Hold Tight by Harlan Coben Page A

“Maybe you’re right.”
    He sat down next to her and held her hand. “I talked to Sy today. They need a manager at the new Atlanta office. It would be a wonderful opportunity.”
    He wants to run, she thought again. For now he wants her with him, but she will always bring him pain. “I love you, Ron.”
    “I love you too, honey.”
    She wanted him happy. She wanted to let him go because Ron did have that ability. He needed to run away. He couldn’t face it. He couldn’t run with her. She would always remind him of Spencer, of that terrible night on the roof of the school. But she loved him, needed him. Selfish or not, she was terrified of losing him.
    “What do you think about Atlanta?” he asked.
    “I don’t know.”
    “You’ll love it.”
    She had thought about moving but Atlanta was a long way to go. She had lived her whole life in New Jersey.
    “It’s a lot to take in,” he said. “Let’s take one step at a time. First the cruise, okay?”
    “Okay.”
    He wants to be anywhere but here. He wants to go back. She would try, but it won’t work. You can’t go back. Not ever. Especially not when you have the twins.
    “I’m going to go get changed,” Ron said.
    He kissed her cheek again. His lips felt cold. Like he was already gone. She would lose him. Might take another three months or two years, but the only man she had ever loved would eventually leave. She could feel him pulling away even as he kissed her.
    “Ron?”
    He stopped with one hand on the stair’s railing. When he looked back, it was as though he’d been caught, as though he’d just missed a chance to make a clean escape. His shoulders sunk.
    “I need to show you something,” Betsy said.
    TIA sat in a Boston Four Seasons’s conference room while Brett, the office computer guru, toyed with the laptop. She checked the caller ID and saw it was Mike.
    “On your way to the game?”
    “No,” he said.
    “What happened?”
    “Adam’s not here.”
    “He didn’t come home at all?”
    “He came home, he hung out in his room a little and then he took off.”
    “He left Jill alone?”
    “Yes.”
    “That’s not like him.”
    “I know.”
    “I mean, he’s been irresponsible and all, but leaving his sister without supervision…”
    “I know.”
    Tia thought a moment. “Did you try his cell phone?”
    “Of course I tried his cell phone. How stupid do you think I am?”
    “Hey, don’t take this out on me,” Tia said.
    “Then don’t ask me questions like I’m a moron. Of course I called him. I called him several times. I even left-gasp-messages for him to call me back.”
    Tia watched Brett pretend not to listen in. She moved away from him.
    “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean-”
    “Me neither. We’re both on edge.”
    “So what should we do?”
    “What can we do?” Mike said. “I’ll wait here.”
    “And if he doesn’t come home?”
    There was a pause.
    “I don’t want him at the party,” Mike said.
    “I agree.”
    “But if I go over and stop him…”
    “That would be weird too.”
    “What do you think?” he asked.
    “I think you should go over and stop him anyway. You can try to be subtle about it.”
    “How would that work?”
    “I don’t know. The party won’t start for a couple of hours probably. We can think about it.”
    “Yeah, okay. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find him before that.”
    “Did you try calling his friends’ houses? Clark or Olivia’s?”
    “Tia.”
    “Right, of course you did. Should I come home?”
    “And do what?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Nothing you can do here. I got it under control. I shouldn’t have even called.”
    “Yes, you should have. Don’t try to protect me from stuff like this. I want to be kept in the loop.”
    “I will, don’t worry.”
    “Call me when you hear from him.”
    “Okay.”
    She hung up.
    Brett looked up from the computer. “Problem?”
    “You were listening?”
    Brett shrugged. “Why don’t you check his E-SpyRight