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Billie
Nick called. Micah found you guys?
Billie
Harper, please answer me!
Billie
Let me know when you land.
My heart leaps painfully at the name—Nick. How would he know? Confusion mixes with chaos, and I can’t seem to put the pieces together.
My fingers shake as I dial Brody’s number, pressing the phone hard against my ear, needing any sign that he’s okay. Each ring feels like an eternity.
“Come on. Please answer,” I whisper, my voice cracking, eyes filling rapidly with fresh tears. I can’t lose him.
It clicks abruptly to voicemail, his steady voice—calm, reassuring, so heartbreakingly familiar—filling my ear. “It’s Brody. Leave a message.”
“Call me. Please tell me you’re okay.” I choke back a sob, disconnecting quickly and dialing again. “Please, please, pick up,” I plead to no one, voice trembling.
Straight to voicemail again.
My heart beats hard, and a fresh wave of dread has my knees buckling. I quickly scroll to Nick’s number, clicking on it with numb fingers as I search for answers.
His phone rings once, twice, and then I get his voicemail.
Nick’s smooth, confident tone is completely at odds with the chaos inside me. “It’s Nick. You know what to do.”
“Call me immediately!” I demand.
I end the call, tears blurring my vision. Suddenly, the phone vibrates in my hands, Billie’s name flashing brightly across the screen.
“I’m heading to my penthouse,” I say before she can even speak. “Micah found us. Brody stayed behind to face him. Someone else showed up as I was lifting off. They had a gun on him. I don’t know what happened. I couldn’t?—”
“Harper,” Billie interrupts, voice steady. “Where are you?”
“At the top of the building, standing in the hallway. Security is watching me,” I tell her as a guy in a suit pretends like he can’t hear me.
“Wait for me. I’m on my way up there,” Billie says.
She has a penthouse here, but doesn’t use it anymore. Maybe she started using it while I was gone.
She clears her throat, bringing me back. “Listen to me. Easton and Weston have a security detail heading to the cabin now to make sure no one is hurt. We know Micah was there; Nick called earlier, saying he was there to back up Brody because he had a feeling about something. We haven’t heard from either of them since.”
“Nick was there?” I shake my head; none of it makes sense. “Someone pointed a gun at Brody. What if Nick is hurt too? What if they were both ambushed?”
“I’m coming. I’ll be up there in less than five minutes,” she says as I sob uncontrollably.
I sink to the floor in the hallway and wait for her.
“It’s going to be okay.”Brody’s reassurance echoes in my mind, but beneath it simmers an inescapable dread.
The thought of losing Brody is terrifying and very, very real. But all I can do now is helplessly wait. My heart is suspended somewhere between hope and fear, and there is nothing I can do.
My fingers tighten around the phone, and I force myself to speak. “How do you know Nick was there?”
“Nick mentioned it to Asher a couple of days ago. He said he had a feeling Micah would find you. He told Asher he was heading there, just in case.”