‘I appreciate your point of view, DI Walsh, but you don’t really know DS Miles. This isn’t after work, this is the middle of an investigation. He is very unlikely to just switch his phone off and go clubbing. Not answer his phone, yeah, that could happen. But to not be able to locate him? No way. Something’s off.’

‘Maybe he’s out of range,’ Matt said.

‘If this was a bid to calm me down it has failed miserably,’ Imogen snapped.

‘I didn’t mean to upset you,’ Matt offered.

‘You’re wrong about him. He’s a good police officer,’ she said, composing herself, knowing full well none of this was Matt’s fault.

At that moment the phone rang, and Imogen looked at the screen. It was DCI Kapoor.

‘Saved by the bell,’ DI Walsh muttered; he did look somewhat apologetic. Maybe Imogen had been a bit hard on him. She couldn’t tell if her feelings for Adrian had magnified any reaction she might have normally had. This was exactly why it was a bad idea to get involved with someone from work. Well done, Imogen, you have gone from one impossible relationship to another.

‘DS Grey, there is a signed warrant for you to enter the property as we have reason to believe DS Miles is in imminent danger. Some officers will arrive on the scene shortly to break the door down.’

‘Thank you, Ma’am,’ Imogen said, still slightly annoyed that the DCI had been talking to Matt Walsh about either one of them. She made a mental note to investigate the connection between Walsh and Kapoor further as there was obviously a lot of trust between them. So far, as decent as DI Walsh seemed, he was a bit of a mystery. Imogen knew better than to blindly trust someone just because they were nice.

‘We’ll find him, DS Grey, I promise you that,’ DCI Kapoor said before hanging up.

Imogen heard sirens getting closer, which did nothing to make her feel any calmer.

Where the fuck are you, Adrian?

Within moments of the backup arriving, the door to the unit was open. The lock smashed and the handle fell on the floor. Imogen stepped inside, immediately feeling that it was empty. She went through the motions with her torch, shining into every corner, disappointment hitting her like a hammer with every step. They were in the wrong place.

‘There’s no one here!’ Imogen said, alarmed by the panic in her own voice.

Was she losing it? An idea was forming in her mind, an idea she was trying to ignore. She couldn’t think about what would happen if they didn’t find Adrian. Her feelings of concern for his safety and anger at him for wandering off alone were multiplying. She couldn’t not find him, that just wasn’t an option.

Chapter Fifty-One

Adrian felt the blade against his cheek. He could see it resting there from the corner of his eye. It wasn’t a particularly sharp knife, so it hadn’t broken the skin yet. Adrian imagined that wouldn’t be the case for long. Had anyone even noticed he was missing? Imogen probably thought he was in a huff about something; she generally left him to his own devices and vices in his free time. She would text once and then it was his turn. If anything, Adrian felt as though he was the needy one. It wasn’t that he felt neglected, or that she was disinterested, more that she was protecting herself from getting too close. Adrian understood that and he appreciated it. Thinking about Imogen was taking his mind off the increasing pressure of the knife against his skin. His immediate concern was Imogen wandering into this mess.