Gone Unnoticed: A Kate Reid Novel (The Kate Reid Series Book 3) by Robin Mahle Page A

Sala, the first victim with which they’d come into contact. The bruises on her face and arms and chest made Kate wince as she had when she’d seen them in person. But the young woman had been brave enough to escape and, if she hadn’t, they’d have virtually nothing to go by. Now, another drop house had been located. This time, two women didn’t survive, although Kate had no idea how many others there had been, or if they were alive or not.
    She began to run the locations of the two houses to search for any similarities. Both had been situated in poor neighborhoods and both had been abandoned. A buzz from the intercom fixed to the wall startled her.
    “Must be the food.” Nick pushed up from his chair and pressed the button, confirming the identity of the caller, and quickly buzzed him in.
    A moment later, he opened the door and handed the man forty dollars. “Keep the change. Thanks.”
    The two continued on, eating, drinking beer, and working, for at least an hour, maybe longer—she’d lost track of time. Kate was beginning to feel like it was the old days, except that the old days were with Marshall, but it still felt good. It had taken her a long time to come to terms with the fact that she was here, training to become an FBI agent, a scenario that she’d played around with in her mind a long time ago, but never really believed it would happen. Part of her felt guilty for enjoying this moment—working on a case with the agent who helped save her life. Part of her knew she was only here because Marshall wasn’t.
    The front door handle jiggled and drew their attention.
    “Oh hell, what time is it?” Nick pressed the button on his phone. The time showed eleven p.m. “Dammit. That’s Georgia.”
    Georgia walked through the front door and appeared surprised to see the two of them amidst a stack of papers and dueling laptops. “Oh.” She glanced to Nick. “I didn’t know you had company.”
    “Georgia, I’m so sorry. I lost track of time. Kate and I got wrapped up in this case.” He met her at the door and leaned in for a kiss. Her long, red hair partially covered her lips and Nick pushed it back behind her ear. He turned back to Kate. “Why don’t we call it a night? We’ve got a long drive and I’m sure you’d like to get organized and get some rest.”
    “Of course.” If there was ever a moment to feel like a third wheel, it was now. Kate quickly packed up her belongings in order to vacate without further disruption.
    “It’s fine if you two need to work.” Georgia said, laying her purse on the sofa table.
    “No. Really, I need to get home. You two enjoy some time together. I know you don’t get much of it.” Kate shoved her laptop into her bag and tossed it over her shoulder. “I’ll see you at seven?” She passed by the two of them, noticing the puff of wind that raised Georgia’s hair in her wake as Kate practically ran to the door.
    “I’ll see you then,” Nick replied.
    “Goodbye, Georgia. I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to hang out a little.” Now she just felt awkward. It was the look in Georgia’s eyes, like she was pissed that Kate had been there in the first place, an unusual expression that perhaps had some measure of truth behind it.
    Nick closed the door after her. “I just completely lost track of time, babe. I am sorry. But now, I’m all yours. Can I get you a drink or a glass of wine? There’s some Chinese left if you’re hungry.”
    Georgia continued to walk inside, standing in the middle of the living room. “I really feel like an ass here, Nick.”
    “What? Why would you say that?” He walked into the kitchen to pour her a glass of wine.
    “Why didn’t you tell me she was coming over?”
    “I didn’t realize I had to keep you abreast of the details of my working arrangements.” He moved towards her, holding out her glass of wine. “Are you pissed at me or something? We’re working on a case, Georgia.”
    “It’s just the more I think about