Molly:

I peek out my bedroom window into the driveway to try and figure out what’s going on. Mom’s being awfully cryptic, and the black Range Rover doesn’t really give away any clues at all. Maybe it’s Josh. He knows my home address, and I wouldn’t put it past him to come hunt down one of his prized cash cows.

I throw on some skinny jeans and a t-shirt and pull my long damp hair up into a ponytail. I cringe as I look at the state of my face. Apparently pillow lines don’t wash out, no matter how long you stand in the shower. I hurry up and put on a little concealer. I might feel like trash, but there’s no sense in looking 100 percent like it.

I slink down the steps and into the kitchen. Sitting around the big oak table is my mother, father, and a man that I don’t recognize. He looks to be about Tucker’s age. He’s extremely handsome, clean-cut, and dressed pretty casually. The only thing about him that screams money is the Bulgari watch on his wrist. I’ve never seen one in real life, but I’m assuming it’s real. I can tell this guy isn’t like the rest of us. There’s something about his smile, his posture, this is a man who always gets what he wants. But what does he want with me?

“Molly,” he says as soon as he spies me standing in the doorway. “It’s really nice to meet you finally.”

“Who are you?” I ask.

“I’m Max Liston. I’m a close friend of Jesse’s. Well, I’m a close friend of Tucker’s.”

“Do you know where he is?” I ask, my eyes lighting up. “Is he ok?”

He frowns. “I was hoping you’d be able to answer those questions for me. Your parents explained what happened with the article. I’m sorry you got tricked by your agent, and I promise I will do whatever I can to make sure he pays for it. Right now, though, I need your help finding Tucker.”

I walk into the kitchen and take a closer look at this man. Something about him is so familiar but so strange. He looks like a celebrity that I should know.

“He disappeared on me when he saw the article,” I tell him. “I don’t blame him. We took the police to the place where he was camping and it was packed up. Him and the guys he was running with left without a trace.”

“He’s good for that.” Max shrugs. “It’s kind of one of his quirks. He likes to play this ‘off-grid’ game every few years or so. He goes out in the woods and I don’t hear from him for months at a time. He usually checks in at least, though.”

“Why weren’t you looking for him?” I ask. “He was in a terrible accident. He lost all his memory. When I met him, he had nothing but the clothes on his back.”

“Oh, I was looking for him,” Max says calmly. “I thought he was in Montana hunting. The waitress at the diner where he was last seen said he made it there in one piece.”

“And that’s it?”

“Listen, it’s hard for guys like us to get away from the life we live. Jesse’s always been a lone wolf. He’s a big boy. He needed some space and I gave it to him. If I knew what I know now, this would’ve never happened. And I’m going to make sure it never happens again.”

“Well now he’s gone. It’s too late. Him and that pack of criminals are who knows where doing who knows what. I don’t understand why nobody put a missing persons out on him! Surely he would’ve been found by now.”

“I don’t expect you to understand the life we live,” he says, taking a long swig from my mother’s iced tea. “This is excellent by the way. If we were to put a missing persons report out on him, he’d be in serious danger. People would be doing whatever they could to get their hands on him and hold him for ransom. It’s a sick world, Molly. Especially when you have the kind of money that Jesse has.”

I’m having trouble processing what’s going on now. I sit down in the chair next to Max and put my head in my hands.

“This isn’t the first time he’s run off. It’s hard trying to play it off to clients like he’s just traveling or busy when really you don’t have a clue if he’s ever coming back. His parents are a mess. He usually calls them at least once a week, and not hearing from him has them all sorts of worried. You gotta help me find him,” he says. “There’s gotta be something you remember.”

“Who is Mary?” I ask.

He looks at me sideways. “Mary is a woman who’s spent her entire life making Jesse miserable. Pretty girl, probably his first love, but she’s toxic as hell. Do you think he’s with her?”

“No, I’m just making sure he’s not married. It’s been nagging at me since the day I heard his story.”

“I can promise you, he’s not. Like I said, he’s kind of a lone wolf. He’s not into this lifestyle like a normal man would be. Jesse’s always been searching for something genuine. Something real. Someone who didn’t care about his social status or how much money he has. I feel like maybe this whole incident gave him a chance to indulge in that fantasy.”

I know that what Tucker and I had was more than a fantasy. It was very real. Everything I knew about the man, I loved. I was going to spend the rest of my life waiting for him.

“Well, if living on a bus and showering in a public campground is his fantasy, then he found the perfect woman,” I laugh. “So what are we going to do to find him?”

“Did he have any places he liked to hang out in Creede? A bar maybe? I have men on the ground all over the place there, but nobody is coming back with any sightings.”

“There was this cave he really liked,” I say, shrugging.

“A cave? Like a literal hole inside of a rock?” He’s cracking up, and I realize how ridiculous that sounds. “Why am I not surprised?”

“So who are you? Like, honestly? Who are you guys? You keep saying that you live this big extravagant lifestyle but I have no idea who you are.”

“Jesse and I are the CEOs of Drakeman and Liston. We design and sell commercial real estate.” I see my father curiously tapping away on his cellphone in the corner and his face turns bright red.

“Oh shit,” he whispers.

“Dad!”

“It’s ok.” Max smiles. “We get that a lot.”

“Are you gonna help me look for him?” he asks.

“I don’t think he wants to be found by me,” I sigh. “Not after what happened. I’ll happily help you however I can, but I highly doubt he’s going to be happy to see me.”

I don’t care what it takes to find him. I’m dying to see him again, to at least give him an explanation. To show him how much he means to me. To show him that I want to spend the rest of my life with him, whoever he wants to be.

“He’s not a dumb guy,” Max says. “He’ll believe you.”