Chapter Eight

Zayden’s POV

A message beeped on my phone. It was Linda, my childhood friend. The only one who had stuck by my side since day one. Non-judgmental. Understanding.

The only person in this world I trust. Not completely, but enough to give her the credit.

I looked at my screen, and my expression turned cold. I adjusted myself up and walked out of the office without giving Rielle another glance. She didn’t need to see this side of me.

I made my way to Linda’s apartment.

“Are you sure you want to begin the search for your mom again?” That was her first question when I got in.

“Could I at least get a hello?” I responded, dropping my bag on the couch

Linda folded her arms and leaned against the kitchen counter, watching me with that knowing look. She didn’t press further.

“You’re deflecting”

I sighed, pulling my jacket off. I wasn’t in the mood to be analyzed, but with Linda, it was inevitable.

“Maybe I am but you asked too fast, At least let me catch my breath”

She handed me a glass of water, her eyes softening. “You’ve been breathing fine, you just don’t want to face it”

I took a sip, staring down at the glass. The silence dragged between us. Then, almost too quietly, I said, I don’t even know where to start this time.

Linda’s face softened. “Then we start from where we stopped”

Linda set the glass of water down and gave me that look. The one that always came right before she said something I wouldn’t like.

“Do you want Lucas involved this time?”

I chuckled dryly. “Oh, sure. Let’s call my half-brother who thinks I’m a walking disaster and invite him to my emotional circus. That sounds productive”

Linda raised an eyebrow. “So, that’s a no?”

“That’s a hell no. And don’t even try to sneak his name into this conversation again because of your stupid little crush on him”

Her mouth dropped open. “Excuse you?”

I grinned, leaning back. “Don’t play innocent, Linda. The entire world knows you get heart palpitations when Lucas so much as breathes in your direction”

“Please” she scoffed, but her ears turned red. “I don’t have a crush on him. I have… mild admiration. Very mild. Like… tiny. Almost invisible”

“Tiny my ass. You get giggly. Giggly, Linda. It’s disturbing”

She tossed a pillow at me. “Says the man who catches a cold and acts like he’s been shot”

“Touché” I muttered, dodging the pillow. “But still, we’re not calling him. This isn’t a family reunion”

“Fine, fine. No Lucas. For now”

I narrowed my eyes. “For now?”

She grinned innocently. “Let’s focus on the search before you get your blood pressure up, old man”

I raked my hand through my hair, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees. “Maybe… we should just go back to her hometown. Start from there again”

Linda sighed, loud and exasperated, like she’d been waiting for me to suggest something stupid. “We’ve been to her hometown a hundred times. We’ve knocked on every door, questioned every vendor, flirted with the old man at the barbershop, and bribed the woman at the bakery twice”

I smiled faintly. “To be fair, you were the one doing the flirting”

“It was strategic flirting” she shot back, wagging a finger “And it still got us nowhere”

I slumped back against the couch. “Okay, fine. So, the hometown’s a dead end. What about that private investigator? The one with the fake Rolex and a sketchy office above the pharmacy?”

She gave me a deadpan stare. “You mean the man who asked for payment in cigarettes and gave us G****e search results?”

I snorted. “Right. Forgot about him.”

Linda grabbed a notepad from the table, flipping through old scribbles. “We’ve done the hometown. We’ve harassed old friends. We hacked into her old email, well, you did, because I’m not going to jail for you”

“That was a solid lead” I protested.

She ignored me. “We’ve stalked family reunions, sat through boring charity events hoping some rich gossip would slip up, and oh, let’s not forget your brilliant plan to visit that fortune teller”

“Hey, she was very convincing”

“She told you your spirit animal was a pigeon”

“It’s symbolic”

Linda looked at me like I had lost my mind. “We’re running out of options, Zayden. It’s like she fell off the face of the earth”

The room went quiet. That heavy, familiar silence. The kind that felt like defeat sitting in your chest. But I wasn’t ready to give up.

“What about places she never wanted anyone to know about I asked, voice lower now. Hidden spots. A secret property, maybe. Something Dad didn’t even know existed, mom was always the closed case”

Linda’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Now that… that’s something we haven’t tried”

She tapped the notepad against her knee, staring at me like she was trying to drill the thought into my head. “You need to think harder, Zayden. This part is on you. You know her better than anyone else. If she had a place, a hideout, a single spot she never wanted anyone to know about it’s buried in your head somewhere”

I didn’t argue. Couldn’t. She was right. I leaned back, letting out a slow, tired breath. “Yeah. It’s on me”

Linda’s expression softened, but she didn’t say anything else. She knew I hated this, being the one who was supposed to have all the answers but coming up empty.

I stood up, grabbing my jacket from the couch.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“Home. I need to take a rest. Clear my head”

Linda nodded, understanding. “Sleep doesn’t solve everything, but exhaustion makes you stupid”

I gave a dry smile. “Thanks for the pep talk, Coach”

She smirked. “Anytime. Go reset your brain. We’ll pick up the hopelessness tomorrow”

With that I walked out and headed to where my driver had parked the car, thoughts of Arielle crashing into my mind. My cock hardened at the thought of her wrapped nicely around my cock and the way she had fit.

I groaned at the back seat, what has she done to me?