The Light Under Dark (Book #1 Masters of the Dark Series)

SHE VANISHED

Madox gaze at his dim reflection through the window, partially dampened by the gentle raindrops that had fallen this morning. It had been four days since Tana left and never came back. At first Madox had considered the possibility that Tana had entertained herself with friends or Leah, sometimes that happened, and she usually forgot to call him so he wouldn't worry. But this time it was different. When the clock struck ten at night and he had not heard from Tana, he felt anxious. Madox called Leah immediately to ask if his fiancée was with her, but she said no. Then he called Tana's cell phone a lot of times until the mailbox was full of messages.

Then he went looking for her on his own. He went to all the places that both frequented. Nothing. By one in the morning an irate Madox came in slamming doors and demanding to speak to someone competent at the police station. Some officers shot him scary glances, others seemed to pity him, and only a few were determined to approach and assist him. It didn't take long for two detectives to guide him to a closed, private room. He thought for a moment that they would take him to the interrogation room, like the movies or police series that he sometimes ended up watching late at night when he couldn't sleep. But no. Instead, detectives escorted him to an office full of boxes with crumpled papers and yellowed folders overflowing. The space stank of coffee and nicotine. Detective Rogers poured Madox a cup of coffee while Detective Manx pulled out a notepad from one of the drawers and settled into his leather chair. Madox sighed annoyed before drinking from the hideous concoction, grimacing as the hot liquid trickled down his throat. Rogers leaned back next to the closed door after closing the old shutters. Madox took time to study both men. Rogers was taller and slimmer. This man's features were gentle, green eyes and blond hair. Manx was tanned, with copper hair and caramel eyes. He was a little shorter than Rogers, but his compilation was beefier. Now that he thought about it, Madox realized that this pair was playing good cop and bad cop. Rogers was the good guy and Manx the bad guy. But what a cliché. Bottom line, they both were extremely handsome men and were going to waste in this police station. Perhaps if they were good enough to find his fiancé, maybe he could help them... in other means.

"So, tell me Mr...?" Manx started with a bored tone. He probably did this a lot.

"Vega."

"When was the last time you saw your fiancé, Mr. Vega?"

"Madox is fine. Yesterday... around eleven in the morning. She had a business date."

"I see. Did she seem upset to you before she left?"

"No..."

"Are you sure?" Such large balls this tiny man had to question Madox's answer.

"Yes." He gritted his teeth, barely able to keep himself in check.

"What did she say to you before she left?"

"She said she would be home before dinner."

"And you didn't think it was strange when she wasn't?" This time Rogers' gentle tone melded in, for a split of second Madox found himself grateful for his intervention.

"Is not unusual for Tana to be late or not to call."

Manx arched a brow. "So, this is a regular occurrence then."

"No, she's never been gone for this long and the fact that I've been unable to contact her is not normal."

"And why didn't you call her earlier that day instead of waiting for so long?" Madox noted immediately this man was trying to crack him under the line of questioning. He knew where this was headed and he didn't like it one bit, especially when he felt Rogers step behind his chair and curl his fingers on the back of it.

"Like I said, is not unusual."

"But yet you chose not to call her at all until very late that night. Correct?"

"Yes."

"And then what did you do?"

"I called her best friend, Leah, and then I went looking for her, then I ended up here with you." Madox finished as if he was reciting a math problem.

"And this woman, Leah... she had no clue either?"

"No."

"Very well. Let me tell you what I think," he dropped the pad on the desk and leaned back on the chair while he crossed his fingers against his stomach. "I think it's incredibly odd to not call your significant other if they didn't show up at the promised time. The fact that you decided to wait so long to 'worry' about her, is ringing bells in my head. Don't you think?"

"Are you accusing me of something?" Madox dared to ask, he knew he shouldn't This man was trying to bait him and from the looks of it... he was on the right tracks. Manx smiled a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"No, Madox. Why would I do such thing?" He asked with a sarcastic edge.

"He said it wasn't unusual, Manx." Rogers intervened once again.

"Just... help me find her. I know where your thoughts are headed but trust me when I tell you, I would never do anything to hurt her! I love her! I want to know what happened that made her not come back!"

"Maybe she's with her family, have you tried with them?" Rogers asked as he rounded him and sat at the edge of the desk.

"Tana is not close to them. She hasn't spoken to them in so long."

"Why is that?" Said Manx as he pushed forward.

Madox shrugged as he pretended to look for dirt under his pristine nails, "She ran away. Abusive childhood. This world is fucked up."

"It is." Manx agreed with him nonetheless but didn't press him for more about her family background.

"The thing is we can't file a missing person report until 48 hours have gone by."

"So, you won't do anything?!"

"My hands are tied..."

"I'll pay you. How much do you want? Just name your price, trust me I got it." Madox stood so fast he felt lightheaded, he almost stumbled but kept his ground.

Rogers raised his palms up, "Take it easy..."

"How much?"

"For what? For doing our job? We are! Now take that back before I charge you for bribery."

"I am not trying to bribe you, please, I just want your help."

"Then maybe you should hire a private investigator." Manx countered and with that slapped Madox back to the house he shared with Tana.

These four days had been hell. Leah kept coming to the house to comment on stupid theories about what might have happened. Even though the police had officially been working on the case, they hadn't made much progress and that frustrated both Madox and Leah. After the fiasco at the station, Rogers showed up - to Madox's surprise - on the porch the next morning. The man looked tired and a bit ... used. Someone had been fucking him for sure, in the bedroom or his work demanded too much of him.

Suffice to say he had accepted Madox's deal. He said he needed the money and would take the job with one condition: Deny any connection to him whatsoever.

Madox agreed and wrote Rogers a juicy check, hoping it could things up.

And as Rogers went to cruise, Madox remained home staring at his pathetic reflection.