Chapter 38
THIRTY-EIGHT
“I am just saying, I saw your dick at least a hundred times over the years,” Clay relates, not letting go of the topic he is annoying me with.
I roll my eyes. “I bet it wasn’t a hundred times. And it was in the locker room or something, not like this.”
We are sitting in the police car in front of Donny’s, waiting for Carolina to finish her shift.
I haven’t heard from her since she sent a text to the group chat in the early afternoon, so it must have been a busy shift, even though it’s a Tuesday, and it doesn’t look like there are many people inside.
We are already done for the day, so Clay is nagging me to give in and sleep in their room tonight as we wait for her.
“Listen, bro, I am very good at sharing, you know that. And I absolutely agree that once in a while, everyone should have some alone time with her. But I cannot see why I should only have her every other night just because you are dick shy.”
“I am not dick shy,” I grumble, my agitation rising.
“It doesn’t have to be sex all the time either. I just want her sleeping next to me. I somehow need her there to know she is safe,” Clay admits softly.
“I get that. Even though I knew she was with you two, I was still somehow worried about her safety,” I agree, recalling how miserably I slept without Carolina. I am already used to sleeping with her in my arms.
“See? You get it. And if we all just slept in the same bed, there wouldn’t be a problem. You know our bed is made for Xander’s big ass, and we have some space left for you guys,” he responds, pulling out his phone to check for texts.
“Fuck, Clay, I don’t know. I never slept with more than one person, had sex while someone else was in the room, or watched someone else having sex besides in porn.
” I huff. “Maybe I am just insecure? I mean, you guys have fucked so many girls and know exactly how to make her enjoy being shared by you. What would I do there? I would freeze or fuck up, and she would inevitably compare us to one another—” I feel a sharp pang on the back of my head. “Ow, what the fuck, dickhead?”
“Stop that shit right now. Wow, you and Carolina are a pair.” He shakes his head.
“Josh, I will only say this once. I heard how you made her whimper and moan. I know you are good in bed. Now shut up.” I smirk at him.
“Fuck, now stop it! You and Carolina are going to sleep in our bed tonight. And we are just going to sleep. Nothing will happen. And tomorrow you can tell me if it was as bad as you thought it would be. We had sleepovers as kids all the time, and you loved them.”
“Fine,” I relent, tapping my phone to check the time. “Why is it taking her so long?”
We look over and see her boss locking up the front, making me frown. She usually does that, right?
“I am going to wait for her in the back,” I announce, opening the car door, but Clay comes with me. When we round the corner, her boss is closing the back door too. “Hey,” I greet, and he nearly jumps out of his skin.
“Officers, don’t tell me she had to go to help with a special police case. I am not doing this shit again and will call my lawyer.”
“Wait, what?” Clay asks, looking at me.
“Why do you say that?” I ask Donny. “She didn’t come in today?”
“Nope, she didn’t even call in sick. Her motivation is seriously lacking lately,” he mutters, but I’ve already turned around, pressing the phone to my ear, calling her.
It rings and rings, but no one picks up. “Clay!” I shout over my shoulder, and he jogs to catch up with me at the police car.
“Where the fuck could she be?” he asks as we get in the car.
“Call Xander,” I tell him. “And Sophia. Fuck, call Chiara.”
“You don’t think—” he starts, phone to his ear.
“I have no fucking clue, but if she is hurt, I am going on a fucking rampage,” I seethe, driving way too fast back to our place.
It’s early morning, but none of us slept.
Clay and Joshua drove through the streets all night, with no clue where to even look for her after they checked her old apartment, which was empty.
Sophia and I stayed awake in the hopes she would come home, but she didn’t.
We called all the hospitals in the area, but she wasn’t brought in either.
Chiara spent the night at Leo’s and hasn’t heard from Carolina, and I was glad to have her out of the way.
Sophia was so exhausted she fell asleep on the couch. Meanwhile, I am grumpy as fuck.
If I weren’t so anxious about not seeing her come in or missing one of her calls, I would have been down in our gym, hitting the sandbag for a few hours.
Where the fuck are you, Carolina?
The guys bought breakfast bagels for us all when they got home, and now we are sitting at the kitchen island, the bagels in front of us, but no one is eating.
“I won’t be able to live with myself if something has happened to her,” Josh murmurs, pulling at his hair.
“Hey, stop thinking like that. She is okay,” Clay presses, but his voice lacks conviction.
“Someone wants her dead.” Josh looks up at him, eyes brimming with tears.
My phone chimes, and we all look at the screen, but it is not Carolina. I already want to dismiss it when I see it’s Tom calling me.
“Hello?” I answer, finally picking up.
“Hey, X,” he greets, and I can barely hear him because the background noises are so loud on his end.
“Listen, man, I picked up your girl yesterday from the street. She was helping some guy and was in a pretty rough shape, so I took her in too. I thought she would have left already, but I just walked down the hallway and saw her still sitting by his bedside. I thought maybe you wanted to know.”
“Which hospital?” I ask, shooting to my feet.
“Harlem. X, man, I am so sorry. If I’d known, I would have called earlier.”
Josh and Clay are standing now too, and I walk over to the entry, putting my jacket and shoes on. “Don’t worry, bro. The rest of your sleeve is on the house,” I tell him. “Which room number?”
“All good. Room 302, third floor.”
“Thanks,” I say, hanging up, and we all pile into the Ford.
Twenty minutes later, we rush into the room Tom said she was in, finding her fast asleep. She’s slouched over the hospital bed, her head resting on her arms.
The old man in the bed must be in his sixties, his long gray beard matching the unkempt hair on his head. He looks worn out and a bit dirty, and his hands, which rest on the bed cover, are no different. One of them is held tightly by Carolina’s. He is just as out of it as her.
“Thank fuck.” I sigh, a wave of relief washing over me at the sight of her being okay.
“Who is this guy?” Clay’s brow furrows with curiosity.
“No idea, you recognize him?” Josh asks, turning to me, and I shake my head. He grabs the medical chart from the foot of the bed. “Howard Dough, seventy-three. Heart attack.”
“Is he related to her? Maybe her granddad?” Clay asks, rubbing his neck.
“I doubt she’d be in the mess she is if she had any family other than that scum,” I mutter.
Josh gestures to Clay, who moves closer to examine the file now too. “Should we get more info?” Clay nods, and Josh steps outside, presumably to make a call.
“What do we do?” Clay asks me.
“You guys do whatever. I’m getting her home,” I declare.
“You’ll wake her up,” Clay cautions, a hint of worry in his voice.
I move closer, gently straightening her out before bending down and wrapping her arms around my neck. I scoop my hands under her thighs, right under her beautiful butt, and lift her, cradling her against me.
She stirs briefly, taking a deep breath against my neck before settling back into sleep.
“Time to head home, pumpkin,” I murmur, nuzzling her hair.
Clay leads the way, holding the doors open for us.