It turns out no matter how stubborn a person is, their body's needs will always win. Sometime before dawn, Alex and I dozed off, our various electronics glowing dimly in the slowly brightening room until at last they powered down or their batteries drained while ours recharged. I wish I could say I felt like a new man when I woke up at lunchtime, but grit glued my eyes together and the metallic tang of tears coated my throat, causing me to cough as I stood and stretched my stiff muscles.

"What time is it?" Alex croaked, his voice muffled by the couch cushion. At some point, he'd fallen sideways, the upper half of his body draped over the sofa while his knees and feet hung over the side.

"Almost noon."

He popped up. Grease made his blonde hair nearly brunette and acted like super hold hairspray, ensuring it stuck in wild disarray above his head. A giant yawn swallowed whatever he was about to say.

"Come again?"

"I said, 'Oh shit.'"

"My sentiments exactly."

The contents in the fridge door jingled as I opened it. Within seconds, I realized it hadn't gotten any better from last night. Maybe worse. A distinctly rotten smell wafted toward me and permeated the modest kitchen.

"We should probably go out to eat." Alex padded down the hall toward his bedroom. "But I have to shower first or we won't be allowed in. You should probably do the same."

He didn't give me time to protest. We'd already wasted half the day, but as he shut his door in my face, I decided it might not be the worst idea. Not just because I smelled bad enough to make eyes water, but because it might knock the cobwebs out of my mind. I couldn't keep going like this and be efficient as much as I hated to admit it.

I snorted when I walked into the spare bedroom. It was exactly as Mrs. R had said. Not a single piece of furniture. Only pristine cream carpet running from wall to wall. And something on the windowsill. I squinted and released a reluctant chuckle. Magnum condoms. At least Alex and Marcus practiced safe sex.

My amusement faded. If only that was all it took to protect you from your partner. Nothing could protect your heart when they turned out to be liars or criminals. Or innocent victims.

An hour later, Alex and I looked a little more human while we munched on street food and discussed all the likely locations Marcus could have disappeared, assuming he went willingly. If someone had tied up a loose end, we were going to be well and truly screwed over, which is exactly how Melnyk wanted us. Desperate and completely reliant on him.

Pausing at a bench outside of our corporate offices, Alex pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose and tossed his trash in a can. His beige sweater hung loose on his lanky frame and looked as if he'd pulled it from the bottom of a laundry basket. It was a far cry from his usual suave attire and reminded me I wasn't the only one suffering in all this.

"Loch, I know you're not going to want to hear this—"

"Then don't say it," I said sharply, anticipating his next words with dread.

"I really don't think Marcus is involved... at least, not directly with Millie's death."

That fucking phrase. It cut deeper and deeper every single time someone said it. Maybe eventually my heart would accept it as true.

Alex continued. "He loved her. She was like a sister to him. And I think..." He inhaled. "I think he loved me, too."

"That doesn't mean he didn't do it, Alex," I whispered, jutting my chin toward the building. We needed to get off the street. Out of the open and away from prying eyes. "People still hurt the ones they love."

"No, I know that. But what if he deleted that message to protect me? What if he went to try to help Millie himself and they got him, too?"

It was a possibility. One I preferred over the others because I think Alex could handle losing Marcus like that more than he could through betrayal. We remained silent on the elevator ride, both deep in our dark thoughts.

The office was empty. Without the usual buzz and clicking of keys, it felt like a tomb, which was odd. I came up here often after hours and always felt peaceful. A shiver went down my spine.

"I messaged Mr. Lawrence," Alex said, as I hurried him into my office. At least in here, it felt normal.

"And?"

"And nothing yet. He's out of office."

"On vacation?"

Alex shrugged, the confusion in his face making it clear he wasn't jumping to the same conclusion I was. "I don't know."

"He uses a Reed's Security System, right?"

"Yeah. I talked him into an upgrade last year."

"Good." I fired off a text to one of the IT guys requesting they log into the cameras and make sure he was okay. It wasn't exactly the most ethical thing to do, but he would thank me if I saved his life.

"What are you thinking?"

I leaned back in my chair while my computer booted up. "I'm thinking we need to avoid another Dr. Chen situation."

"Shit. I didn't even think of that."

The door creaked open, making Alex jump. I rolled my eyes as James walked in, his laptop in his hand and a triumphant expression on his face. He must've been watching the building cameras for us.

"What do you have?" I asked. The man wouldn't have stopped digging just to chat.

""Sara Caulfield. Twenty-one. Was an honors student at Barnard until last spring. Her grades plummeted, and then she dropped out. She's also managed to wrack up significant debt. Signs definitely point to an expensive drug habit."

"What's her connection to Jade?"

"She and Jade grew up together upstate and moved to the city together. Jade graduated with a Theater degree. She started working at a coffee shop to pay the bills while auditioning for film and television roles. Sara worked with her for a while, and that's where they both met Nik Petrov—"

"Let me guess," I snapped, vision darkening at the edges. "He's an associate of Melnyk's?"

"Yeah. We pulled some of Jade's recent search history. Girl had shit security on the internet. She's been researching rehab facilities."

"For Sara?"

Alex scratched his chin. "But how does this all connect? Besides Melnyk. Why would Jade get involved?"

"Those particulars aren't clear yet, but—"

James rocked back on his heels, then put the laptop on the desk and spun it around so I could see the screen. Two women smiled out from the screen. One was Jade. The other I didn't recognize. Tall and curvy, she had sun kissed skin and honey blonde hair that curved around her face.

"If you saw her standing near Millie in a crowd, you wouldn't think they look alike besides their coloring, but dress her in the same clothes and ruin her face, so she's unrecognizable..."

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't form the words to tell James not to give me this false hope. "James."

"Lochlan, I thought the same thing, but I talked to my colleague at the coroner's office. He slipped me the autopsy report. Look at her left arm."

Alex and I leaned in. An arrow tattoo. James dropped a report on the desk and tapped the page. There in pinched handwriting—arrow tattoo on left arm.

"That wasn't Millie in the pond. It was Sara Caulfield."