Chapter 33
THIRTY-THREE
I tap my knuckles on the door to Flo’s hotel room, anxiousness running rampant in my stomach.
On one hand, I know my sister and I know she will do whatever she can to make the best of the situation.
On the other, I don’t know how she feels about staying with random people.
Sure, the girls of Vicious Velvet aren’t technically strangers—I even caught her texting Nicola the other day—but that doesn’t mean she’s going to want to share a small space with them.
And the idea of her being with the female roadies is tough to gauge as well.
No matter how I spin it, it makes me feel guilty. Like I’m tossing her aside to deal with the aftermath of my issues once again.
After a few moments, I knock on the door again, this time more firmly. “Flo, answer the door! We have things to talk about.”
But when the door opens, it’s not Flo who greets me. It’s an older woman, her dyed blonde hair pulled back and her hands tightening the lapel of her robe. The hotel logo is displayed on the front and I frown.
“Hello?” she asks, her Canadian drawl strong.
“Hi,” I say, confusion taking over. “Who are you?”
“Who wants to know?” she asks, her eyes narrowed. As she gets a good look at me, her eyes widen. “Oh my god, you’re Cyrus Darlington.”
My brow notches. “Do you listen to rock music?”
“Just since the 80’s, young man. You’re not the first rock star to exist.” She laughs. “Or the cutest.”
I feign a derisive scoff. “And who would be the cutest?”
“Nikki Sixx, of course.”
“Ah, but he’s American, ain’t he?”
“And I’m Canadian, who fucking cares?”
I find myself laughing with her, but then the reason why I’m here comes running back to the forefront.
“Anyway, I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m looking for the person who was staying in this room before you. She’s supposed to still be here, so I’m just confused why it’s occupied by someone else.”
She pauses. “Oh, I’m not sure, love. I checked in around midnight.”
My heart sinks. Midnight? She could be anywhere now.
“Thanks anyway. I gotta go on a manhunt now,” I say, turning to leave. Before I can go, she calls out to me.
“I hope you find her, rock star.”
I breathe out heavily. God, me too.
Her phone goes to voicemail for thirty minutes straight. Jamie and Lennon are all calling local hospitals and anywhere else we can get free information to figure out what happened. And despite our locations being shared, it’s useless as long as her phone is off.
“Maybe she went shopping and her phone died,” Jamie suggests optimistically.
“After checking out of her hotel almost twenty hours ago?” Lennon counters as he looks through his own phone. “God, she’s always been the best of us at hide and seek. This is fucking agony.”
That shoots me back to our childhood. Florence loved hide and seek.
It was always the game she suggested we play, and with the massive estate she and I lived in, the options were limitless.
Still, after a while, you learned which spots people favored and which spots were avoided, but Flo was a daredevil.
She always found new places to hide. Most of the time, she won because we’d be forced to give up by the time night came around.
She was sneaky and adaptable, and I always admired that about her.
But right now, I don’t want to play this game anymore. My heart is beating out of my chest, the anxiety eating me from the inside out. My alpha whimpers just as Josie walks back in from the bathroom, her hair wet from the shower.
“She still hasn’t called?”
I shake my head, my eyes watching the screen like a hawk. My omega walks over and sits beside me, her presence a lulling calm as she takes my hand and squeezes.
“Just give it some time. I know she’s going to call.”
I want to protest, to deny that fact with a very self-deprecating “no, she won’t,” because I really feel like shit for not paying attention to her as much as I should have.
Even when we were growing up, she was always getting punished for being herself, and despite protecting her the best way I could, I still protected myself more.
Every argument, every force of free will on her, I tried to stay in the background so the attention would stay off me just a little while longer.
And the second I had the opportunity to leave and forfeit my standing with the family, I did so, even though it meant leaving her to the wolves.
I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for that.
I’m about to open my mouth to voice it when the screen changes. Our shared location morphs before my eyes and a little dot shows me exactly where my sister is.
My brows narrow. What is she doing in Washington?
“Oh shit,” Lennon says over my shoulder. “Where is that?”
“West of Tacoma,” Josie answers, pointing at the map where the main city sits.
“But why the hell is she there?” I ask, immediately moving to call her once more. Finally, ringing fills my ears and I exhale with relief. It takes a few moments, but then Florence’s voice explodes in my ear.
“Cy!” she explains. “Sorry it took so long to call you back, I was on a plane.”
“Well, no shit.”
There’s a pause before she says, “I guess you already know I’m not in Canada anymore.”
“Yes, I do. I went to your room and another guest had already checked in.” I lower my voice and add, “You fucking scared me.”
“I’m sorry,” she responds, her excitement subdued, replaced with a remorseful somberness. “I couldn’t tell you I was leaving. You would have thrown a wobbly.”
I grit my teeth. “I still did, Flo. Now, why the hell are you in Washington?”
It’s silent on the other line. It sounds like she’s walking along a busy road before everything stops and becomes silent.
“It was the best place I could think of,” she says. “I’m sorry I left without telling you, but I had to leave quickly. I got a call from Mum and—”
Her explanation halts, her words quivering. “Flo?” I ask. “What happened?”
“She told me that she knew where I was,” she says, sad and exasperated. “God, she found out I was with you and she lost it. She told me that she was sending Julian to come get me and I just…”
My body stiffens. “Why would she send Julian to come get you? Why is she trying to force you two back together?”
“His family’s connections. She says he’s a ‘good match’ for me.” I can practically hear her eyes roll. “I tried telling her the hard truth. That he’s abusive, that he hits me, that he yells and does drugs, but apparently none of that matters because he has a good family name.”
Air gets sucked from my lungs as my alpha growls. “What?”
She plays light. “He’s a loser. I’m not under any delusion that things can work, but I can’t do anything when Mum keeps insisting that we’re going to get married so Julian has gotten it into his brain that I’m his. It’s really more annoying than anything.”
Concern soars through me, along with a deep-seated fury. “Why didn’t you tell me? My pack and I could have helped you.”
She sighs. “You have helped me so much already, Cy. You let me stay with you when I needed it most, even when you were in the most stressful of situations. Even when you had just found your scent match.”
“But—”
“You’ve done everything you can. I promise you that I’m okay, I know how to evade him.”
I start to protest. “Flo—”
“Cyrus.” She stops me, and her voice is the most serious I’ve ever heard from her. “Please trust me. Just this once, okay?”
I want to argue, want to tell her that there must be an easier way for her to avoid Julian and our mother’s wrath, but I can’t. She is now too far for me to be able to help, and I’m stuck on this tour for so many more months.
“I’m sorry, Flo,” I tell her, needing to get this out if anything. “I’m sorry I left you with them, knowing who they were, knowing their expectations…”
“No,” she interrupts, the word firm with an edge of bark.
“You do not apologize for that. You have nothing to be sorry for. You got out of there and I’ve always admired you for it.
It was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do and…
gosh, Cy, it’s inspired me in so many ways.
You never let them tell you how to live your life.
Don’t apologize for it just because you think it puts more scrutiny on me. ”
Her words cause my heart to swell. “But… didn’t it? Wasn’t there so much more bullshit after I left?”
“Oh, like you wouldn’t imagine.” She gives a humorless laugh. “But that’s not your fault. That’s theirs, and we have to keep on. Cy, you got out. You are living your dream. I know I can do the same thing, you just have to trust me.”
I nod even though she can’t see me, emotion running rampant in my body. “I do trust you,” I say. “And if anyone can, it’s you. You say I’m brave? You’re way more courageous than me.”
“I learned it from my big brother.”
I point my face away from the phone, trying not to lose it from the sincerity in her voice. All this time, I’ve been carrying this weight, this guilt. And all this time, Florence has been inspired by the one action that I felt regret over.
What a wild turn of events.
“The bus is coming,” Florence tells me. “I promise we will talk soon.”
“Please let me know when you get somewhere safe.”
“I will…” Another pause. “And Cy. Be brave. Tell the world about the two people you love. If you do, they won’t be able to hurt you anymore.”
“Where are you guys taking me?” Josie asks for the millionth time since we put the blindfold on her.
Jamie chuckles. “Patience, Petal.”
I can’t contain my smile as we lead her out into the parking lot where our bus is sitting idle, waiting for our next departure.
Even when we were on a wild goose chase for Florence, Remi and Malaki spent most of today getting things ready for Josie.
They stand outside the bus now, their smiles big and knowing as we step forward, not able to stall the surprise a moment longer.
Remi opens the bus while Jamie and I try to navigate getting her up the steps. She does it well, and we know why the second she speaks.