Chapter 35
Nate
Ismile at the woman pointing to the middle seat. Standing, I allow her to take it and follow her back into our row and sink into mine. I buckle the seatbelt as my leg jiggles with impatience.
These people need to get to their fucking seats.
My eyes trail around the plane and see most are full. I pray this means we’ll be taking off soon. It’s already five minutes past our scheduled departure time.
The entire flight here, my gut was telling me something was wrong with Olive.
I had this suffocating need to go find her and see for myself that everything was okay.
It wasn’t long after we landed that I called Jack.
I told him I needed to fly home and I would pay for him to fly one of the other guys to work with Ian until I could get back.
Luckily, we’re in Atlanta for the next show, so there are plenty of flights between the two cities.
The new guy should be landing in about thirty minutes.
And I’ll be touching down in Nashville in just over an hour.
Jack knew I wouldn’t be asking for it if I didn’t think it was important enough for me to come back, so he didn’t even hesitate.
My shoulders relax a fraction when they announce we have clearance for take-off.
And for the next hour, all I can do is think about how much I care about Olive.
And how hard I’ve fallen for her. I think about how much I love her hidden strength and resilience that she doesn’t even recognize.
And how much she cares about her brother.
And how deliriously happy she makes me every time we’re together.
I’m lost in my daydreams of our future together when the wheels bump off the ground a few times as we land. My eyes pop open, and the tension in my body is back.
It takes entirely too long to deplane. I didn’t even bother bringing my stuff when I left Atlanta, so I bypass the baggage claim and make my way outside to wait for Jack to arrive.
As I pace the sidewalk, I pull my phone out of my pocket. I take a deep breath as I connect the call.
I’m preparing myself for it to go to voicemail, so I freeze when Olive’s voice comes through the line.
“Nate?” Her tone sounds haunted, and my heart shatters.
“Olive, what’s wrong?”
Her cries rip me to shreds. “I don’t know where Benny is. They have him.”
I’m trying to make sense of her words as Jack’s SUV rolls to a stop a little down the sidewalk from me. I jog to him and ask, “Baby, what do you mean they have him?”
“They were in my apartment. I don’t know what they’ll do to us.”
A chill runs down my spine as I rip the door open and climb into the SUV. “No one’s going to do anything to you, Olive. Where are you?”
She sniffs a few times. “I’m heading to Benny’s old drug dealer’s house. I need to talk to him. Maybe he can tell me where Benny is.”
Stomach sinking, I rub my forehead in frustration. “Olive, do not go to his drug dealer’s house.”
Jack’s head whips in my direction as confusion and worry warp his features.
Olive sounds frantic. “Nate, I have to. I know Marcus. He’s kind of a friend. He’s been helping me with all of this.”
“Marcus… What is Marcus’s last name?” I prompt. “Helping you with all of what?”
Jack pulls his phone out of his pocket and connects a call.
“Marcus Murphy. Benny and I have known him since high school. And I dated him when I was in my twenties. He’s done some bad things, but he isn’t a bad guy. Maybe he can help get Benny away from them.”
Ignoring the infuriation I feel when she mentions that she dated this man, I glance over at Jack and repeat, “Marcus Murphy.” When I see him move the phone closer to his mouth and speak in a low tone, I stare back out the windshield as we merge onto the interstate.
“Olive, please do not do anything until I get to you. I’m on my way. ”
“On your way? I can’t wait. I need to know where he is. I’ll call you if I find anything out from Marcus.” Terror drips from every frantically spoken word. “Nate, I have to tell you something first.”
My eyes fall closed as I suck in a deep breath. “You can tell me anything.”
“I’m so sorry. I’ve messed everything up so badly. I wanted to tell you everything, but I didn’t know how. I was scared for so many reasons. If anything happens to me, I want you to know that you made me believe there was a chance I could be happy.”
Emotion has my face tingling, and I have to clear my throat to respond. “Olive, you’re—”
She cuts me off. “I have to go.”
“Olive, no—”
She disconnects.
“Fuck!” I shout as I toss my phone into the cupholder in helpless frustration.
Jack sets his phone down in the other cupholder. “Carlos is running him. He’ll call me back when he has an address. I’m going to go out on a limb and say Marcus already has a record.”
I thread my fingers through my hair. “Let’s hope you’re right.”
“I need to ask… Why is she going to a drug dealer’s house?”
I clench my hand into a fist on my thigh to channel some of the anxious energy before I can relay to him what she told me.
“She was distraught. I couldn’t get a lot of information from her, but she said her brother was gone.
And that they have him and that they were in her apartment.
Her brother has been in rehab for drug addiction. ”
“So she thinks he’s with his old drug dealer?”
Shaking my head, I shrug. “I don’t know. She said she thought Marcus could help get Benny. Whatever the fuck that means.”
“Okay, well, we’ll see what Carlos can find for us. Where to?”
“I know she isn’t there, but let’s drive by to her apartment while we wait. Maybe by some miracle, Benny will be there.” I tell him where her apartment complex is, and he quickly takes the next exit.
My heart is racing so fast, it’s hard to take a full breath.
I’ve never felt this out of control before in my life.
And then it hits me… How many times has Olive had to feel like this in the years she has had to manage Benny’s addiction?
How many times has she spent watching him spiral into his addiction while she did everything she could to help, to no avail?
Those thoughts bring a new perspective to me as we speed through the city.
We arrive at Olive’s apartment complex, and I direct Jack to her building. Once we’re parked, I turn to him. “I’m going to run upstairs and knock. Be right back.”
He gives me a terse nod, and I’m out of the car, jogging up the stairs. Despite knowing this would be pointless, my shoulders drop in disappointment after knocking on the door multiple times without an answer. I’m back in the SUV with Jack just a few minutes after I left.
Jack holds up his phone. “I have an address. Carlos is going to meet us there with a few uniforms.”
“Let’s go.”
Without another word, we peel out of the parking lot. All I can hope now is we get there before they can hurt Olive.
I don’t know what I’ll do if something happens to her. I’m already partially blaming myself. If I hadn’t reacted the way I had, maybe she would have opened up to me, and I would’ve been here to help her. I could’ve flown back with her, and she wouldn’t be dealing with this alone.
I push those thoughts out of my head. I’ll find a way to make it up to her.
I just need to get her back to me safely.