“Aubrey Miller,” Creglin said. “We’ll be talking to her first.” He fixed Ramsey with a look and I didn’t roll my eyes. “Agreed…”
“Are you going to call her parents?” I asked more to tweak Mayfair than anything else, but the minute I asked—I wanted to know. We could call Gibs, but I wasn’t sure about her mother.
“She’s eighteen,” Mayfair leapt in to announce. “Previously, she was a legally emancipated minor…”
Creglin did not roll his eyes, but he merely turned his back on Mayfair. “We’ll notify her legal emergency contact. That will be on file. If we determine it necessary, we will notify her parents. For now, gentlemen, return to your dorm. Be available. Don’t leave campus. If you hear from her, contact me immediately.”
With that, he refocused his attention on Mayfair and Ramsey motioned to me to walk. I wanted to stay and ask more questions. They weren’t convinced something had happened to her…
At Ramsey’s impatient look, I rolled my eyes and stalked away. He was a half-step behind me.
“Mr. Malone,” Mayfair called before we made it a half-dozen steps. I halted to twist back and look as Ramsey pivoted to face him. “I will expect you in my office, and dressed appropriately, within the next hour.”
“No, you won’t,” Creglin said before Mayfair could continue. “For now, this is a matter for campus security, Mr. Mayfair. You will not be tampering with my witnesses.”
I damn near snorted, but managed to contain the reaction. Barely—but I managed it.
“On your way, gentlemen,” Creglin said, not glancing at us. Mayfair looked apoplectic.
Maybe he’d drop dead from a heart attack.
Couldn’t happen to a better jackass.
Still, I’d call Dad as soon as we were back.
Ramsey sighed and when he glanced at me, I jerked my head toward the running trail. It was the fastest way back. It wasn’t until we were safely out of sight on the other side of the trees that big brother found his voice.
“Thanks,” he said.
I could play dumb, but I just shrugged. “Mayfair’s an asshole. You still need a punch in the dick, but this is about Ace and not you.”
“Right, you can’t just say, ‘you’re welcome’?”
“Nope,” I informed him as I checked my phone. No messages from Ace or Jonas. I fired off a text to him. He’d headed straight back to the dorm and hopefully, he’d already tracked down Aubrey. If not, that was my next stop.
Instead of making conversation, Ramsey moved like my shadow. Inside the dorm, I checked his suite first. There was no note on the door from Ace. Pivoting, I headed for the stairs.
Ramsey had waited right next to them and he was already climbing them before I got there. On Jonas’ floor, I stopped in the wide open door to their room. Jonas sat on the edge of the sofa, his gaze fixed on the door across the hall.
The door to Ace’s room was open, but there was no sign of her.
“No one’s in Aubrey’s suite,” he told me before I could ask. “What did security say?”
“Not much,” Ramsey answered. “They are taking it seriously and investigating. But they don’t know anything.”
The silence around us elongated, stretching so tight it made my skin itch. Ramsey pulled out his phone and stared at the screen before he declined whatever call it was and then looked up a number.
“You have her friend’s number?” Yeah, I moved closer to see who he was calling.
“Of course, I do. She’s a resident in this dorm.” He hit the contact then put the phone to his ear. This close, I couldn’t miss the ringing. It went to voicemail.
Fuck.
“Miss Miller, this is Ramsey Malone, I need you to call me as soon as you get this. It’s an emergency.” He ended the call then stared at Jonas.
“She’s dating a guy named Forrest.”
We could go look for him…
“He isn’t answering either.” Jonas turned his phone around. “I checked with some other people, didn’t say what was going on, just asked—they haven’t seen KC either.”
Fuck.
I flexed my hands.
“Maybe we call her boyfriend?” Jonas suggested and I pivoted to stare at him.
“She doesn’t have one.” I knew he wasn’t talking about RJ.
“She might,” Jonas said slowly, chewing at his lower lip. Whatever he was batting around in his head bugged him. “She’s got a picture in her—”
I diverted right into her room. Privacy didn’t count when she was missing and she’d called me! Called me and instead of ringing through, my damn phone went to voicemail.
Scanning her room, I looked around. What pho—oh. I walked over to the dresser, tucked against the mirror was a photo of Ace, a guy, and a—
She had a kid?
“The little girl isn’t her kid,” Ramsey said from behind me. Both he and Jonas had followed me. “She told me…”
“She has Ace’s eyes.” It was hard to miss. Darker skin, curlier hair, but—I’d know those eyes anywhere.
“Still not her kid.”
“Are you sure?” Jonas asked, the troubled look on his face giving way to confusion.
“Positive,” Ramsey answered flatly and I narrowed my eyes. “She was a virgin and that’s the end of this discussion.”
She was a—
All at once, I wanted to crack my fist into his perfect face and I was halfway to him when Jonas slammed into me.
The fuck was he doing? I glared at him.
“Not yet,” Jonas said. “If I have to wait, so do you.”
Ramsey shook his head and then jerked his phone up. The buzzing was his phone. Was it Aubrey?
Please be Ace.
I could wait to punch him. Just be Ace.
“Mom,” Ramsey said. “I can’t—what?” He frowned and looked at us. “Wait—Mom—wait a sec.” He lowered the phone and put it on speaker. “I’ve got Jonas and Lach right here…”
“Deal with that girl. Gibs does not need this kind of stress right now. If she wants to play pranks and get attention, she doesn’t need to waste our time.”
What the hell was she talking about?
“Mom, what prank?”
“This ridiculous ransom note.” Honestly, Mom sounded almost unhinged with how she hissed that out. “Really, a ransom? Really? This is not some movie set. If she wants drama, she should go find her mother.”
I wasn’t the only one frowning.
“That doesn’t sound like her, Mom,” Ramsey said, his tone careful and her half-screech had me wincing.
“Are you just going to take her side? After all the hell she’s put Gibs through?”
I opened my mouth but Ramsey held up a finger and warned me with a look. He was lucky I didn’t want to talk to Mom or deal with her.
“I’m not taking anyone’s side. Just take a photo of the note and send it to me.”
“Oh,” Mom let out a long sigh. “Thank you, baby. Maybe tell her that the adults do not have time for this, yeah?”
“Sure,” Ramsey said, even as Jonas practically vibrated next to me. “Just send it over. How did you get it?”