Love you to Death Read Online Free PDF

to drop everything like that.”
    She pushed out a long breath, wishing it would ease some of her tension. It didn’t. “I guess we’ll see how good I am.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “It means I never should have let her live alone to begin with. I know what she’s like—how distracted she can get—but she wanted her freedom. So did I. We agreed to go our separate ways after our mom died, but I never should have left her alone.”
    “She’s a grown woman, not a child. You can’t be responsible for her forever.”
    Elise shook her head, feeling the sway of her curls against her neck. They were probably frizzy again. “I agreed because it’s what I wanted, not because it’s what was good for Ashley. I see that now.”
    Trent frowned at her. It was getting bright enough to could see his face more clearly. His eyes were pale blue highlighted in gold at the center. When the sunlight hit them, the golden flecks seemed to glow.
    Elise shouldn’t have noticed, but when he was looking right at her with that expression of concern tugging at his features, it was hard not to notice. Just like it was hard not to notice the faint shadow of stubble lining his jaw, or the way his hair fell in an artfully mussed disarray over his ears.
    Trent Brady was a distraction Elise couldn’t afford, but one she welcomed nonetheless. With him sitting beside her, the gnawing fear seemed to ease. With him nearby, she didn’t feel quite so alone.
    “So, what? You’re going to move in with her and live there the rest of your life?” he asked.
    “No, just until she gets married. There’s got to be some guy out there who will love her enough to take care of her, hopefully better than I have.” She shot him a grin. “What about you? Care to fill the position?”
    Trent let out a single laugh. “Sorry. She’s a sweet kid, but she’s not my type.”
    Elise bit her tongue to keep from asking him what his type was. She didn’t want to know. She didn’t need to know. She was only going to be here long enough to find Ashley, then get back to work.
    Time for a change of subject. “So, what should I do next? I’ve never done anything like this before. I have plenty of experience investigating stories, but I’m not sure if I have the skills to investigate Ashley’s disappearance.”
    “You need to let the police handle it.”
    Easier said than done. “It’s not enough. I can’t sit around and wait for her to show up, wait for someone else to find her. What if they can’t? What if it’s too late by then?”
    “It won’t be,” he said with such confident authority she couldn’t help but believe him. “She’ll turn up safe and sound and you’ll give her hell for scaring you like that.”
    She gave him a long look, searching his face for a hint of the lie he’d just told. She saw none. “You said you were a cop. You know better than anyone that things don’t always work out like that.”
    “No one loves her like you do. No one will work as hard for her as you will. Stay on Bob’s back and he’ll do the rest.”
    “Is that what you’d do if it was your sister? Sit back and let someone else do the work alone?”
    “No.”
    “What would you do?”
    He scrubbed a hand over his face and let out a long sigh. “Are you asking what
you
should do or what
I
would do?”
    “I’m asking you to give me the truth. What do I do to find Ashley?”
    He was quiet for so long Elise didn’t think he was going to answer her question. He stared at her as the sun rose higher, heating the car. “You’re not going to stop, are you?”
    “No. I’m not.”
    He let out a weary sigh. “If Bob asks, you didn’t hear this from me.”
    “I don’t even remember your name.”
    He nodded, satisfied. “Call the airport police and ask if her car is in one of the lots, just to be sure she didn’t hop a flight out of town. Go through her bank and credit card records. See if she’s made any recent charges that might tell you