Page 48 of The Arrangement

“I want to,” I said.

“You should spend time with the kids.”

“You need me—hey, Glennon, can I call you right back?” I asked as I was interrupted by an incoming call from Peter. “Peter’s calling me.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to you in a bit.” With that, I ended the call and switched to the one that was incoming. “Hello?”

“Hey.”

“Peter?” I asked. “What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”

“Where are you?”

“I’m almost home. Did something happen?”

His tone was dry. “Uh, yeah, you could say that. You haven’t heard the news?”

I felt a knot growing in my stomach, my heart beginning to race. I knew by the tone of his voice, whatever it was couldn’t be good. I gripped the steering wheel tighter, bracing myself.

“What news?”

“It’s all over the place.”

“What is? What’s going on?” I asked, pressing my lips into a thin line as I forced myself to breathe.

“It’s Illiana De Luca,” he said, pausing. “She’s—Ainsley, she’s missing.”

Chapter Thirty

PETER

When Ainsley made it home, she rushed inside, hanging her jacket and bag on the coat rack in the hall, and hurried toward me. I smiled at the kids, trying not to let them know anything was wrong, though they didn’t seem to care either way. Only Riley asked whether I’d had a good day, but as soon as I’d said yes and asked about his, the kids had all disappeared to their rooms, and I was able to return to my pacing of the hallway.

The television in the living room was on, though the station was on a commercial.

“Okay,” Ainsley said, reaching for my arms to stop me from moving. She put a hand on either of my biceps, squaring her body to mine. I felt my heartbeat slowing. “Talk to me. What happened?”

I led her into the living room, gesturing toward the TV.

“They can’t find her,” I said. “The police said she’s wanted for questioning regarding her husband’s disappearance, and they can’t find her. Her phone and wallet were found at home. Her SUV was there. She’s just…she’s gone.”

“Okay,” she said, letting the news wash over her. “But, isn’t that a good thing? I mean, I hope she’s okay, but if she’s wanted for questioning, that means they don’t suspect anyone else, right?”

“Maybe,” I said, “but even so, if she was a suspect and now she’s gone, they’ll be coming back to us.”

“But we didn’t have anything to do with this. Really this time.”

I nodded. “I know that, but how are we going to prove it?”

“We don’t have to prove anything right now. For all we know, the police have moved on. When they left last night, I’d proved that Stefan was all but stalking me and that we had nothing to do with his disappearance. Maybe they have moved on to Illiana as a suspect and, if she’s even missing, we need to wait it out and see what they have to say. There’s no need to panic.”

I nodded, feeling like there was definitely some need to panic, but I didn’t say as much. Instead, I pressed my lips to her forehead. “I’m sorry I’m stressing. I just…”

“I know,” she said. “I’m worried, too, but we have to try to keep it together. Both of us. Falling apart right now doesn’t solve anything.”

“I know you’re right.” I gathered my hands at my chest, rubbing circles with my thumb on the opposite palm. “I’m freaking out,” I said wildly, unable to hold the panic in any longer.