I don't know what to do anymore, Ayden. We listed every place we could think of that she would go. But one isn't more certain than the other." 

Ayden turned me around in his arms and cupped my face with his hands. God, I loved the feel of his hands on my skin. "Listen to me, Lanie. We'll find her. Obviously, she doesn't want to be found, but we won't give up." 

"I know, but what if—"

"Nope, I don't want to hear it, Goddess."

"Well, what about—"

"Uh-uh. I don't think so," he said with a chuckle. "I'm just as stubborn as you, my beautiful fiancée. You aren't going to win this one." 

All the fight I had in me vanished. I felt defeated and scared, wondering if I was ever going to see my best friend again. Before I could look away, the tears started to fall. 

Ayden frowned as he wiped them away. "Lanie...God. I hate seeing you cry." 

"You and Nate both," I said in an attempt to lighten the mood. 

"Well, I think he hates it more than I do, and he's about to walk in any minute. So you better stop before he thinks I did something that warrants an ass whoopin."

Just like he always did, Ayden made me laugh through the tears. He was so good at that. Whenever there was something wrong or I was upset about something, he seemed to just...know. And he knew exactly how to make me feel better. 

Smiling up at him, I wrapped my arms around his neck. "How did I get so lucky to find you, Ayden Sawyer?"

A corner of his mouth lifted in a sexy smirk. "I'd like to take most of the credit, but we all know who is really the one to thank for—"