Chapter 53
Chapter Fifty-Three
Kash
I’m so ready to get out of here. Martin had to reschedule his last appointment, and I don’t like to be here so late, but he’s been one of my regulars since we started.
I’m actually shocked he has any free skin left for me to work on.
I’ve spent most of the evening working on his calf, trying to make sure that I don’t mess up any of the lines.
Martin’s been sober for five years now, and he wanted something to mark his success.
He’s been through hell and back, almost losing his wife and kids in the process, so I’m proud to help him mark his achievement.
As I wipe down and clean the area one more time, I go through the aftercare process with him.
He’s a pro at it, but I still have to do my due diligence.
His boys are obsessed with space, so I designed a guy in a space suit, holding planet Earth in his hands.
There’s a meteor barreling toward them, but the astronaut keeps his back to the meteor, his body protectively curled around it.
The design is cool as hell, and it’s definitely going up on the wall.
“Thanks, Kash. I appreciate all you did for me, man.” He holds out his hand for me to shake, a grateful expression on his face.
“Anytime, bud, but maybe just not a six-hour session that starts at five o'clock.” I laugh.
Shaking his head, he grins. “I get that, but no promises. You know how crazy my schedule gets.”
Nodding along, I head up front with him after wiping down my station. “I hear you, man. I’ve always got something going on too.”
“Something, or someone?” Seth quips from behind our desk.
Typically, it’s Cora’s station, but it’s way past that girl’s bedtime.
She left a few hours ago with Atlas, so it’s just me and Seth.
Ever since Bri’s bullshit, there’s always at least two of us at the shop.
Martin hands over his card while laughing at us.
“You better watch it, brother. I’d hate to beat you up in front of a customer,” I warn him, only partially kidding. I really would hate to beat him up in front of a customer, but if he talks like that about Mila again, I may have to. No one gets to say anything disrespectful about her.
Rolling his eyes, Seth hands Martin back his card. “I’m not remotely worried about you beating me up, big guy. We all know who reigns supreme around here.”
I may be bigger than Seth, and possibly stronger, but he’s an angry fucker and quick on the mats. There's a reason Atlas is usually the only one who spars with him. I only step in there with him when I have a lot of aggression to get out.
“Whatever you want to tell yourself, but don’t talk about my girl that way.”
“You got yourself a girl for real this time, Kash?” Martin asks. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with one girl. It is just one girl, right? Not hating, just curious. Different strokes for different folks and all that.”
“I have one girl. The best girl. The girl.”
Both men’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Seth shakes his head, and Martin grins. Clapping me on the shoulder, he gives me a knowing look. “If she’s the one, whatever you do, don’t mess it up.”
“Don’t worry about me,” I tell him, pointing at her lip prints on my neck. “My girl is stuck with me.”
“Happy for you, man. I’ll see you next time. Thanks, Seth.” He waves, heading for the door.
As soon as it closes, I glance back at Seth, who’s waiting behind the desk with a knowing smirk on his face. “I bet you think you’re a funny fucker, don’t you?”
Leaning back in Cora’s chair, he smiles. “Oh, I’m hilarious.”
Giving him the finger, I pull my phone from my pocket. Noticing the time, I internally swear. It’s a lot later than I thought it was. Mila knew I’d be back late tonight, but I didn’t mean to be this late. Pulling up my tracking app, I glance at her location and frown. What the fuck?
Instead of her little dot being at our apartment, it’s on the outskirts of town.
What the fuck is she doing there? It’s nearing midnight and I would have known if she was going out.
Flipping to another screen, I look through her messages.
There’s no way Mila would leave. It’s late, and I know for a fact she said she was headed into the kitchen early tomorrow.
“What’s wrong?” Seth’s voice sounds next to me. “You look like you’re about to destroy something. What is—” He stops. “Oh my God, are you tracking her?”
“Shut up,” I snap. “After the shit with Cora, I wasn’t taking any chances with Mila. I like knowing where she is. Sue me.”
Reading through her messages, I see she has a few with Mara, and one with Kate confirming their start time for tomorrow.
I calm a bit when I see Mara was going to meet her, but that calm quickly morphs to unease when I see Mila’s messages to her have gone unanswered.
That’s not right. Why would Mara not answer her after making her be out so late?
“Kash. Take it easy, man. Don’t break your phone; I was kidding.” Seth shoves my arm.
“Something’s wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean something’s fucking wrong. I can feel it. I thought Mila was going to be home tonight, but apparently she went out to meet Mara.”
“And you know that how?” He quirks a brow.
“It doesn’t matter how I know it; I just do. This is bad, Seth. It’s not like Mara to ignore her.”
“Why don’t you try calling her first before you go storming out there like a crazy person?”
Tapping her contact info, I wait as the call connects and then rings. Putting it on speaker phone, I run to grab my keys from my station. Come on, Mila, pick up. When there’s no answer, I hang up and call her again. This time, my call goes straight to voicemail.
Ice floods through my veins, and I can’t ignore the feeling in my gut. Something is wrong. Mila would never send my call to voicemail. “I have to go.”
“Wait up. I’ll go with you.”
Nodding, I turn off the lights to the shop and lock the front door.
I quickly run out the back and climb into my car.
As I start the engine, I watch Seth grab something from his, then hop in.
Whatever he grabbed lands with a thud when he tosses it onto the backseat.
I’m not paying attention to anything but the road as I peel out of the parking lot.
“Should we call the others?” he asks, buckling in when I take a turn too sharp.
“No. Yes. Shit, no. I don’t know. It could be nothing, but I’m not willing to take the chance. Leave it for now.”
Nodding in agreement, Seth stays quiet at my side.
I speed through every stop light in town, all the while checking the GPS.
There’s not an exact match, but as I alternate between both maps, I pray that I’m wrong and just overreacting.
I’ll take Mila yelling at me for being crazy, as long as she’s okay.
Maybe she went for a drive and got into an accident, or got lost? But that doesn’t seem plausible. Mila doesn’t venture too far away from our area. Typically, she’s either at home, the Gravel Pit, or Twin Roasts. My girl is a home body, so this whole situation fills me with unease.
I can’t think of worse-case scenarios. I refuse to think about what will happen if I lose her. What I’ll become without her. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for why she’s out there.
Because if there isn’t, and someone took my girl, no one is safe. I’ll burn this entire town to the ground until I find her. If there’s a single cell on her body out of place, someone is going to pay.