“Please tell me you found her,” Grace says from the other end of the line.

“No, but I’m close.”

“Did she finally pick up one of your calls?”

“Nope. They still go straight to the mailbox.”

“I don’t understand why she would just disappear like that.” From the sound of Grace’s voice, I can tell she’s hurt that Jia didn’t bother to say goodbye to her. At least for me, it’s different. We had ended things before everything crashed and burned.

“Look, if it makes you feel better, I think I know where she is.”

“How? Where?” she asks.

“I don’t think she left town. In fact, I think she’s still in her apartment building.”

“In her apartment, you mean?”

“No. She never showed up there, but someone else did. I think that person knows where Jia is.”

“Do you know the person’s name?”

“I wish I did.” I lean back against the back-seat headrest and close my eyes to rest them for a moment. “Remember the woman we ran into when we came to get Jia’s clothes?”

“The one who was staring at us?”

“Yep. She’s the one who came into the apartment while I was still there. She has a key, which means she’s in contact with Jia.”

“You think she sent her to get something for her?”

“That’s what I think. My guess is, Jia is staying with her.”

“Did you get to talk to this woman?”

“I wanted to, but as soon as she saw me, she bolted.”

“That’s really weird. You didn’t catch up with her?”

“I went after her, but my cane and I weren’t fast enough.” I open my eyes. “Grace, I have to go. I’m outside the building now, waiting for either Jia or that woman to come out. They will have to at some point.”

Grace is quiet for a long time. When she speaks again, her voice is low and cracked around the edges. “Lance, do you think we should let it go? It’s clear that Jia wants nothing to do with us.”

“Right now, I don’t really care what she wants. The only thing that interests me is getting her back to the hospital.”

“You still care about her, don’t you?”

“That’s not important.” I rake a hand through my hair. “I think it’s humane of me to want her to be okay. Even if we’re no longer together.”

“Okay,” Grace sighs. “Call me if you find out anything more.”

After the call, I take a deep breath and pick up the journal next to me. The past few days I got to read most of Jia’s journals, but not this one.

“Mr. LaClaire, should we still wait, or should I drive you home?” Dominick peers at me from the front of the car.

“We’ll wait for as long as it takes.”

“Of course.” He goes back to reading his paper and occasionally staring out the window.

I’m about to continue reading the journal when Dominick speaks again. “Is that her?”

My head snaps up, and I glance out the window. Sure enough, the woman I’d seen earlier has stepped out of the building.

My adrenaline spikes as I reach for the door handle, but change my mind. There’s no way I’ll be able to catch up with her, even if she’s wearing high heels.

“Dominick, go after her. Bring her to the car.” I can’t help feeling like a mafia boss.

“Yes, boss.” Without hesitation, Dominick pushes the door open and gets out. I watch as he crosses the road to get to Jia’s friend.

She glances behind her and starts to hurry, as though she thinks Dominick is some kind of predator. I roll down the window in time to hear Dominick calling after her and saying something else that I don’t catch.

The woman stops walking and turns, holding her purse to her body. She glances from Dominick to my car.

My heart squeezes painfully inside my chest as I wait for her to continue walking again, to disappear without telling me where I can find Jia.

I blow out a breath when she hesitates and then walks toward Dominick. I wonder what he said to convince her to follow him.

As they both cross the street, she glances right and left as though she’s expecting someone to attack her.

Once they arrive at the car, Dominick opens the door for her to get in. “Mr. LaClaire just wants to have a quick word,” he says.

“I really need to get to work,” she says, but bends to look inside.

“Give me five minutes,” I say before she can change her mind. “Five minutes and I’ll let you go.”

“I should really ... I can’t.” She straightens up again, her face disappearing out of view.

“Please,” I call out. “I won’t take too much of your time.”

To my surprise, she gets in, bringing in with her an overwhelming scent of sweet perfume. She doesn’t bother to close the door. “What do you want to talk about?”

“You already know the answer to that question.” I pause. “You know where Jia is, don’t you?”

She gives a half shrug. “What if I do?”

“Then I’d like it if you told me.”

She chews a corner of her lip for a moment. I give her the time she needs to think about it.

“I know who you are,” she says. “I also know that your relationship with Jia is over.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t care about her well-being. I’m not sure if she told you, but she left the hospital against doctors’ orders.”

“She’s a grown woman. She can make her own decisions.”

“Sure, she can. But she survived the accident with a blow to the head. The doctors wanted to make sure she’s fine before she left.” I rub my brow. “Please tell me that she’s fine.”

“Yeah, she is.” She pauses. “But she doesn’t want to see you again. You turned your back on her.”

I ignore her remark and lean back. “Are you friends with her?” I ask. “I had no idea she had friends in the building.”

“Now you do. You should know that I’m loyal to my friends.” She swings one leg out of the car, ready to go. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more.”

“Lance. You can call me Lance.”

“Lance, I need to get to work.”

“What if I make you an offer?”

She looks back at me, lips parted.

“Tell me how I can get to Jia, and I will pay you three times what you’re earning in a month at your job ... in cash.”

She shakes her head. “I ... I don’t know.”

“You won’t be betraying Jia. If you really care about her, you’ll tell me where she is.” I glance out the window at the building. “Is she staying with you?”

She bites down on her bottom lip, her eyes fixed on my face. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you, Mr. LaClaire. Have a good day.”