Chapter 49
FORTY-NINE
“Ty, open the door!”
“Ty.”
“Get up, fucker.”
“Tyler!”
Adam’s frantic banging woke me up. I quickly pushed the covers to the side, jumped out of bed, and ran to open the back door.
“Why the hell are you up so early?” I asked as he came straight in.
“What the fuck is this?” He shoved a crumpled-up paper into my chest.
I uncrumpled the paper so I could get a better look at what he was holding.
What the fuck?
Either I was still half asleep, or this was some hoax. I turned the wrinkled, piece-of-shit paper around and sure enough, it was the Sunday newspaper.
“Did Astrid warn you they would do that shit?”
My brow furrowed.
Astrid said she had a surprise for me, but as I looked at the paper, her “Around Town with Hart” article was missing, which was weird because she hinted at the fact that she would do the auto shop next.
“ Fuck , now people are going to fucking wonder who I went to Planned Parenthood with.”
Adam was angry, and rightly so, because it was no one’s business what he and his partners did. I didn’t feel like I should mention that it was Astrid who ran that column, because I knew deep in my heart she would never pull a stunt like this.
My mind drifted back to the last line in the article. Was this just payback for what happened in the past? I quickly shook that thought away. No, this wasn’t that. What Astrid and I had was real.
I looked back at Adam, and he was pacing in the small hallway.
“Are you okay?”
He stopped his movements and glared at me.
“Why aren’t you angry? That’s a load of fucking bullshit. Did Astrid warn you about this?” he repeated.
“She had nothing to do with this,” I declared. “We’ll figure it out once I talk to Astrid. But most importantly, are you okay with the…you know, Planned Parenthood trip?”
At this, he seemed a bit bashful. Adam leaned against the wall and ran a hand through his face.
“Yeah, I mean, accidents happen, and if you’re grown enough to fuck around then you should be ready for the consequences.”
I nodded, knowing he was right but also giving him time to share more.
Adam took a deep breath, and his shoulders sagged.
“It was surprising. I was scared out of my mind, but I was ready to step up, but then she decided she wasn’t ready to be a mother, and fuck, we weren’t even really dating, and you know the town would pick up on that shit.
She decided the best thing to do was to terminate the pregnancy. ”
Since he didn’t tell me who it was, I didn’t pry. Not that it mattered.
“So, you went with her for support?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I got us a hotel for the night, and kind of just watched over her. It was weird. She took some pills, and that was that. Whatever we shared ended right there and then. I respected her decision, and stood by her through it all, but it was still a bit of a mindfuck.”
Adam didn’t protest when I gave him a hug. The asshole laughed, but I could see his eyes getting misty.
Before either one of us could say more, his phone rang.
“What? Yeah, we’ll be right there.”
“Who was that? What happened?”
“Dad, he said a semi flipped over, causing a few collisions. He needs our help.”
Adam went to his truck while I put on pants, a shirt, and grabbed my phone, putting it in my pocket. It was still early enough that I didn’t want to wake Astrid. I would wait to ask her what happened once she called me.
When I walked outside, Adam was already in his truck waiting for me.
Just as I took a step down the driveway, I heard the screeching wheels of a car coming in fast. It took a second for the car to come into better view.
It was Dunnett’s car, and I immediately took a step toward his direction.
Why would he come here and not the shop?
This shit couldn’t be good.
Dunnett barely got the car in park, and he ran out coming straight toward me.
“We have to go, now,” he barked.
“What the hell is going on?”
“Astrid—”
Dread filled my whole being upon hearing her name and I stopped listening to what he was saying.
“Tyler! Are you listening to me?” Prescott snapped.
I blinked a few times, coming back into focus. Adam was out of the truck, his face mirroring my own.
“What did you say?”
Prescott repeated himself.
“Astrid’s boss broke into her room. She’s locked in the bathroom right now, scared out of her mind.
She said she tried calling you, but when she couldn’t get a hold of you, she called Rachel.
I told her to stay put while we got there.
I have called Clark, and he got me the hotel information.
He’s making a few phone calls, but we need to go now. ”
Motherfucker.
The unease she felt before this trip. Her boss getting pissed at her. It was making sense. But why didn’t she tell me?
I turned to my brother.
“Tell Dad?—”
“Hey, I know. Go, Astrid needs you.”
“Come on, I’m driving,” Prescott said.
Rachel was already in the back seat of the car.
Prescott made a few phone calls, but I tuned it all out.
I looked down at my phone and sure enough, I had a missed call from Astrid.
I wanted to talk to her and reassure her, but since her battery was low, I sent a text message.
I had no doubt in my mind that today’s paper was connected to this shit.
When I saw the fucker, I was liable to kill him.
Tyler: I’m on my way, beautiful. Stay inside, I’m coming to get you. I love you, Astrid.
Two hours later, we finally arrived at our destination.
They felt eternal. If I was angry before, I was furious now.
Even though Prescott’s friend was in line to be Chief of Sunny Pines and had made a few phone calls, they didn’t help at all.
Not when the slimy fucker had already told the police department that Astrid and his other employee, who was Clark’s wife, were really good friends and she refused to see that her friend needed help.
“What was the point in all of this?”
He had to know we wouldn’t turn our backs on Astrid…
that I wouldn’t turn my back on her that easily.
Then my stomach dropped because that was exactly what he probably thought.
He thought it would be prom night all over again, and Astrid wouldn’t want to deal with a second fallout. He tried to corner my girl.
There were two cop cars, a fire truck, and a bunch of people milling outside the hotel.
I opened the door and ran inside before Prescott could finish parking.
The first thing I did was run to the front desk. A young woman was working on it.
“I need to know what room Astrid Hart is staying in,” I barked at her.
Her eyes widened.
“I’m sorry, sir, I can’t give out that information.”
“She’s my fiancée…” The lie came so easy and tasted fucking right. “And she’s currently being held hostage by her cunt of a boss. Give me her room number or help me God?—”
“Excuse me, sir.”
The voice came from behind me.
An older lady was standing there. She took a step closer to me.
“If you’re looking for the young lady who won’t come out of her room, she’s staying on the third floor. Just turn right once you exit the elevator. She was staying in the same hallway as me.”
“Thank you,” I told her, hoping she could see the sincerity in my face.
“Ty!” Rach yelled, coming through the door.
“I know where she is.” I turned to glare at the lady at the front desk. “No help from the hotel.”
We ran to the elevator, and the ride up seemed to take forever. I just wanted to make it to her and reassure her that everything would be okay, and after that, I didn’t want to spend another day apart from her.
It was easy enough to find her room. There were police officers and firefighters present in the hallway and throughout the building. I took a step toward the door but was immediately stopped.
“I’m sorry, sir, but you can’t go in there.”
“I’m Astrid’s fiancé.”
I tried to peek inside, but judging by the look of things, she was still locked in the bathroom.
Fuck. I could imagine how terrified she must be being in there for the last few hours.
To make it worse, they called for Ronnie. It took everything in me not to run at him and start punching the fucker. I needed to make sure Astrid was okay first. She was my priority. My male ego could take a back seat for now.
“He says he’s the lady’s fiancé,” one of the cops said.
It was brief but I didn’t miss the way the fucker’s eyes widened at my comment, and I could see the loathing he had for me in that instance. Ronnie put on a mask of confusion and turned to the cops.
“I’m not sure. She never mentioned any boyfriend.”
My hands balled up, itching to make contact with his face.
“Sir.” Rachel took a step forward. “I’m Rachel, I’m her next-door neighbor, and I’m also one of her emergency contacts at work. Something I’m sure her boss would be able to verify.” Rachel glared at Ronnie.
Down the hallway I heard the elevator door ding again, but I mostly ignored it until heavy footfalls reached us.
“What’s going on?” someone said from behind me. I craned my neck so I could see who had come. Prescott was there along with his brother.
“They won’t let me go inside,” I stated bitterly.
Prescott’s brother took a step forward, pulling out a card and handing it to the cops. “I’m Maximillian Dunnett, and I’m Miss Hart’s lawyer.”
At this comment, Ronnie lost a bit of his facade.
After a few more back-and-forth exchanges, they let me through. I ran into the room and noticed that everyone was male.
“Astrid, baby, I’m here,” I yelled as soon as I saw the shut door that had a police officer mingling around.
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Astrid opened the door and ran toward me.
My arms were around her a second later. Now that she was safe in my arms, I could breathe in properly, and I did by burying my hands in her hair and letting myself get calmed by the floral smell of her conditioner.
My hands wrapped around her waist before I registered the silk of her pajamas.
“I-I-I’m so sorry,” she hiccupped. “I-I-I didn’t write that.”
Fuck.
She had been locked in for hours, and this was what she was worried about?
I cupped her cheeks and forced her to look up at me. Right now, no one else mattered. It was just the two of us. I kissed her, and she immediately gave in to me.
“Shhhhh, beautiful. I know you. I know it wasn’t you. I don’t give a fuck about that. All I care about is that you’re okay. I love you, Astrid. I know you. I believe you, baby.”
Astrid buried her face in my chest and began to cry.
“They don’t believe me. Ronnie broke in here,” she whimpered.
Hearing the fear in her voice broke me. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. Last time I didn’t act fast enough, and I’d be damned if it would happen twice in a lifetime. She was done being hurt on my watch.
I turned to the side, and Rachel was there.
“Let me take care of this,” I told her as I kissed the top of Astrid’s hair.
Rachel stepped in, hugging Astrid as I walked out with purpose, where the staff were arguing with Prescott and his brother.
Ronnie was speaking with one of the police officers. He was telling him how glad he was that this had been resolved. He was keeping with the fucking facade.
“You motherfucker,” I spat at him as I lunged.
It felt great when my fist made contact with his cheek.
The asshole didn’t think I would be stupid enough to assault him in front of so many witnesses.
I didn’t give a fuck if I got a case. This motherfucker had made my girl feel so unsafe, she stayed hidden because she didn’t know who she could trust. I barely got two punches in when I was being pulled away from him.
“That’s why I wanted you here,” I could have sworn I heard Prescott deadpan to his brother as they hauled me outside.