Chapter Ten
Nina
" D id you find anything?" I ask Emmett, pacing restlessly around the kitchen late Tuesday. He had to be at work first thing this morning, so he and the fire department spent most of the day out looking for Nate again.
And I've been stuck at home with Callum Carmichael babysitting me. I'd rather be out helping look for my brother, but Emmett still doesn't think it's safe. As much as I hate to admit it, he's probably not wrong.
Going to work wasn't an option, either. There's no way I could risk putting the kids in danger. Until my dad's bookies are in jail, there isn't much I can do aside from what I'm already doing.
Being stuck at home is slowly driving me nuts, though.
I spent part of the morning dealing with the insurance company. Emmett doesn't want me to pay them off, but I don't really think I have a choice. If it means keeping myself and my brother safe, I'll gladly give up the money. It's not like I can miss something I never had anyway.
Since I got off the phone with the insurance company, I've scrubbed the kitchen from top to bottom already, plied Callum with enough cookies to put him into a coma, and then cleaned out my closet. Twice. The local clothes closet may end up with more of my wardrobe than I keep if I have to stay home much longer.
Apparently, I'm not very good at waiting around. Who knew?
"Unfortunately not, Red," Emmett sighs. "I had to head into town to meet Dillon, but the guys are still out looking. They've got the drones up again. Finn Taylor sent two of his out to help speed up the process. If he's out there, they're going to find him."
"Okay." I lean against the counter, closing my eyes. "I don't understand why he won't just come home if he didn't start the fire." It just doesn't make sense to me. What is he doing? Why can't he come home or contact me? The possibility that he's being held against his will seems more possible the longer he's out there.
"I know, baby," Emmett soothes. "Just give us time. We'll find him. Trust me?"
"Yes." I swallow hard. "More than anything." It's a little terrifying just how much I trust him. I didn't even know it was possible to fall in love this completely this quickly. And yet, every minute I spend with him just makes me that much more certain that he's exactly what I've always secretly dreamed about. Until him, I never let myself really believe I could have this. Part of me never thought I'd ever deserve a man like him. But every single day, that belief feels a little more outlandish.
That's his doing. He kisses me, and I don't feel like less than. He touches me, and leagues no longer seem to matter. It's just me and him and the need screaming through my veins. I just see him and the way he looks at me like I'm the only thing he sees, the only thing he wants.
He makes me feel like maybe I never dated because it was supposed to be him. He told me that fate led him to me in that house. Maybe he was right. Maybe all this time, it's been fate holding me back. I didn't understand it, so I got it all wrong and confused. It wasn't telling me that I wasn't good enough. It was simply trying to tell me that it wasn't my time. I hadn't found him yet.
"Christ," he groans. "I miss you."
"I miss you too."
"Why are you going to see Dillon?" I ask after a moment.
"I'm not entirely sure," he mutters. "Something about the fires, I guess. He just told me to get my ass to his office. He's a despot, baby."
"No, he isn't," I say, laughing softly. "You like him."
"I'm not telling him that," he grunts, making me laugh again. Emmett and Dillon are friends. They just pick at each other like most firefighters and law enforcement officers do. "Is Callum behaving himself? Being nice to you?"
I roll my eyes. "Yes, Emmett. He's been amazing."
A growl rumbles down the line.
A shocked laugh bubbles from my lips. "Are you jealous right now?"
"Hell yes," he grunts. "Another man is there right now, taking care of you. And you think he's amazing. I'm jealous as hell."
A ridiculous smile stretches across my face as my stomach flutters. This man… Lord, nothing has ever made me feel like something worth treasuring the way he does. "Callum is happily married," I remind him. "Besides, he isn't you. I'd choose you any day."
"Damn straight you will," he growls. "I'll spank your perfect ass if you don't."
"You are not spanking me," I hiss into the phone, even as heat unfurls inside me at the thought.
"Oh, I am," he practically purrs. "And you're going to fucking love it, Red."
I whimper softly, pretty sure he's right. He's turned me into a sex fiend. I need a group. Surely there's a group for this, right? Dicks and Spanks Anonymous.
"I've gotta go, baby. I'm pulling up at Dillon's office. I'll be there as soon as I'm done dealing with his cranky ass." He pauses. "I love you."
"I love you too."
I reluctantly disconnect, sighing. Before I set my phone down, I scroll to Nate's number, chewing on my bottom lip. My fingers fly across my screen as I quickly type out a message.
Me: Everyone is out searching for you. I'm really worried. Please come home, Nate.
I set my phone on the counter, crossing to peek out into the living room at Callum. He hears me coming and glances over at me from the couch.
"Hey, sweetheart. You good?"
I quickly bob my head, fidgeting. "Do you need anything?"
His lips twitch, humor in his pale emerald eyes. "I'm not a guest, Nina. You don't have to cater to me."
"Guest sounds better than babysitter," I mutter.
"Bodyguard."
"What?"
"I'm your bodyguard."
"Yeah, guest still sounds better."
He chuckles quietly, stretching his massive arms over his head. "Yeah, I guess it does. I don't need anything, Nina. I'm good."
"Okay." I linger in the doorway for a long moment before heading back to the kitchen. My phone dings with an incoming message just as I pull open the fridge. I quickly spin to the counter, praying it's Nate.
A whimper climbs up my throat as soon as I have the phone in my hand.
Unknown: Time is up.
Immediately below the message is a photo of the note Nate left on his bedroom door.
My knees shake before giving out.
I slide down the cabinet, choking on a gasp. They have Nate.
No. God no. Please.
The phone falls from my hands.
"Callum!" I choke out, clawing at my throat. "Callum!"
His heavy steps sound as he hurries into the kitchen, his eyes falling to me on the floor. He immediately tenses, quickly scanning the room before he kneels in front of me.
"What's wrong, Nina? What happened?"
"T-they…" I can't even say it. "Phone."
He snatches it from the floor, quickly scanning the message. "Fuck," he growls. "You just got this?"
I nod weakly. "T-they have…" A sob chokes me, and I can't finish the sentence. They have my brother. They've had him all along.
"I couldn't get ahold of Emmett or Dillon," Callum says a few minutes later, handing me a bottle of water as he helps settle me on the couch. "Neither of them are answering their phones."
I nod weakly, staring into space. I feel numb. Frozen. It's strange. Just a few days ago, I almost died in a fire, and it didn't feel like this. It didn't hurt like this. I wasn't afraid like this. Maybe I was too busy trying to survive then to let myself feel it. But I feel it now—the fear, the clawing panic, the outright terror. The pain of grief.
"S-should I text them back? Tell them I'll pay?" I ask, desperate to do something, anything to give Nate a chance. If my father's insurance company won't pay, I'll sell my house. Sell my freaking soul if that's what it takes. He's just a kid.
Callum hesitates for a long moment before sighing heavily. "I can't tell you what to do, sweetheart. Emmett is the one you need to have that discussion with."
"He isn't here."
Callum grimaces. "Do you want to go find him?"
I jerk my head up, staring at him. "You'll take me?"
"Yeah." He clears his throat. "I'll take you."
I'm on my feet before he even finishes speaking. I need Emmett right now. I need his arms around me. I need his heart beating against my ear. I need to hear him tell me that everything is going to be okay. Because right now, it really doesn't feel like it will be.
I can't breathe through the fear.
Callum pulls a gun, and I rear back.
"Easy, Nina," he murmurs. "It's for your protection."
"I…" I trail off, nodding.
He leads me out to his truck, checking the growing shadows carefully. I don't think I draw a single breath until we're locked inside the vehicle, driving away from the house.
"Any idea where he might be?" Callum asks, glancing over at me as we hit the main road.
"When we talked, he was pulling up at Dillon's office," I mumble. "I don't know where they went if they aren't there."
"We'll start there."
I nod, turning my face to the windows. Neither of us speaks as he races toward Silver Spoon Falls. My mind isn't on conversation. It's on my brother. It's on my father. It may be wrong to hate the dead, but right now…I'm mad as hell at him for putting us in this position. Never once did he choose us. He chose himself and his own selfish misery. And because of it, Nate grew up without both parents. We're being targeted by the men he owed. And I may lose Nate.
It's hard to miss someone you don't know. And it's harder to forgive someone who was never sorry. I never want to be like him. I guess that's what my father taught me…not to be like him. And that's what he taught Nate, too.
Please, don't take my brother , I pray. I'll give up anything.
Fifteen minutes outside of town…I realize that maybe God does answer prayers. And maybe I was wrong about giving up anything.
"What the fuck is that?" Callum mutters, squinting at something in the distance. With the sun already below the horizon, most of the road is cloaked in inky shadow.
I narrow my eyes, trying to pinpoint what he sees. The headlights beam across the roadway, and my heart stops.
"No," I whimper, staring in horror at the familiar black Lexus parked beside the truck smashed into a tree on the side of the road, smoke boiling from the engine. The windows are shattered, the driver's door standing open.
"Fuck," Callum growls, realizing a little too late exactly what we're looking at: The death of hope.
"Emmett!" I cry, choking on his name. "No!"