Page 200 of Blackwood

My parents’ house… freaking the fuck out.

694 Days Since Zeke’s Death

Bella’s been gone too long.I glance toward the foyer where she disappeared to get some air. My gut’s already twitching. She said she just needed a second. Said she’d be right back. But my girl doesn’t go silent. Not like this.

The room behind me is a fucking circus. Mom dropped a bomb and walked off like it wasn’t nuclear. Cade’s pacing, Tex is muttering threats to himself, and Dad is pouring bourbon like it’s water. I’m two seconds away from throwing someone through a window when Ellie skids into the doorway like she just ran a damn marathon.

“Uh… guys?” She’s pale. Blue eyes wide. “So, Bella’s gone.”

Everything stops.

“And so is Cal.”

Tex is the first to move. “Gone?” he snaps.

Cade steps forward, voice sharp. “You mean left? As in walked out? Alone?”

“I don’t know!” Ellie throws her hands up, pacing. “I went to check on her. Door was open. No Bella. No Cal. And I looked outside, Cal’s car is gone too.”

My heart drops. I’m already pulling out my phone, calling.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Hey it’s Bella. Sorry I missed your call, but leave a message and I’ll call you back. Kisses!

“Fuck.”

Cade’s doing the same thing. “Cal’s not picking up either.”

“Fuck!”

♥♥♥

Tex is barking into his phone now. He’s got Knox on the line, trying to ping her last location. Ellie’s on the verge of tears, rambling about how Bella looked pale when she went out for air. Savannah’s got her hand on her chest like she might faint. And my mom—my fucking mother—is standing off to the side like she didn’t just set off the grenade that blew this whole day to hell.

“She said she just needed a minute,” I mutter, trying to not lose my goddamn mind. “She said she’d be right back.”

“It’s been over an hour,” Cade replies, looking just as worried.

Tex cuts in, still on the phone. “Knox has nothing yet. She must’ve disabled the GPS on her and Callum’s phones so no one would follow them. But he’s working on traffic cams to find Callum’s car. We’ll find her.”

“We better. Because if—”

I’m interrupted by Cade’s phone vibrating on the marble island. He glances down.

“Oh my God,” he says as the color drains from his face.

I step in front of him. “What?”

He holds it up.

CAL: Look bro, sorry I left with your girl, but something’s off. She’s not okay. You guys need to get here right now… 81st and Columbus.

I don’t even think. I grab my helmet and leave.

Baby, what the fuck did you walk into?

I’m flying through the city. Don’t remember how I got here. Don’t care. My girl said she needed air and now she’s gone. I can feel it in my chest, pounding with every second that ticks by.