Lost Without You

EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ® www.evernightpublishing.com Copyright© 2023 Ava Olsen ISBN: 978-0-3695-0829-4 Cover Artist: Jay Aheer Editor: CA Clauson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. “I love you, and that’s the beginning and end of everything.” —F. Scott Fitzgerald LOST WITHOUT YOU Ava Olsen Copyright © 2023 Chapter One Rachel “What’ll you have, hon?” Rachel Desoumas startled at the question, too busy staring out the diner window to notice the waitress standing beside her. “The bacon cheeseburger and a glass of iced tea, please,” Rachel replied. She should’ve waited for her lunch companion to arrive, but her growling stomach had other ideas and she was way past hangry. Rachel checked her phone again and there were no new messages, save one from her brother, Ryker. Ryker: Are you sure you want to go through with this? Rachel: Yes Ryker: Send me an update Rachel: Will do Rachel glanced out the picture window again and stared at the beautiful coastline of San Francisco. She was still getting adjusted to living back in the U.S. after her tenure in Australia. It was challenging to uproot your life and start over again. It was a pattern she repeated every five years or so and it was starting to wear. At thirty-nine, she was content with her life for the most part, especially her successful career as a linguistics professor. But there were times she longed for more. It would be nice to have someone to come home to. A partner, a family. Pushing her romantic daydreams aside, she focused on the here and now. Rachel was a realist, first and foremost. She glanced at her phone again and the picture of the man she was meeting. Ethan Blackwell—former FBI agent, acclaimed investigator, and best-selling author. Before she had a chance to zoom in on his picture, a deep voice echoed in her ear. “Rachel?” She turned toward the voice in question, and the first thing she noticed was the man’s smile. Big and beautiful, it made the crinkles at the corners of his dark brown eyes deepen. He had thick salt and pepper hair, matching scruff, and a nose that was slightly crooked, maybe broken at one point. This was a man you would notice once and never forget. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person, Ethan.” “You as well,” Ethan said as he sat in the seat across from her. “I hope you don’t mind meeting here. It’s one of my favorite restaurants in the area. I like to take a long walk on the beach when I’m done stuffing in the greasy goodness.” “It’s perfect. I hope you don’t mind that I ordered already. I chugged down some coffee this morning, but I’m in dire need of real food. And if I don’t eat every couple of hours, look out.” “I understand,” Ethan chuckled as he motioned for the waitress. “Can I have a bacon cheeseburger and iced tea please?” he asked. “Same as your wife, coming right up,” The waitress replied and sauntered off before either of them could correct her. Ethan was too busy to notice, placing his phone on the table in front of him and removing his black windbreaker. He wore a plain grey t-shirt that stretched tight over his broad chest and biceps. Rachel quickly glanced up again. “I wanted to start this meeting off by reiterating what I stated in our email exchange,” Ethan said. “I’m still a consultant with the FBI and I have contacts with local and state police so that may prove helpful as we conduct our search. But I can’t guarantee results. Unfortunately, your father’s disappearance is a very cold case.” “Anything is better than the lack of information I have now,” she replied. “The investigator my mom hired decades ago came up with nothing.” Ethan nodded. “To be fair, he didn’t have much to start from. According to the letter your dad left thirty-four years ago, he walked out of his own free will. There’s no missing person’s report or any police investigation on Walter F. Hoffman. Your father’s investigation is going to prove difficult given all that. The only thing I can tell is you is to be patient and realistic. The chances of us uncovering evidence of his whereabouts are not in our favor. Are you still sure you want to go through with this?” he asked as he raked a hand through his hair. “Of course. That’s why I submitted my DNA to the genealogy site months ago. Meeting my cousin on my dad’s side was interesting, of course, but it didn’t give me any more clues as to his whereabouts. I’m hoping your help will dig up something. And searching for answers is better than doing nothing.” “I’ll remind you of that as we move ahead,” Ethan said with a serious expression and Rachel nodded in reply. Their food arrived and they paused to enjoy their lunch. “I looked over the documentation you sent me,” Ethan murmured in between bites of his burger. “I think the best way to start is with your father’s work history. I searched his last known employer and they’re still a major accounting firm in New York.” Rachel shook her head. “But he left in 1989. Chances are anyone who worked there at that time is retired, or left the company, or deceased.” Ethan took a long sip of his iced tea and nodded. “That’s true, but we have to start somewhere. I’m going to do some digging and see what types of clients they dealt with around that time. Then we need to search for colleagues who