Beau bit back a string of curses.There was no way he’d beat them to the condo.He hadn’t seen Chloe’s sedan parked on the street.Did that mean they’d never made it?Maybe they’d stopped off for food.Was that wishful thinking?
His gut said something was wrong.
By now, wouldn’t they have reached out to say they were okay?If not Ivy, then Chloe?
His phone buzzed, indicating a text message.
He fished it out of his pocket and immediately checked the screen, hoping, no, praying the text was from one of them.
Ivy’s name popped up.
He read the message:going to Austin.BRB
Hold on a sec.He double-checked the screen, then realized she had an iPhone, and his was a Google device despite both being from the ranch.Messages were notoriously lost or slow when texting between platforms.Shit.
Ivy had tried to let him know their plans all along.She’d undoubtedly sent the text after they were clear of Saddle Junction.
Did that mean they’d already gone back?
Chloe could haul-ass when she wanted to.Had she driven faster than he to the condo, spent fifteen or twenty minutes here, then headed back to the ranch?
It was possible.
He moved away from the door and, with great pain, made it down the flight of stairs.This could explain why Chloe’s vehicle was nowhere to be found.
Was it too easy an explanation?
It also occurred to him that the messages he’d sent might not have made it to Ivy.Nor any notifications of the phone calls.He’d had a girlfriend who’d freaked out and called his mother trying to track him down once because he hadn’t returned any of her calls.The different platforms were the cause.She’d decided he was cheating and broke off their relationship.
Occam’s Razor came to mind; the easy answer usually was the right one, which wasn’t absolute.It was just the best starting point.
Were there other messages out there in cyberspace?Urgent ones?
Another buzz.He looked down at the screen in his hands.
The message read:Made it
Another followed:C you soon
And then nothing.
He walked down the sidewalk in the opposite direction from where he’d come.He could cut around the block and wait in case any other messages finally came through.He didn’t want to get back on the highway before he knew where Ivy and Chloe were.
After turning the corner, he walked halfway down the next block while he waited for the airwaves to connect phones or however the hell that worked.
Frustration nipped at him.
And then he saw it.
Chloe’s car was parked.The lights were off.No one appeared to be inside.
Beau’s stress levels skyrocketed.
Another buzz.Another message:They’re here
Ivy turnedand ran on Chloe’s cue, expecting a shot to be fired.Relief washed over her when it didn’t happen.She’d been so certain that she’d clenched her back teeth so hard her molars could’ve cracked.
There was a problem.She’d been separated from Chloe and had no idea where she could be.Clay and Royce were around here somewhere.The kid who’d let her escape once hadn’t come this time.Had they fired him from the crew?Punished him?Or worse?The fact that he’d let her escape led her to believe he was a good kid.It was a shame that he’d been forced to join a crew where he didn’t belong.He was young, too.He had his whole life ahead of him.Getting caught at his age could mean spending the rest of his life behind bars.
