Page 116 of Stolen Voices

“What?” I ask.

“You’re smiling,” he mumbles.

I run a hand over my mouth. “I guess I am.”

Dez is still staring at me in shock.

“What’s that face for?”

“Nothing.” With a sobering shake of his head, he takes a seat at the conference table and starts clearing the mess of paperwork I have stacked on it. “Sorry. You’ve been extra moody lately and the smile caught me off guard. Want to talk about it?”

Not yet.

“No.” With a chuff, I get up from my desk to help clear the table. “When should we expect Hud?”

“Any minute.” Dez keeps his scrutinizing glare on me.

Ignoring him as best I can as we wait for Hudson, I take a seat on the couch.

The door swings open. Hudson, looking rough, walks into the room. His tie is crooked and his hair is a mess, which is unlike my very put-together friend.

“Are you okay there, man?” I ask.

Hudson plops onto the leather sofa beside me. “Definitely not.”

“Want to talk about it?” I’m on alert, wondering if his frazzled state has anything to do with his father.

Hudson covers his eyes with his forearm and groans, shaking his head. Dez and I share a look.

“Is it your dad? Have you heard something?” Dez asks.

Hudson grumbles, “I wish.”

“Give us something,” I prod. Hudson’s strange behavior is worrying.

“Can we drop it? I don’t want to walk about it,” he grouses into his shirt sleeve, clearly upset with whatever happened.

“Consider it dropped.” I’m about to drop a bomb at the end of this meeting, so who am I to push?

I look at Dez to take the lead and mouth,Start the meeting.

Dez clears his throat and hands out his talking points. Per Hudson’s request, we jump into discussing Blaze’s business until Dez crosses out the last item on his list.

“That’s it, gentlemen. We have officially covered everything … unless Eli has something to add.” He glances at me with an arched brow, giving me the floor.

“What?”

“Go on. Say what you want to say,” he urges.

Hudson leans forward, waiting for me to speak. “E, what’s this about?”

My heart hammers in my chest, and I wipe my sweaty palms down my pant legs.

It’s now or never.

Clearing my throat, I look at my friends. I fucking hope they don’t hate me at the end of this. Hudson’s father’s indiscretions still haunt him, and the last thing I want is to bring that type of scrutiny to our business. But I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t follow my heart and take a chance to be with Callie.

“A few things. I heard from the security company, and they sent over a picture of the man they suspect damaged the cables and pulley system that led to Callie’s ‘accident’,” I grit out.