The Mercenary and the Mortician (The Silent Hollow #1)

51. Ryan Fairview

N aomi was in the garden with me, helping me snip some hydrangeas for an arrangement when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, not even bothering to hope it was Cal since I wasn’t expecting to hear from him so soon after I had just seen him.

My heart leapt to my throat when I saw his name flashing up at me.

Cal Sex God Walker:

Hey, ginger snap. I just wanted to let you know you probably won’t hear from me for a few days. Everything is fine; I just won’t have access to my phone.

My blood turned to ice in my veins. I felt like I had fucking whiplash.

He was just here! Why was he texting me now, telling me he was going to be MIA for a few days? Swallowing and taking a deep, grounding breath, I typed back a reply.

Ryan:

Why won’t you have access to your phone? Can you call me?

Cal Sex God Walker:

Not right now, baby. I have to deal with some stuff. I’ll text you as soon as I can. Take care of Naomi for me while I’m gone. She gets lonely in that house by herself.

What the fuck? Why was he telling me to take care of his sister?!

Ryan:

What do you mean while you’re gone? This is still just work stuff, right?

Cal Sex God Walker:

Yeah. G2G. Talk soon 3

Something was fucking wrong. I didn’t know how I knew. I just did. Biting my lip, I glanced up at Naomi, who was still happily snipping away the hydrangea bush. Should I tell her? Why did I feel like worrying her was a bad idea? I was feeling protective of her, like I needed to be the grown-up and keep her safe from all the bad things in the world, even though she was nineteen and technically an adult herself.

Glancing down at Cal’s texts, I couldn’t get a grip on the intense feelings of anxiety that were coursing through me.

Ryan:

Can you at least tell me how many days?

He didn’t answer. He didn’t even read it.

Ryan:

Cal?

Nothing. Fuck .

I walked away a few paces and hit the call button, suddenly desperate to hear his voice, but it went straight to voicemail.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

Why hadn’t I gotten that Vox guy’s fucking number?

“Ryan? What’s up?” Naomi asked, clueing in that something was wrong.

I bit my lip and contemplated showing her Cal’s messages but thought better of it. Maybe I was overreacting. Naomi said it was normal for him to disappear for a few days at a time. At least he told me he wouldn’t be available.

“Uh, nothing. Just your brother said he’s going to be gone longer than expected. You wanna get your stuff and camp out here while he’s gone? I hate the thought of you hanging out in that townhouse all by yourself.”

Her eyes lit up in excitement. “Really? You wouldn’t mind?”

I smiled at her, surprised at how enthused she was at the idea of hanging out with boring old me.

“Hell yeah. We love having you here.”

She grinned and skipped over to me, throwing her arms around my waist in a big hug.

“I would love that, Ry-guy! I have plans with my friend Stephanie later today to watch the Twilight movies, but I can come over here after she leaves?”

I grinned at her and nodded. “For sure, I can drop you off and pick you up; just text me.”

“Dope! Hey, while I’m staying here, can you teach me how to embalm a body?”

A surprised laugh burst out of me at her request. “That’s going to be a no.” I laughed despite the intense feelings of worry that were still churning in my gut. Much like her brother, Naomi had a way of making me come out of my shell and loosen up.

“Awh, man. How come?”

“If you want to be in the embalming room, I’m going to have to see a degree in mortuary science with your name on it.” I smirked, and she pouted.

“Is that a challenge, Ry-guy? I’m highly competitive.”

I shook my head, still chuckling. “Take it however you want, Gnomes. But for now, no dead bodies for you.”

“ Fine, ” she sighed, giving me a mischievous smirk. “You’re lucky I’m a slut for flowers. I might even be better at making arrangements than you!”

I burst out laughing again.

A slut for flowers? Who said shit like that?

The Walker family, that’s who. God, she was like a mini Cal.

She winked at me. “Told you I’m competitive.”

I rolled my eyes, though I was smiling. “Yeah, sure Gnomes. Go pick up your sprigs. We need to get them in water ASAP so they don’t go into shock.”

I watched her bound away to collect the flowers she had cut and forced myself to take another deep breath.

Everything was fine. Cal would tell me if he was in danger… wouldn’t he?

Knowing how he always took on the role of protector, I really didn’t think he would. But it didn’t matter. I had no idea where he was and had no way of finding him. The only thing I could do was hope that he really was alright and would come back as soon as he could.

Knowing this, however, didn’t alleviate the deep, aching feeling of terror that was beating through my limbs.

Please be okay, Cal.

Naomi needs you.

Watching Naomi walk toward me with her arms full of hydrangeas, I realized that Naomi wasn’t the only one who needed him. Not anymore.

Ugh . I was so fucked.