CHAPTER 22

Elijah yawned, beyond tired as he steered his truck down the dark streets toward home. Nothing like working forty-eight hours straight… A long forty-eight hours shift…

Between Bobby Sutton’s disappearance and a pop-up meth lab tip, he’d driven over most of the county and turned up nothing but an abandoned barn and cold trails. He’d busted two teens selling pot at a corner store but lost another in the park.

At least he hadn’t spent much time at his desk. Nothing like sitting underneath humming fluorescent lights to make a man doze. Being up, out, and adrenaline pumping kept him sharp and focused.

He hadn’t been slated for the shift, but when his coworker’s wife had gone into early labor, he’d volunteered to cover the man’s shift. Unlike the vast majority of the Smithville force, he was… single.

Had Starlight noticed he was gone?

Missed him at all?

Elijah blew out a deep breath. Dammit, he’d thought about her a hell