“I’m a little busy, Heath.”

“We have a big fucking problem.”

The panic sharpening my brother’s tone put me on edge. “What’s going on?”

“Dad’s gone. I can’t find him.”

I tensed as dread crawled through me. “What do you mean?”

Rhett’s eyes locked on mine as Heath explained.

“He wanted pizza from that place he loves that doesn’t deliver, so I ran out to get it. When I came back, the door was open and he was gone.”

I didn’t know that a disappearing parent could be my worst nightmare, but tonight, it was. “Oh my God. What are we going to do?”

Rhett tugged the phone from my nerveless fingers. “Hey, it’s Hennessy. What the hell’s going on? Your sister’s as white as a sheet.”

My stomach knotted as Heath filled Rhett in, talking loudly enough that I could hear every word. Frozen in place, I didn’t know what to do. Crisis mode required emotional separation and a rational, cool head. Business was business. No one was going to die regardless of the outcome of those decisions, and I could handle them with proper processing and analysis. But the thought of my dad wandering alone on the street, lost and confused, destroyed me.

There was nothing rational going through my head right now.

Not my daddy, please.

“We’ll be there in fifteen. Call the department. Call in every favor you have. Get everyone on the streets. Make a list of places he might go, or where he liked to go—his favorite bars, restaurants, hell, even your mom’s grave—and give it to everyone. We’re on our way.”

Rhett ended the call and yanked out his wallet. He tossed a handful of cash down on the table, rose, and grabbed my hand. “Let’s go.”

Like a robot, I followed him, thinking through every worst-case scenario. I couldn’t even form the words until we stepped outside. “What are we going to do?”

With his face set in a determined mask and his voice strong with conviction, he answered. “We’re going to find him.” He pulled me across the street to the parking lot and stopped beside my door.

“He’s . . . you saw at lunch. There’s something—”

He unlocked the Jeep and urged me inside. “I know. We got this. We’re going to find him. I swear we won’t sleep until he’s safe.”

Before I could reply, he shut the door and rounded the hood.

His vow dulled my terror in a way I didn’t expect. While I was crumpling inside, he was calm, collected, and determined. His confidence and unwillingness to accept any other alternative shored up my strength, and I took a deep breath.

“We got this,” I repeated to myself.

Rhett jumped in the Jeep and with a roar of the engine, we pulled away.