Chapter 21 #3
I checked my phone again to ensure I hadn’t missed a text or phone call.
That’s when I remembered she’d sent a voicemail before I’d talked to her hours ago. I hadn’t paid any attention to it. Maybe I’d glean a little more information.
When I hit play, I pulled the phone away. Wherever she’d called from, there was significant noise behind her. I could swear it almost sounded like a construction site. That wasn’t possible yet I couldn’t figure out the sound at all.
Nor could I understand all her words.
“It’s just that… and my dad thinks… He won’t… I don’t know what to do. Marrying… And I won’t live…”
Marrying. What in God’s name was she talking about? The rest of the conversation was mostly gibberish except for the last sentence, which was strangely clear.
“He’s decided. I have no choice. I’m… nothing but property… meant to sell to the highest bidder.” Starts and stops continued. “…to show you. It’s… and my father…”
What in the hell was going on? What did she want to show me?
After that, I could swear she said a name. But it was mostly garbled.
Still I did hear one thing very clearly.
“He’s not what he seems.”
Now I was about at the point of freaking out. By the end, she was crying, fighting to breathe. After another stare at the screen, I called her again.
No answer.
And again.
Still no answer.
With fury in my soul, I moved toward the kitchen, flicking on the light and scanning the room. The keys were on the keyboard where I’d left them the last time I’d driven. One last try to reach her and I wasn’t going to wait any longer.
I had a car that had been with me for years, one I rarely drove because I was lucky enough not to need to. Being a girl from Iowa, I had no intention of being stuck in any situation. If I needed to leave town, I didn’t want to be forced to wait on train or plane schedules.
While I dialed her number again, I snatched the keys, shoving them into my pocket and moved toward my bedroom to grab shoes and my purse.
This time, the ringing stopped and my heart lurched.
But instead of a voice, there was a single, horrifying click.
“Tawny. If you can hear me, call me back. I’m worried about you. You were supposed to drop by. Look, I’m coming to your place, but call me if you get this.”
Shaking all over, I shoved my phone into my purse, grabbed a light jacket and headed out, running down the stairs to the back door. Thankfully, there was a tiny secure parking lot, so my car was close. One reason I stayed in the location.
Stash would be angry that I’d ignored my promise to stay inside, but I wasn’t going to allow anything to happen to her.
As soon as I was inside, I tried to start the engine. The whirring sound was more irritating than anything. I smashed my hand on the dashboard out of frustration. Nothing had gone right recently. I tried it again, pumping the gas. Nope.
“Breathe. Just breathe.” The last thing I wanted to do was flood the engine.
After counting to ten, I caressed the dashboard this time, willing my baby car who’d successfully carried me out here all those years ago to start.
When she did, I threw my head back, thanking the stars above. Something told me the sooner I got to Tawny the better. If only I’d bombarded her with questions before. If only I’d asked more about her family.
Why hadn’t I? Why hadn’t both of us taken the time to get to know more about each other? Was her father trying to force her into something she didn’t want to do? Who was this guy? The one from the date. Had she even mentioned his name?
Thankfully, with it being so late and with where she lived, the streets were quieter than normal and I was able to maneuver them quickly.
I’d been to her apartment a few times, the twenty-story building one she’d been so excited to get to move into.
With a spectacular view and a rooftop pool, she’d told me more than once there was no way she was moving.
Then suddenly, she’d started talking about getting a little house.
She was a city girl, which was why her comment has struck me so strangely.
I moved through the streets, glaring at my phone. There was no sense in trying to call her again. It would only prove to frustrate me that much more.
As I drove in silence, several ridiculous conspiracy-style theories popped into the back of my mind. I’d spent way too much time with Stash and learning about his family.
Only a couple more miles anyway.
Almost immediately as I turned down the street, I knew something was terribly wrong. Even from a distance, I could see flashing lights filling the night sky with red, white, and blue. I’d consider the colors patriotic except they meant something devastating tonight.
An emergency, the kind that needed rescue and police personnel.
With my fingers white knuckled, I eased my foot off the gas as I moved closer. Where the hell had all the people come from? There had to be twenty standing in the street, all forced behind a long strand of yellow police tape surrounding several cars and cutting off access to a building.
Not just any building.
Tawny’s apartment building.