"She left the phone at her desk," I growled.
"Fuck, I told you to put one in her."
“And how did that work for you when you almost lost Ivory because of that bullshit?” I asked, and he went silent on the other side of the line. He seemed to realize that arguing with me right now would not end well for him.
“I’ll get all the guys out and looking for her. We’ll find her. I’ll have Don check her call log.” He hung up, nothing more to say about it. I tried to call Yavin, feeling so desperate to find her that I’d even tell her brother about whatever problems we had in our relationship, but his phone went straight to voicemail.
If she was okay, I'd fucking make sure she never left me again. She had to realize what this would do to me, worrying about her with Connor on the loose.
She had to be okay.
My head rested in my hands when Linda's name popped up on my phone.
I answered, hoping like Hell she had my woman in her house. “Is Samara with you?”
“No, no. Of course not. Has something happened?”
“She slipped her security,” I said, but I didn’t bother answering her other questions. “Call me if you hear from her.” Then I hung up, because the concern in the woman’s voice was real. There would be no faking that kind of worry.
"Fuck!" I roared, punching the back of the front passenger seat. I needed the pain, needed it to ground me against everything that shredded my insides.
Why the fuck couldn't she just talk to me?
"Where now, boss?" Georgio was brave to ask me the question.
"Sadie's gym. She probably thought Sadie would keep her safe and let her hideout until she made a plan. The crazy ass woman would too if she believed whatever bullshit Mia told her."
He hung a U-turn at the next intersection, heading straight for the gym.
I'd find her.
I had to find her.
I couldn't lose her.
Not now, not ever.
Forty
Samara
I lost track of how long I sat in The Bird Lounge, absorbing the music and the pulse of energy it gave me before I worked up the courage to even look at my brother. The confliction on his face was obvious, the phone in his hand turned off to ignore the way people had called him repeatedly when they realized I was gone.
I wasn't ready to deal with any of them.
But I finally let him turn it back on, using it to call Jasper and listening to the sound of the ringtone while I waited. "Oh, thank fuck. Do you have Samara?" he asked, and I felt instant guilt for worrying him.
"I'm fine," I said, glancing away from the hallway to look at the stage where the singer on stage was getting ready to do his set. "I just needed some air."
"You could have at least told me what was going on, fuck Samara. Do you have any idea how worried everyone is?"
"I can imagine." I winced, but I still had no intention of calling anyone else in that moment. "I need to be away from them for a little while so I can think. Someone gave me some things to think about, so I'm taking the time to do that. You can tell them I'm okay if you want. I'm not going to tell you where I am. I might not be in tomorrow. I have to decide what the Hell I'm going to do first."
"Samar—" I hung up the phone, ignoring all the other calls, but I braved opening Yavin’s text messages.
Fifteen from Lino.
Where are you?!