Cupcake Explosion (Cupcakes 4)

“We’ll check all the hospitals in a sixty-mile radius,” Bea assured me. “We’ll scour the city, The Heights, and go out from there. I’ll do everything I can to find him, Lila, just give me that chance.”

I nodded.

What she said about not telling Slade and Cade’s brothers made sense, because they would absolutely go to war to find Cade and probably end up catching jail time themselves. And, although they’d be totally pissed at me when they found out, I agreed to give her a head start.

“You can have until the day before the wedding,” I said, trying not to cry as I wondered if there would still be a wedding. “Cade promised he’d be back by then, and he doesn’t make idle promises. But, if he’s not back by then, either on his own or because you and your team found him, then I’m going to Slade and letting the club handle it.”

Even as I said the words, I hoped I was making the right decision.

Isn’t Cade worth a war?

“Lila,” Bea called, and I turned my head toward her. “That means you don’t go off on your own trying to find him either. Let me and my people handle it.”

“Yeah, sure,” I lied. Because, seriously, did she think I’d be able to sit by for the next few days and do nothing? “Cade’s family flies in on Monday, and his friends on Wednesday. Plus, I have to finalize all of the wedding details by Friday. I have plenty to keep me busy, and I know you’ll do whatever you can to find him.”

“I really will, Lila, I promise.”

I nodded and looked back out through the windshield, plotting where I should start.

Bea dropped me off with a worried look and another promise to start the search for Cade immediately.

I walked into the house in a zombie-like state, not seeing the dogs as they jumped around me excitedly, like I’d been gone for days instead of hours. Needing a few moments, I went straight to bed, laid down, and pulled the covers over my head.

I tried to block out the image of Cade getting hit by the car, but it kept playing like a reel in my head. Over and over, until I thought I’d go insane.

Finally, the dam broke and I cried until I was exhausted enough to fall back asleep.

When I woke, my headache was down to a dull throb, and the fog was cleared from my brain. I got up, brushed my teeth again, showered again, then went down to get coffee and ended up in my office in the back of the house.

I took out my calendar and a notebook and made a list of everything I needed to do.

Tomorrow, clean the cabin. Monday, pick up Cade’s family and take them to the cabin . . . and so it went, until I had everything laid out, culminating with marry Cade at the cabin on Saturday.

I was sure Cade’s parents would love it if Elin and Elena stayed with them for the days leading up to the wedding. They hadn’t seen each other since our trip to Hawaii, and I knew they were all looking forward to the reunion.

This would be good, not just to free up my time to look for Cade, but to keep his family distracted so they didn’t realize there was something wrong and he was missing.

Did that mean I planned to keep Cade’s disappearance from them? Absolutely.

Was it a shitty thing to do? Maybe, but I didn’t want to cause them unnecessary worry. Until we knew Cade’s status, I thought it was best to let them continue to believe he was away on business.

Everyone needed to believe that. His family, his friends, his brothers, and definitely my children.

I texted Carmen and Amy May and asked if they would be able to meet me at the cabin tomorrow to help clean. Not only because I actually could use some help cleaning, but because I had to tell someone other than Bea what was going on. And, although Amy May wouldn’t be able to offer anything but a sympathetic ear, I was planning on this being Carmen’s first job with me.

Plus, I just needed to vent to someone, and my friends seemed like the safest option.

While I waited for their reply, I got online and started trying to find out something about the rival MC. After thirty minutes and absolutely no leads, I pushed back from my desk with a frustrated sigh and pulled out my phone.

Both Amy May and Carmen said they would meet me, so I hoped that meant Amy May was feeling better. Cause, if not, no matter how badly I needed her, she needed to take care of herself and her baby more.

Which is exactly what I told her when I texted back.

“OH MY GOD,” Amy May cried, her eyes filling with tears. “Do you think he’s okay?”

I knew her hormones were out of whack and she loved Cade, but, shit, Amy May was making me think of worst-case scenarios, and that’s not where I needed my head to be.

“Of course, he is. He’s Cade,” Carmen replied, and I shot her a grateful look.