One thing she knew for sure, her brothers were going to make wonderful fathers. They’d proven their abilities with her. And as soon as she could, she intended to thank them for all they’d done for her to help her grow up healthy, whole… and loved. They needed to hear her tell them how happy she was that they’d found peace, contentment, and the type of family they’d had growing up. And she wanted to be a part of it, the fun-loving aunt who their kids looked forward to seeing. Not the eccentric one who hid away, afraid of her feelings. Who said she couldn’t make progress? she thought wryly.
Her stomach chose that moment to rumble, and she frowned. “Where are you, Max?”
She picked up her phone to see if he’d replied. Still nothing and she frowned. It wasn’t like him not to keep in touch, especially if they had plans.
She called Sebastian, wondering if maybe he had information on the final inspection and Max’s whereabouts, but his cell also went directly to voice mail. Weird.
Five more minutes and she’d order up a pizza for delivery, she thought and settled in to watch TV while she waited.
The news switched to coverage on an explosion that had occurred. She frowned. Lately there had been more than a few explosions in the city, some gas related, some arson, while in others, the cause was still under investigation. But given the tenor of the news, she wasn’t surprised.
She raised the volume on the television to find out where the explosion had occurred.
What appears to be a gas explosion reduced the building to rubble. The restaurant, Savage in Soho, belonged to restaurateur Max Savage with head chef reality TV star Sebastian Del Toro.
Her heart began to race and panic set in. Lucy frantically hit Max’s name on her screen, but she couldn’t get past the voice mail. Her phone rang, and her brother’s name flashed.
“Gabe, help me. It’s Max, I—”
“I know. And Decklan’s already in the city, sweetheart,” Gabe said in a strong voice, interrupting her hysteria. “Where are you?”
She pulled in long breaths. “My place. Our apartment, Max’s and mine,” she said, her voice rising.
“Okay sit tight. I’m going to let him know where to come get you. Everything’s going to be okay, Lucy. You hear me?” Gabe asked. Gabe, the one who’d been her voice of reason for as long as she could remember.
Tears were falling and she couldn’t breathe. All she could think of was Max. He’d had back-to-back meetings scheduled at the restaurant. The inspection. A few appointments. He’d been there all day. Which meant he’d been there when the explosion had happened.
Nausea threatened and she jumped up from the couch. She couldn’t just sit around and do nothing, waiting for her brother. She grabbed her bag and ran out of the apartment. She banged on the elevator button, impatient, frustrated, and so damned scared. By the time she made it to the street and scanned for a cab, it had started drizzling, and between the light rain and the hour of the day, taxis were scarce.
Uber. She flipped over her phone, her hands shaking as she tried to swipe and find the app, and her phone slipped and fell to the ground.
“Dammit!”
“Ms. Dare,” the doorman said, joining her by the curb. He bent down and retrieved her cell, handing it to her. “Can I help you?”
“I need… I need…” She couldn’t get the words out, and then she heard a familiar voice call her name.
“Lucy!”
She turned toward her brother’s voice and ran for his police car, jerking the door open and stumbling into the front seat. “Decklan, do you know anything?” she asked.
He reached out and grabbed her hand. “I know that someone was taken to the hospital, but I don’t know who. And I don’t know the extent of their injuries.”
She swallowed hard. “Okay.” Not being alone helped quell the panic.
“I have ears at the site,” Decklan assured her. “So if Max shows up there or is found, I’ll get a heads-up immediately. In the meantime, we can check out the hospital.”
She thanked her lucky stars that her brother was a cop with access to the most up-to-date information. “Let’s do that,” she said, feeling better now that they had a plan. “Maybe Max is there, and he lost his phone. Then he wouldn’t be able to call, right?”
“Right.” Decklan spoke in a strong, certain tone, and Lucy took comfort from that.
If her brother wasn’t jumping to the worst possible conclusion, then neither would she.
She twisted her fingers together in her lap as Decklan swung out into rush-hour traffic. Getting from the Upper East Side to downtown Manhattan in the rain was going to be a long trek, and she mentally prepared herself for the trip.
Unfortunately she couldn’t stop her rampaging thoughts, and those weren’t pleasant. She didn’t want to think about Max being injured or… dead. But having been in this position before, rushing to a hospital, waiting on word, she knew the worst-case scenario was, in fact, possible. Would she be forced to relive her ultimate nightmare? Could God, fate, the universe be that cruel?
Why not, when she’d been that stupid?