Page 68 of Duty Unbound

I pulled my phone from my clutch with fumbling fingers, trying to call for a ride back to the hotel. The screen was wet, making it difficult to unlock. When I finally managed it, the signal bars showed nothing. No service. Perfect. With this many people all trying to use their phones at once, the network was probably overloaded.

I looked around at the sea of people competing for the few available taxis. Yellow cabs were being swarmed the moment they pulled up, people practically climbing over one another toclaim them. This was going to take a while. Maybe I should start walking?—

My phone buzzed with a single text that had managed to get through:

On way to hotel. U good?

Nova hadn’t demanded they wait for me, but at least she’d remembered to check on me. I guessed that was something.

“Mel? Mel Rivers?”

I turned toward the familiar voice, squinting through the crowd. A man separated himself from a group near the club entrance, making his way toward me with careful steps on the wet pavement.

Oh great. Tommy Fitzsimmons. The no-spark coffee shop date from several months ago. The one who couldn’t seem to take the hint that I was not interested from the sidestepped texts and then the lack of responding.

“Tommy,” I said, trying to inject some warmth into my voice that I didn’t feel. “Hi. I forgot you lived around here, right?”

He beamed at me like I’d just made his night, water dripping from his sandy hair onto his already soaked button-down shirt. “Yeah,” he replied, stepping closer. “Family has lived in Louisiana for generations.” He gave me a concerned once-over. “Are you okay? That was pretty crazy in there.”

“I’m fine,” I said automatically, then surprised myself by adding, “Well, mostly fine. I got separated from my group in the evacuation.”

“Your sister. Nova. The singer.” He looked a little disgusted. That was one thing I’d liked about Tommy—he definitely hadn’t been using me to get to Nova.

“That’s the one. Security hustled her off.”

His brow furrowed, genuine concern on his face. “Do you need help getting back to wherever you’re staying?”

I gestured helplessly at the mayhem around us. “No, I’ll call for a car once I can get a signal.”

“So how’s the tour going?” he asked, clearly trying to distract me from the situation. “I saw some of the reviews online. Sounds like Nova’s killing it.”

A bitter laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “Oh, she’s definitely killing something. Me, mostly.”

Tommy’s eyebrows rose. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“No, it’s…” I sighed, running a hand through my wet hair. I shouldn’t be dumping all this on him. “It’s fine. Just the usual chaos. You know how it is—or maybe you don’t. What did you say you do again?”

“Software development,” he replied. “Pretty boring compared to the music industry.”

“Boring sounds amazing right about now,” I admitted. “Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to just sail away from all of this. Leave the chaos behind and find somewhere quiet. Somewhere nobody knows who Nova Rivers is or expects me to solve every crisis that comes up.”

Tommy nodded enthusiastically. “You deserve better than to be at someone else’s beck and call, Mel.”

I shifted uncomfortably. This conversation was getting too personal, too close to truths I usually kept buried. “Thanks, Tommy. Listen, I should apologize for not responding to your texts. Things have been incredibly hectic with the tour?—”

“I understand completely. Nova, taking up way too much of your time,” he interrupted, waving away my apology. “But maybe when things calm down, we could grab that coffee? Or dinner?”

I opened my mouth to politely decline when a deep voice cut through the night air.

“Mel.”

I spun around, my heart leaping into my throat. Ethan stood there, water still dripping from his dark hair, his white dress shirtplastered to his chest in a way that made my mouth go dry. His eyes locked on mine with an intensity that made my breath catch.

“Ethan? What— How—” I stammered, completely thrown. There was no way he’d made it back to the hotel and then back here in this short amount of time. “Is Nova okay?”

“She’s fine,” he said, closing the distance between us with long strides. The crowd seemed to part for him instinctively. “But I needed to make sure you were too.”

The simple statement wrapped around me like a blanket. He’d come back. For me.