“I agree. We have to get her back. We’re going to have to deal with your father, too, Carter. I know it’s sudden, insane, and all too much, but time isn’t on our side here.”
As if switching from shock to determination with the click of an inner button, Carter stands up and squares his shoulders, giving Damon and me a hard, steely look.
“Well, you’re right about one thing, Jace. Time isn’t on our side,” he says, his voice low and cold. “We need to know everything there is to know about Clara, every secret she’s kept from us.”
“How do we?—”
“Jodie,” he replies. “I’ll have a chat with her first. You and Damon should head back to the mansion and start using all of our search protocols for missing persons. Apply Clara’s parameters and see what hits you get. Run them against every hospital with a cardiology section that has a high success rate for Matty’s surgical procedure. Get a hold of Stephan’s lawyer, too,” he adds.
“He won’t tell us where she is,” Damon says. “Attorney-client privilege and whatnot.”
“Maybe. But if her life is at risk, he might be compelled,” Carter says. “And see if you can ping her cell phone off the towers. Skip the legal aspect on this one. Nobody needs to know.”
Wherever she is, we’re going to find her.
20
CLARA
It’s not fair to Jodie if I don’t at least call her to tell her I’ve left. I’ve lied enough over the past couple of days, and judging by the frantic context of her messages, the guys are desperately looking for me.
Matty is sound asleep in our motel room in Baker City when I get on the phone and dial Jodie’s number.
She immediately picks up. “Clara? Oh, my God, are you okay?”
“Hey, Jodie. I’m so sorry,” I manage, trying hard not to cry as I gather my thoughts and work to find the right words to convey to this kind-hearted woman. She’s been nothing but supportive, and I left her behind without so much as a goodbye. “I am so, so sorry.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I promise. Matty, too. We left Blackthorn Falls, as you probably know by now. I should’ve said something, I’msorry. There was no other, better way to do this. I just hope you’ll forgive me someday.”
Outside the motel, I’ve got a nice view of the city, small but sprawling with its steel and concrete giants with mirrored windows, its highways and bridges. It’s big enough for me to get lost in, I suppose, big enough to help me disappear.
“What is going on?” Jodie asks. “Forget about forgiveness and all that crap. I’m not mad, I’m just worried. Jace wouldn’t tell me anything, but I guess you told him more than you ever told me.”
“I have a lot to apologize for, Jodie. I know?—”
“Just tell me what’s going on.”
“Matty is being admitted into the hospital tomorrow. His first round of tests was encouraging enough for the surgeon to make that decision. He’s getting his heart fixed later this week. They think we’ll be looking at a full recovery,” I tell her. “With the trust fund money, I’m able to cover most of it. I’ve got some money saved from my work with Vanguard, and I’m looking for a new job. Things will work out, eventually.”
“Clara, why’d you leave? You have your own place here. You have the guys who are super worried about you. They love you. They’re going nuts without you and Matty. It’s not fair to them.”
“I had to. Please, believe me. I had no other choice. My life was at risk. Otherwise, I would’ve done things differently.”
I can’t bring myself to tell her that I’m pretty sure Bill Lockwood had one of his henchmen try to run me off the road because I wouldn’t take his money and leave again. At least I left on my own terms. Alive and with a clearconscience, not like last time. That guilt still eats away at me.
“I had to do it for me, for Matty, and, honestly, for anyone else who gets close to me. I would tell you, I swear, but it could put you in danger, as well. Please believe me, Jodie. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of me.”
Silence falls on the line as I look down at the parking lot in front of the motel, where I see lots of dusty sedans and a couple of beat-up minivans, along with a few bikes and three pickup trucks—the latter from out of state, judging by the colors on their license plates. This is a pass-through point for a lot of people.
“Clara, are you still there?” Jodie’s voice brings me back.
“Yes, sorry.”
“I thought the line went down. I asked you a question.”
“What did you ask me?”
