Chapter 20 - Laila
Laila paced the kitchen, her agitation rising by the second. The house was too quiet, and she couldn’t stand it. Cora returned to Cedar Ridge yesterday. She was still overseeing the bakery, which Laila hoped wasn’t for much longer. Plus, she had classes. She got restless without Cora to chat her ears off and distract her.
It was dark out, and Tolliver had yet to return. When he left earlier, he said he was going into the office and would be back soon. After a few hours, she figured he got caught up in something at work. She knew how he sometimes zoned out when hacking some system or another. It always tickled her how gruff and arrogant Tolliver could be, yet he could be the biggest nerd ever when he was near a computer. She smiled slightly at the thought because he’d be livid if she called him a nerd to his face.
A blast of affection hit her hard and blossomed through her chest. Maybe it was more than that… It was time to stop living in denial. She still loved Tolliver. And she was worried. He should be home by now, and there was a nagging feeling in her gut that told her something was wrong. After a few failed attempts to get through to him by phone, she called Elena.
“Hey, Laila! How’s it going?”
“Elena…”
The urgent tone had Elena on alert. “Is something wrong?” her voice dropped to a whisper. “Is it the baby? Do you need more of that potion? I told you it was hard to hide it from Tolliver—"
“Elena, it’s not that. Have you heard from Tolliver?”
“No. Not since this morning.”
“I’ve been calling him, and he isn’t answering. He isn’t home yet.”
Elena chuckled. “You know how he is sometimes, Laila. I bet he’s holed up in his office, lost in cyberspace. He’ll die before he admits what a nerd he is.”
For a moment, Laila shared in Elena’s amusement. Clearly, his sister knew him well, too. But that bad feeling came right back. “Something is wrong. He should be home by now.”
“Laila…”
“No, Elena. I’m not just saying that. Things aren’t adding up. If he said he’d only be gone a couple of hours, he’d be back. He’s been working overtime to show me that his job won’t stand in the way of us.” Which she felt guilty about. She didn’t want him to stress over trying to please her. She wanted to tell him he didn’t deserve to live like that. “Plus, you know how overbearing and annoyingly overprotective your brother is. He wouldn’t leave me here alone at your family’s mansion at night, no matter how much security is in place.”
Elena hummed. “You have a point.”
“The mate’s bond that I’ve been trying to ignore for dear life… Well, it’s screaming at me now.” The dull ache in her chest and the constant fluttering in her stomach that made her nauseous told her that her mate wasn’t okay. “Something is wrong with Tolliver, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Okay. Say no more. I’m going to get Ryder, and we’ll be right over.”
Laila released a relieved breath. “If Ryder doesn’t know where he is, tell him to check Tolliver’s laptop. He had been working from home recently, but today, he took everything with him. I bet there will be a clue about where he is in his office.”
“I will,” Elena said.
“Thank you.” All Laila had to do was avoid working herself into a worried frenzy before they got there.
It was a rough twenty minutes for her to get through before she heard a car pull into the driveway. Not knowing whether Tolliver was hurt or worse had her on edge. She kept unconsciously touching her stomach because she carried guilt about hiding her pregnancy from him.
She hurried to the front door just as Elena burst through it with purposeful strides. Ryder and Zach came in behind her. Their grim expressions made Laila’s steps falter. “What… Did you find out something?”
Zach stepped forward. “After Elena went to Ryder, he and I chatted, and we’re just as worried as you are.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “What do you think is going on with Tolliver?”
Ryder’s jaw was tight as he took his phone out of his pocket, pressed the screen, and held it up to her. She stared at the picture of two men and a woman near a train with confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“This was the last message Tolliver sent to me. I was confused at first because I didn’t get an explanation from him. After Elena said he hadn’t come home yet, Zach and I did what you suggested. We searched his office. He was a busy beaver this afternoon, looking into Jonas Mercer.”
“Yes,” Zach confirmed. “Fortunately, he left a clue. Tolliver jotted down an address out of Bellefleur. The photo confirms that the railroad was the last place he was at. If no one has heard from him since then, we can only assume he’s in trouble.”
Laila felt sick to her stomach. She and Tolliver had been apart for five years but still knew him. It wasn’t like him to run headfirst into danger without a solid plan… unless it was to protect her. He had grown desperate to get Jonas Mercer off her back. If anything happened to him, it would be her fault.
Elena noticed how pale Laila had gotten and rubbed her arm comfortingly. “Hey, do you need to sit down?”
“No,” Laila said. “I need to help you guys find him.” She looked at Ryder and Zach. “That’s what you’re going to do, right?”
“Of course,” Ryder said. “But you’re not coming.”
She angled her chin up in determination. “Yes, I am.”
“Laila, I’m afraid I’m going to have to order you to stay here,” Zach said.
Laila harrumphed. “And I’m afraid I’m going to have to tell you you’re not the boss of me, Alpha Zach.”
Zach stared at her, his usually stoic demeanor cracking as his eyebrows shot up in disbelief. For a moment, it seemed like he didn’t know whether to be irritated or impressed. Then, a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Well,” Zach said, his tone laced with dry amusement. “It seems Tolliver has his hands full with you.”
Elena stifled a laugh but quickly cleared her throat when Ryder gave her a look. “Gentlemen.” She looped her arm around Laila’s. “Give us a minute.”
“We don’t have a lot of time,” Ryder warned. “We should have left already.”
“I know. Just a minute.” She tugged Laila away from them and toward the kitchen. Looking back, she said, “No eavesdropping.”
Once they were alone, Elena hissed, “Laila, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You want to go with them? Has it slipped your mind that you’re pregnant?”
“I’m not likely to forget. I’m Tolliver’s mate. I have a right to help.”
“Oh, so you’re his girlfriend again, are you?”
“No… I… We… You know what I mean. If he’s in some kind of trouble, it’s because of me. I refuse to sit here and wait while Zach and Ryder look for him.”
Elena was conflicted, but she blew out a resigned breath. “All right, if you’re going, so am I. He’s my brother, and I have to make sure you don’t do anything crazy.” She glanced at Laila’s still-flat stomach. “You’re carrying my niece or nephew in there. Remember, whatever happens, you can’t shift.”
“I know. I’ll stay in the back and away from the danger if I can.”
“Good enough for me. Let’s go.”
When they made their way back to the others, Elena announced. “Laila and I are going with you guys. Let’s move gang.”
“Hold on a minute,” Ryder said. He pointed at Elena. “We have no idea what we’ll be walking onto you. Tolliver will murder me, bury me, wait until I decay, dig me up, kick my corpse’s ass, and kill me again if I bring his mate and his sister into danger.”
Elena rolled her eyes. “Babe, easy with the dramatics. Laila and I are not taking no for an answer. We can help.”
Ryder opened his mouth to argue, but Zach clamped a hand onto his shoulder. He saw the determination in both women and knew they’d be there arguing all night. Tolliver might not have that much time. “If you two are coming along, you must follow our orders, got it?”
“Got it,” Laila and Elena chorused.
As they hurried through the door, Laila felt a heavy weight on her chest. If Jonas Mercer had gotten his hands on Tolliver, there was no telling what the psychopath might do. She hoped like hell that Tolliver was alive.