Chapter 34

It had been many months since I’d broken up with my boyfriend, ex-cop Noah Stiles. As much as I missed the man and was still concerned about his welfare, I had to let him go. All my attempts to locate him after he’d suddenly disappeared after last Thanksgiving had failed. He hadn’t responded to any of my emails or phone calls, and he hadn’t shown up at any of his usual haunts. It was as if he’d fallen off the face of the earth.

Knowing his background like I did, I wondered if he’d gotten caught up in his old gang again. Maybe I should have tried harder, been more flexible when we were together. I had even tried being in an open relationship with him because he was skittish about one-on-one commitment due to having to fend for himself so much in his younger years. Even that hadn’t helped. Should I have let him stay with me when he’d called back in November, needing a bed for one night? I didn’t know if—