“What? Is she okay? Do we need to call an ambulance?” Ava asked.
Alex’s eyes went wide, his body stiffening. “Oh, dude, is that what you meant when you said she’s gone? Is she…you know…dead?”
“No. At least I hope not. No, I guess she somehow went over the edge and is fine…she’s gone…she’s not here.” I shook my head as I tried to sort through the explanation in a meaningful way. “I went to check on her. She didn’t answer. I poked my head into the room–“
“You did what?” Ava set a hand on her hip.
I held my hands up in my defense. “I know, I know. I get it. Line-crossing. But I just wanted to make sure she had fallen asleep. You know, new place, trouble sleeping. I was trying to be caring.”
“Okay, okay, forget what Ava said,” Alex prodded.
“Hey!” Ava said with a smack of his chest.
“Sorry, babe. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Just…he’s getting all off-track, and we need a more focused answer.”
I massaged my temples as tension built in them. “Look, I peeked in. She wasn’t there. The sliding door is open. I need to find her. You tracked her phone before, please, please,pleasetell me that you can do that again.”
I pressed my palms together, my features pleading with him.
“Well, yeah, I totally can, but…” He shot Ava an uncertain glance.
“Okay, so let’s do that.” I rolled my hand in the air, trying to speed up the process.
“Doc, I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” Ava answered.
“What? Why? Ava, now is not the time to be a stickler for the rules, okay? Nattie is out there somewhere alone, and she shouldn’t be.”
“Ava has a point. She’s out there alone by her own choice. You brought her here. She was safe here, but she chose to leave. Maybe you should just wait for her to come back on her own.” Alex shrugged, his features questioning.
“Or she got a threatening message. She fled from the house to stop her ex from finding her and hurting us. And now she’s out there all alone and afraid. Or she’s with him and equally afraid.”
Ava shot Alex a glance before she stepped forward, wrapping her arm around me. “Aww, Doc.”
I ran a shaky hand through my hair as I puffed out a breath. “I’m just worried.”
“Find her,” Ava said to Alex.
He raised his eyebrows as he backed away from us, grabbing his phone. “Okay, let’s see where the mysterious Nattie is right now.”
My heart hammered against my ribs as I waited to hear where she’d gone. I hoped she was just walking the beach or something innocuous, but I had a sneaking suspicion that she was in some sort of trouble.
Ava gently rubbed my shoulder, trying to console me in some small way. “Easy, Doc. We’ll find her.”
“Yep,” Alex said, tapping his phone. “We definitely can find her. She’s at her old place. Beach Rider.”
My chest constricted.Why would she go back there? Did she forget something? Did someone else know she was there?
I backed away from the door. “Okay, I’m going.”
“Whoa, whoa, Doc, wait,” Ava called. “You can’t just race off after her.”
“I have to. I can’t explain it. But I know she needs me.” I continued down the hall, my heart ready to explode from my chest.
Was I making this all up or was our connection real? I’d only just met her, but it felt like we’d bonded. And that kiss had sealed the deal. At least for me.
“Dude, you shouldn’t go alone. What if there is something going on with her ex? Someone should be with you,” Alex answered as Ava disappeared from his side.
“It’s fine. I’ll be fine. I just want to go–“
