Sure enough, his hand is on his phone in two seconds flat. “The fuck he is,” he mutters under his breath as he violently punches numbers on the keypad.

“Get me Mark,” he grumbles into the phone before looking up at the three of us with a glare.

I linger because I want to make sure this is handled, but Casey puts a hand on my shoulder. “Come on, man. He’ll take care of it.”

Nodding once in Anastasios’s direction, I pull his door shut behind me as I exit his office.

Chapter 34

Ryan

Four Years Ago

It has been exactly one year since the last time I saw Scarlett, almost to the minute. I’ve been counting. Scratching the days off with unhinged tally marks on the wall like a prisoner. It’s an exaggeration, but sometimes I feel like I might as well be. Every day feels like torture. Long and arduous, each one more bleak than the last, because with each day, I’m more sure she’s not coming back.

I used to dream of her showing up at my apartment unannounced. I’d take her into my arms and tell her everything was okay, that as long as we were together, everything would be fine.

I was angry, but not at her. Never at her. I just couldn’t understand what made her just disappear, as if she had never been there in the first place.

But she never showed up. Never answered my texts. Never sent a single word to anyone—not me or Trina. I even called Mandy and her other friends, but they hadn’t heard from her and didn’t seem like they wanted to. Mandy sounded a little upset, maybe even guilty, but wouldn’t tell me why. She just said she hoped I found her, and that was that.

I make a habit of walking by her condo every so often. Not in a creepy way. But I want to see her. I need to see her. On the anniversary of her disappearance, I take one such walk, glancing upward toward her windows as casually as I can.

Scarlett isn’t up there. Of course she’s not. But there is a red sign that makes me trip over my feet. My knees hit the concrete sidewalk with a painful smack, but I don’t even feel it.

CONDO FOR SALE, UNIT 406

Unit 406 is Scarlett’s number. She put her condo up for sale.

Is she back? Did she come back and not tell me? Has anyone heard from her? Surely someone has if her condo is for sale.

With shaking hands, I find Trina’s number in my contact list. I must look like I’ve lost it, kneeling on the sidewalk in the middle of the day, trying not to cry, but I don’t even care.