Torn Bond (Bonded Duet 1)

“Looks like someone is having a party.”

I hummed in agreement and pointed outside the house. “Pull over here. I’ll see if he’s there.”

“Want me to wait here or find a space to park?”

I opened the car door and looked up at the house. I recognized my dad’s car and Uncle Jord’s, but the others I had no idea who they were. “Wait here. I’ll come back out if he’s here, and then we can ask Dad to move his car over so you can get on the drive.”

“Okay,” Curtis replied, and I pushed out of the car.

Each step I took closer to the house I’d grown up in made me more nervous. Even if Ford wasn’t here, I knew Dad was, and he’d want to know what was going on and why I was here and not at college. But I couldn’t tell him, not until I’d spoken to Ford.

The front door opened as I got closer, and two people who I didn’t recognize walked out and past me. And that was when I realized all these cars were from people who were inside the house. I could hear the quiet chatter from out here, and as I stepped inside, I scanned the living room. The house was full of people standing in little groups and talking. What the hell was going on?

I managed to push past everyone and make it into the kitchen. I turned left and right, trying to spot someone I knew when I heard, “I’m so sorry for your loss,” from behind me. I spun around, trying to see who had said it, but I couldn’t put a voice to the face. The woman was talking to me, but I had no idea who she was.

“My loss?” I asked, utterly confused.

She patted my arm and flashed me a small smile, then walked past me. What the hell was she talking about?

“Belle? What are you doing here?” I blinked and stared at Aria. She’d come out of nowhere.

“What’s going on?” I asked, not willing to answer her question.

Her mouth pulled down into a frown, and she wrapped her hand around my arm. “We’ve all been trying to call you for days.” She pulled on my arm to move me. “Let’s go somewhere private.” I let her lead me through the living room and toward the bottom of the stairs, and that was when I saw it—the sign that the front door had covered up as I walked inside.

My feet stopped working, my brain fizzled in and out, and I felt like I was going to throw up.

“Belle?” Aria called, but her voice was far away as I stared at the sign and read it over and over again. In Loving Memory of “Ford.” May you rest in peace.

“Rest in peace?” I whispered. I couldn’t stop staring at the picture of Ford, and over and over again I read the words, not believing what they said.

“Shit,” Aria cursed, and her grip tightened. “Come upstairs, and I can tell you what happened.”

“Where’s Ford?” I asked her, ripping my arm away from her and stumbling into the wall. My body knew what was happening, but my brain needed conformation. Her mouth was opening and closing, but no words were coming out, so I repeated, “Where is he, Aria?”

“He’s…” She paused, hesitating, and then finally whispered, “He’s gone.” She glanced to the side, and I followed her gaze to Cade, who was barreling through the crowd toward us.

She had to be wrong. He couldn’t be gone. Not now. Not after what I’d found out.

My hand moved to my stomach, protecting the baby we’d created together from the sadness surrounding us.

The front door opened, and someone else walked in. Cade was getting closer to us. But I couldn’t stay here. I couldn’t be here. Was this why they’d been calling me nonstop? Were they trying to tell me what had happened to Ford? I should have answered my calls, I should have—

My eyes widened as Cade got even closer, so I twirled around and darted out of the house, spotting Curtis still idling in the middle of the road.

“Belle!” Cade shouted.

I ignored him as I pulled open the passenger door and demanded, “Drive!”

“What?” Curtis asked, frowning at Cade as he sprinted toward us.

“Drive, Curtis!” I slapped my hand on the dash, and the sound caused him to slam his foot down on the gas and speed away from the house I’d grown up in.

“Where are we going?”

“Anywhere but here,” I whispered.

“Back to college?”