Page 147 of Distress Signal

“I’m so sorry,” I said to her. “That your sister isn’t here to celebrate this with you. To see how beautiful you look, how perfect today was. How much Crew loves you.”

“It’s okay,” she assured me. “I’ve long since come to terms with Lola’s absence from my life. It doesn’t get easier, of course. But it’s one of those things I’ve come to accept because I know I can’t change it.” She smiled and squeezed my hand. “Besides, I gained some new sisters today.”

I pulled her into a hug, both of us laughing as our height difference smashed her face into my chest. Still, she wrapped her arms around my waist and clung to me. We stayed there like that for a while, both of us allowing the tension of our grief to bleed into one another—allowing someone else to carry some of the load.

At last, we broke apart, and I swiped at my face.

Aspen, of course, still looked pristine.

“I’m going to head back,” she said. “You coming?”

“In a minute.” I gestured to my face. “I need to clean myself up. Tell Finn I’ll be right behind you.”

Aspen nodded. “See you down there.”

When she left, I made my way to the powder room on the backside of the main floor, where I’d stashed my makeup after getting ready here earlier. I touched up my mascara, dabbed some extra concealer under my eyes, and reapplied my lipstick. Then, shoes in hand because I wasnotputting the infernal things back on, I was ready to head back to the barn.

The day had cooled considerably with the disappearance of the sun, and I wrapped my arms around myself to ward off the worst of the chill until I returned to the warmth of the reception—and Finn’s body.

I’d cleared the edge of the gravel drive, my feet sinking into the soft, damp grass, when I sensed movement behind me.

Before I could turn, I went flying, landing face down on the ground. My cast was wedged beneath me, doing little to break my fall. I tried to scramble away, but a hand caught my ankle, tugging me backward. The entire front of my dress was soaked with dew, and the gravel of the drive scraped against my skin, opening tiny, stinging cuts all over my legs and good arm.

My scream was cut off by a hand over my face, muffling my pleas for help. I did my best to scratch and claw and kick out, but with only one hand, it was useless. There was a sharp prick to my deltoid, followed by a sensation like ice flooding my veins. The edges of my vision blurred, and strength seeped slowly from my body.

And then there was nothing but blackness.

forty-one

. . .

FINN

The moment Aspenwalked back into the barn, I rushed to her side before Crew could whisk her away.

“Where’s Reagan? Is she okay?”

“Easy, killer,” Aspen chuckled. “She’s fine. Said she’d be right behind me.”

“Okay,” I said, relaxing a bit.

With her out of my sight, I was a bit on edge, unable to fully release the tension in my muscles until she was back at my side.

I followed Crew and Aspen to the bar, eyes routinely darting toward the door even as we took a celebratory shot with my brothers.

When ten minutes passed without Reagan reappearing, I began to worry. Excusing myself from my family, I did a lap around the reception, wondering if maybe she snuck in without me noticing. But then, why wouldn’t she come right to me? Unsurprisingly, I didn’t find her inside, so I stepped out into the night, squinting toward the house, not seeing anyone. After a lap around the barn during which I only succeeded in startling West and Tyler out of a compromising position, my panic had risen to nearly unbearable levels.

My intuition told me something was very goddamn wrong.

I returned inside, West and Tyler hot on my heels. Not wanting to raise the alarm yet, he encouraged her to join the rest of our brothers’ dates on the dance floor to do the Cupid Shuffle, the newlyweds leading the charge, while West and I headed for the bar, where Lane, Trey, and Owen stood, shooting the shit.

“Has anyone seen Reagan?”

Their jovial expressions from a beat before fell instantly at my tone.

“Not since she went up to the house,” Trey said, craning his neck to search the crowd for her. I barely leashed my irritation. As if I hadn’t already done the same thing.

“What’s going on?” Lane asked. “Why do you look like someone just died?”