Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance novel Chapter 213

Mia didn't mince words. Right now, she had got as much worry on her plate as the Cedillo and Byrne families.

Jade was kin. She said there was no need to worry, comforting others as well as herself. But in truth, she was as on edge as anyone.

Mia walked into Leo's room, rousing her nephew who was idling away on his phone, "Jade's missing. Come help me find her."

"What's up with her?" Leo had still engrossed in his phone, utterly clueless about the gravity of the situation.

Mia landed a smack on the back of his head, "Jade, your aunt, real name Molly, has gone missing."

"What?" Leo was still ogling his phone, totally deaf to Mia's words.

Three minutes later, Leo had thrown on a jacket over his PJs, and together they hit the road to find Jade. On the road, Mia updated Leo on recent events.

"This is too crazy." Leo said, "I must be dreaming."

He pinched his leg to test the theory. Ouch! Nope, not a dream.

Mia had glued to her phone, zooming in and out of the city map, scrutinizing every alleyway, guessing where Jade might be based on her character. The police were tracking Jade's ID use too. But if Jade was trying to dodge her cop brother, she would find a way to stay hidden.

"Mia, are you saying Jade is my long-lost aunt I haven't seen for 15 years?" Leo was stunned.

"Yep." Mia answered.

Leo's face screwed up in embarrassment. He banged the steering wheel and said, "There's no way." He only had two good friends, but somehow he had become both their nephew! How could this be?

Mia said, "It's true. The hair we used for the DNA test with Jade was yours."

Leo yelled, "When did you swipe my hair?"

"When we were at the hospital. But now's not the time to worry about that, we need to find Jade. If she's wandered into some dark alley and run into trouble, we're toast." Mia was anxious.

Leo stepped on the gas, following Mia's instructions. They reached a place, and Mia warned, "Stay in the car, I'm gonna check it out."

She flicked on her phone flashlight, ready to delve into the dark alley.

"Should I come with you?" Leo asked.

Mia shot back, "Stay put, kid. If things go south, I'll have to save your ass."

Leo was at a loss for words. She was right; he'd better not add to the chaos.

Three minutes later, Mia was back, "Nothing there, let's move on to the next place."

Leo drove and Mia went on exploring. If trouble came, most people were no match for her, so he didn't need to worry.

And so they did, combing the whole city for over an hour. Only now did Mia realize how hard it was to find someone who was gone to ground.

"Jade's got a strong survival instinct. She won't put herself in danger." Leo said to Mia.

Mia knew this, but replied, "Still, I can't ignore any potentially risky places. What if Jade's there and we miss her?"

Leo got it, and they headed off to the next place.

Halfway there, Andre called. He told Mia, "Mia, we got surveillance footage of Jade heading towards Emerald Valley."

Emerald Valley? Emerald Lake!

Jade answered, "My phone's dead. I was planning to call home when I got to the lake. But as soon as I got here my phone died. When I decided to turn back, I couldn't find a taxi."

Jade dialed Chad's number on Mia's phone with practiced ease and put it to her ear.

Chad answered promptly. He asked, "Mia, have you heard from Jade?"

"Chad, it's me." Jade spoke up.

"Jade! Where the hell have you been? You trying to give me a heart attack or something? You've scared our old man into high blood pressure, and our mom's about to lose her marbles." Chad couldn't help but yell at her.

Feeling wronged, Jade replied, "I didn't want to alarm you guys when I left, but once I got here, my phone died. I wanted to get in touch with you, but I couldn't."

She hadn't meant to worry her family.

Hearing the hurt in his sister's voice, Chad pulled over the car. Although his tone was harsh, his words were filled with care, "This phone's a piece of junk, just toss it. When you get home, I'll get you a new one, a better one, okay?"

"Okay." Jade responded through her tears.

Chad felt relieved knowing she was safe, "Stop crying, where are you? I'll come get you."

"You don't have to, let me be alone for a while." Jade insisted.

Chad respected his sister's decision, and hung up the phone.

Jade passed the phone to Mia. This time, Mia didn't take it.

"Jade, would you mind calling my husband to let him know you're safe?" She asked.