Chapter Thirty-Nine
Trey
“I ’m starving,” Cal complains. “You going to put those burgers on before the fire goes out or what?”
I drag my eyes from the road and try Penny’s cell again. She’s been gone forty-five minutes. I know how Zella can be in the grocery store, doubling the time of a twenty-minute trip, but something feels off. I don’t like it.
“She’s not answering.” I shove my phone back into my pocket. “Fuck.”
Hollis hands Hope over to Charlotte before trotting over to me. “You think something’s happened?”
Jordy and Cal frown, worry shining in their eyes. After what happened with Charlotte not too long ago, none of us feel right about this.
“I feel it in my gut,” I hiss out. “I think something’s happened. Fuck!”
“I’ll call Dad,” Hollis says, yanking his phone out and dialing.
I pace the ground, trying to calm my erratic heart. Images of Penny, bloodied and bruised after Jack hurt her once before flood my mind. I knew I shouldn’t have let my guard down. Jack isn’t the type to just disappear. He’s a fucking lunatic.
For the tenth time in a row, I dial Penny’s phone. It rings and rings before going to voicemail. Charlotte and Roux wear matching worried expressions as they hold on to the babies. Sebban is oblivious as he digs for worms nearby.
“I’ll call Dad,” Cal says as he brings the phone to his ear.
I’m trying not to panic. Knowing Zella, she could have convinced Penny to stop for a snow cone or something. But Penny would answer her phone. She told me twenty minutes and now it’s closer to an hour she’s been gone. I want to hop in my vehicle and tear out of here on a hunt, but I don’t want to go on a wild goose chase. As soon as Garrett gives us the information from the tracker app, we can make our move.
A car crunches along the gravel and I nearly cry out with happiness. But it’s not Penny. It’s Sonya in Grandma’s car, coming over to help decorate for tomorrow’s party. Hollis paces nearby.
“What’s wrong?” Sonya asks as she hobbles our way. “Is Zella okay?”
She must see the panic written all over my face.
“She’s missing, Sonya. She and Penny both.” My voice is hoarse, strangled with worry.
“What?” she mutters. “Is it Jack?”
I shudder at hearing his name. “I hope to fuck not.”
“Why aren’t you out there looking for her?” she shrieks.
“The tracker app shows her at a hotel a couple miles up the road,” Hollis barks out as he rushes over to me. “Let’s go.”
“Check the grocery store,” I bark at Sonya. “Check the snow cone stand.”
The four of us guys fly to Cal’s truck, jumping in. Cal, peels out on the gravel, hauling ass down the road. We have to stop when we exit the campground because a fire engine speeds by followed by an ambulance.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Go,” I grind out. “Follow them.”
Cal’s truck fishtails as he gasses it. I grip the dash, holding on as Cal drives like a bat out of hell. Jordy is quiet, but Hollis is talking loudly to his dad.
“Meet you there,” he says. “I’m going to call the station.”
A few minutes later, I can hear him talking to someone he must know. When he ends the call, he curses.
“They’re headed to the hotel,” Hollis croaks. “Fuck. He has my sister. He fucking has my sister.”
I swallow the lump of fear in my throat. There’s no way in hell I’ll survive if something happens to Penny and Zella. No fucking way in hell. As we drive, I drift back to the early hours of the morning when I had Penny naked and in my arms.
“Tell me about the sounds,” I say, stroking her hair from her face. “Tell me why you need the white noise. Have you been diagnosed with something?”
Her brows furl. “This is quite possibly my least favorite subject, Smash. Wouldn’t you rather talk about your dick?”
A chuckle rumbles from me. “We can talk about my amazing dick later.”
Several minutes pass in silence. I almost fear she won’t speak, but then she does.
“I read up on it,” she says quietly. “It’s a thing. Misophonia.”
“Miso-what?”
“It literally translates to ‘hatred of sounds.’”
“That sounds like you,” I tease. “Is this real or did you make it up?”
She smacks my chest. “It’s real. Turns out, I’m not the only person who suffers from it either.”
Suffers.
I sober up quickly, hating the idea of her suffering at all.
“Is it something that can be treated or healed?” I ask, frowning. “What does your dad say?”
A guilty look passes over her features, tugging her lips into a frown. “Dad has always known something was wrong. Since I was little. He wanted to help me, but as you know, I’m stubborn.” We both laugh and then she continues. “I didn’t want to be treated like a freak, so I tried to find ways to distract myself from the maddening sounds.”
“The white noise?”
She nods. “Maybe I should go to med school. I wasn’t far off from how they treat it.”
“You’re better now,” I murmur, kissing her supple lips.
“Knowing is half the battle. I read up on it when…” She trails off, tears welling in her eyes. “When we broke up. Everything was worse. Total chaos inside my head. I wanted to die.”
Guilt guts me, making me sick to my stomach. “But you’re tougher than that. You figured out a way to cope.”
“Once I realized this was an actual disorder, I devoured information on it. There are lots of therapies and medications to help. I started with trying to stick to a sleep schedule and using my headphones to block out trigger sounds. Since I didn’t want to involve Dad because he’d go over the top, I researched the cognitive behavioral therapies that worked on people. It’s been a lot of trial and error, but I’m learning how to ignore certain sounds that bother me and distract myself. It’s a work in progress.” She smiles at me. “With you, it’s easier.”
But I left her alone for months to cope on her own.
“I’m sorry, baby,” I murmur. “You won’t have to deal with it alone ever again. I fucking promise.”
“I know,” she says fiercely. “Now, can we change the subject to your dick?”
I flash her a cocky grin. “Anything for you, beautiful.”
My lips crash to hers for a searing kiss. Zella is still asleep, so we steal this moment for ourselves. Penny rolls me onto my back and then kisses her way down my stomach. My dick practically weeps at the beautiful sight. Penny with her blond hair loose and wild as she teases her way down to my cock.
“I’ve never sucked dick before,” she reminds me. “I might suck.”
“You already have step one down,” I tease.
Her tongue flicks out and she runs it over my tip. “Kinda gross, Smash.”
“Good thing you’re a nasty girl,” I croon, running my fingers through her silky hair.
She smirks before wrapping her hand around my girth. I let out a strangled groan when her plump pink lips slide down around the head of my cock. Her curious tongue teases the underside of my dick. Penny might be inexperienced, but everything she does in life far exceeds those around her. She’s a star in every aspect of her life.
“I love you,” I blurt out. “Fuck, Penny, you own me.”
Deviance shines in her blue eyes as she continues to eat my dick like it’s her damn job. I want to come down her tight little throat, but I also want her riding my dick. There will never be enough ways to have this girl. Each time feels like a gift.
“Get on my dick, baby, so I can come inside you. You know I love watching my cum drip out of you later.”
She playfully bites my dick and then sits up. Her tits jiggle as she shimmies up to straddle me. I hold my breath as she guides my dick inside her heat. We both groan in pleasure when she sits all the way down, burying my dick inside her to the hilt.
“Fuck, Penny,” I growl. “You undo me.”
She works her hips, a loving smile on her face. “And you fix me. What a pair we make.”
I grip her throat, dragging her to my mouth. She tastes like salty perfection.
I’m dragged from the memory when Cal curses.
“Holy fucking shit,” he grinds out. “Holy shit.”
From over the tops of the trees, thick black smoke billows. In between the trees, I can see bright orange flames.
My heart stops beating in my chest.
I need them to be okay.
Fuck, I need them to be okay.