Treacherous (Andy Barber)

Chapter 24

Andy's POV

3 weeks. Aurora had been missing for 3 whole weeks. They had absolutely zero leads. She was just gone.

We had underestimated Nate. The police had gone into his apartment a few days after Aurora's disappearance and saw photos of Aurora covering his wall. Aurora at work. Aurora at the gym. Aurora at my house. He had been stalking her for far longer than we thought. But how did he know Aurora would be home alone that night?

That was the piece of the puzzle no one could quite figure out. I held up my empty glass and it was refilled quickly by Jim. "Thanks, Jim." I mumbled, taking a slow sip. "She's out there, Andy." He said, quietly. I knew he saw Aurora as a daughter. I wasn't the only one feeling her loss. "I hope so, Jim." I gave a deflated smile and took a sip of the whiskey. I knew it was the same whiskey I always drank...but it tasted different when it wasn't poured by Aurora.

I sat there for a few hours, completely numb to everything. I didn't even notice someone sliding into the seat next to me. "Beer please. Bud light." I heard him say. Jim dropped a beer in front of him and walked away. It was quiet for a moment before the man broke the silence. "Andy, right?"

"Whose asking." I mumbled. "Uh, Pete. I knew Aurora." I glanced over at him slowly. He was that sleazy pharma rep that went to high school with her. "I heard about how she went missing." He said. I nodded and took a sip of my whiskey. "Yep." I said, popping the p. "Have there been any updates?" He asked. I looked back at my drink, swirling it around, "nope."

"I saw her that night." He started, "I was here in the bar."

I looked back at him. "Did you see him?" I asked. Feeling the tiniest bit of hope creep in. "No, I uh...I-" He stuttered. "Spit it out." I snapped. Pete held onto his beer and looked down slightly with a guilty look on his face. He knew something. "Look man, he promised he wouldn't hurt her." He whispered. "What did you just say?" I slammed my drink down and glared over at him. "My company went under, I lost my job...I needed the money...he paid me to follow her and gather info." I stood up and slammed him onto the bar, holding the collar of his shirt. "Where is she?!" I yelled. "I don't know! I swear! I came back because I the guilt was eating at me." I shoved him and staggered back a little. The little scene drew the attention of other patrons in the bar and Jim, who I could see had called the police. I had to walk away before I murdered him.

I sat back down and put my head in my hands until Detective Blake showed up and arrested Pete.

I stood in the police station, staring through the double sided glass as Detective Blake interviewed him. I couldn't hear what he they were saying, but I hoped it was helpful. If it wasn't, I was going to go in there and make him talk myself. Or murder him. I hadn't decided just yet. After about 30 minutes, Detective Blake walked out of the room and looked at me.

"Andy, he's willing to help if we drop any charges against him." "Of course." I scoffed. "He's a fucking sleaze ball. What does he know?" I asked, looking back through the glass. I could see him looking back at the mirror.

"He said Nate paid him to watch Aurora. That Nate paid him to send the flowers. And that he was the one who told Nate that you were at a work event and she was going home alone." I squeezed the glass so hard in my hand that I wouldn't have been shocked if it broke. "And one other thing. Nate paid him to "stage an accident"... but he couldn't go through with it, so he sent Nate some news article he photoshopped about you dying, took the money, and went back to Florida. Didn't explain why he suddenly decided to help the investigation after three weeks." She explained. "Said he felt guilty." I mumbled, looking down at my shoes. I wasn't even shocked that Nate tried paying someone to kill me. But it was also the least of my worries, Aurora was my priority. I just had to know if she was alright.

"But is she okay?" I asked.

"We don't know." Detective Blake replied. "He told us that Nate was going to 'take her back to where it all started'." "Virginia?" I asked her and she nodded. "We think so." "When can we leave?" I asked. If Aurora was in Virginia, I needed to be in Virginia. Now. "We're working on that Andy. I'm going to contact the local police there. I'll keep you updated, I promise." She said, placing a hand on my arm. "Go home to Jacob. Get some rest."

I nodded and followed her out of the room and then to my car. The drive home went by quickly and I found Jake in the kitchen. "Hey dad... what's wrong?" He asked, his brows furrowing upon seeing my expression. "They have some information on Nate. They think he took her to back to Virginia."

"When can we go?!" Jake asked, standing up from the kitchen counter. I smiled slightly. I knew he had really bonded with Aurora, but that showed me right there that not only did she have an impact on my life but she had an impact on our family that I hadn't even thought about. "Detective Blake will give me more information when she can. She's contacting the local police in Virginia first. But Jake... if they find her... I want you to stay here." I said.

There were too many unknowns and I didn't know how far Nate would go. He was already willing to pay someone to kill me. I couldn't put Jake in harms way. "What?! No!" Jake protested. "Jake... we don't know what Nate is capable of and you're safe here." "No way! You're not leaving me here." He said again, crossing his arms across his chest. "I know you want to come but, if things go wrong-"

"I don't want to lose you too." He said quietly, cutting me off. "You won't, Jake. And we're going to get Aurora back too." I said, pulling him into a hug. We stood there for a moment in a comfortable silence until he pulled away. "I'm coming with you." He said. I didn't argue with him anymore about the topic and simply nodded. "Get some rest tonight, Jake." "You too, dad. She'll be okay." He said, giving me one more hug before walking towards the stairs. "Oh and dad?" I looked over at him.

"When we find her... promise me you'll ask her." He said.

"Ask her what?" I asked him, even though I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"You know what." He said, smirking at me, "the ring in your office. She'll love it." I smiled over at him, "I won't."