Chapter Thirty-Seven
Roman
Jesus Christ, Lola, I told you not to jump.
Relax, I’m fine!
You just jumped off a thirty-foot cliff, you could have killed yourself. And I wouldn’t have been able to do anything to stop it.
- Conversation between Lola, age 17 and Roman, age 24
“Thanks, O’Connor, appreciate it.” I hang up and head back inside to find Lola. I don’t like her being out of my sight when Carson’s walking free.
Skyler sweeps past me, a tray stacked with empty mugs balanced on one hand. “Hey, Roman, where’s Lola? We’re running out of apple fries.”
My feet stop moving. “She’s not here?”
Skyler puts the tray on the counter and looks back at me. “I thought she stepped outside with you.”
I grip my phone, panic itching at my back. “I told her to stay in here.”
Beside me, Hux starts moving. “I’ll check upstairs,” he says, “maybe she’s with Brynlee.”
I nod and go over to Cooper and his teammates by one of the longer tables. “Hey,” I say to him. “You seen, Lola?”
Cooper shakes his head but the guy next to him looks up. “The one with the purple streaks in her hair? She went out the back like five minutes ago.”
No. No, no, no.
“Roman?” Mase calls out after me as I run for the back door.
I push it open, scanning the small space out back but all I find is Lola’s apron tangled on the ground.
Mase comes out after me. “What the hell’s going on?”
I stare at Lola’s apron, numbness spreading through my body, an all too familiar dread sinking into my stomach. “Lola’s gone. It’s Carson. It has to be.”
I step farther outside, spinning around, looking for anything that might help me find her because I cannot lose the only woman I’ve ever loved.
I live and breathe Lola Ford, and I can already feel myself shutting down.
My eyes land on the subtle security camera above the door, the one Lola installed after the fire. I storm back inside, pulling Skyler away from the coffee machine.
“I need to see the camera footage.”
She blinks at me, a bottle of milk in her hand. “What?”
“The security cameras, I need to see them now, Skyler. Lola’s missing.”
I didn’t think I was shouting but the whole shop goes quiet and then everyone dives into action.
“Call the police,” Shaun tells his wife before heading over to me. Skyler retrieves an iPad from under the counter and the three of us crowd around it as she pulls up the camera app.
My heart leaps when Lola appears on screen, dashing out the back door of the shop. She checks the gate then stops and leans against the dumpster. She’s alone. Until she isn’t.
“That’s not Carson,” I say, frowning at the tall blond on the screen.
“It’s Scott,” Skyler says, sounding just as confused as me.
“The guy Lola traveled with?”
Skyler nods and then Scott grabs Lola, wrapping his hand over her mouth and any confusion is replaced with pure rage.
“What the fuck?” I growl.
Kelsey rushes over to the counter then. “Hey, can I help at all? If you need to go I can look after the place.”
“Please,” Skyler says, relief mixing with the worry. “I don’t understand how Scott’s here. He was in Paris.”
Kelsey’s gaze drops to the iPad. “That guy? Well, he’s definitely not in Paris. He’s been coming into the Lagoon every night for the past two weeks.”
I zero in on her. “What?”
Kelsey turns the iPad to face her. “Yeah, it’s him. The guy who barged into you. He’s been staying down in one of the house boats at the marina.”
I look at Mase. “Let’s go.”
It takes us too long to get to Surfer’s Bay, even with Mase driving like this is a mission.
Skyler’s sitting in the back trying to call Lola while Shaun and Pippa stayed behind to talk to the police.
Desperation pumps through my veins, the numbness burned away by my need to hold Lola. I keep picturing her at eighteen, walking away from me on that beach. Why did I ever let her go?
The seatbelt bites into my hand where I’m holding it as Mase yanks the car to a stop in the marina car park. Pine Rock harbor is fairly small, only about twenty or so boats bobbing out in the shallows.
We make our way down the jetty, searching for the boat Scott was staying on. Kelsey didn’t know which one but only two of the houseboats are available for renting.
An old couple are sitting out on the deck of the first one, so we carry on to the next, at the very end of the jetty.
I jump down onto the boat. It rocks beneath me as Mase follows. “Wait here,” I say to Skyler before creeping towards the cabin door. We’ve already lost the element of surprise, so I kick it open.
The place looks barely lived in, the only sign of any occupant are the dishes stacked on the draining board.
I barge through the small door beyond the dining area to find the bedroom empty too. There’s no clothes or luggage. Nothing. If Scott was staying here, he’s not planning on coming back.
I slam the closet door shut and pace back out onto the deck. “She’s not here,” I tell Skyler, trying to stay calm and think when all I want to do is tear the world to pieces until I’ve got Lola back in my arms.
“Fuck!” I drag my hands through my hair and stride across the boat, gripping the railings.
I stare up at the cliff on the other side of the marina, the one I watched Lola jump off when she was seventeen.
I thought my heart was going to give out as she dropped through the air like a bullet before disappearing deep beneath the water but that was nothing compared to what I’m feeling now.
My throat closes up, guilt wracking my body.
I thought I knew where the danger was, I thought I could keep Lola safe.
But I was wrong. And I failed her. Again.
I tilt my head back, searching for air as my chest seizes.
“Roman,” Mase calls my name, and I try to answer but I can’t. Stars break out across my vision and some part of me is aware I need oxygen. Then the little white dots burst into color. Like fireworks.
Wait. No. Those are fireworks.
The colors are pale against the light blue sky, but harsh bangs thud the air as fireworks fly in all directions on the cliff. And that’s when I remember what else is up on that cliff.
The old barn.
“Skyler,” I shout over the fizz and pop of the fireworks. “Did Lola tell Scott what happened on her eighteenth? Where it happened?”
“She said she told him everything.”
“Motherfucker,” I curse under my breath as I leap back up onto the jetty and leg it towards the shore. Mase is hot on my heels and we make it back to the car just as the fireworks stop.
My heart pounds against my ribcage, rattling my entire body.
I’m coming, Firebird. Just hold on a little longer.