“What the fuck?!”He sounds distant.
“James?”I sit up straighter.
“Blood… b-blood… m-m’arm…” His breathing grows heavy with panic.“A-Amy… I d-don’t feel…”
His words slur into an unintelligible mumble, followed by a sickening, heavy thud that cracks through the line.
“James?”I bolt upright.
Nothing.
“Are you still there?”Ice-cold panic surges through me at the absolute silence on the other end.“James!”
I hang up and call him right back.
Busy.
I hang up and try again.
Busy.
The line is still open at his end.
“Shit, shit, shit…”
I snatch my purse off the desk and burst out of the office, nearly colliding with Grace.
“Amy?!”She stumbles back.
I rush past her to the front counter, where Helen is organizing the pastry case.My frantic energy must be radiating off me, because her head snaps up instantly.
Her smile falters when she looks at me.“What’s wrong?”she asks, her voice sharp with immediate concern.
“I have to go,” I say, breathless, fumbling in my purse for my keys.
“What happened?”Helen demands, eyes wide.
“It’s James.”
Helen’s face registers pure confusion.“James?”
“I have to go,” I repeat, finally snagging my keys.“I’ll explain later.”
Without another word, I turn and bolt, pushing through the front door and running to the curb, my arm shooting up to wave for a cab.
One screeches to a halt in front of me a moment later.
I fall into the backseat, gasping James’s downtown address.My hands shake so badly I can barely function.As the cab pulls into the steady stream of traffic, my fingers begin to fumble through my keychain.
And then I find it.
The silver key I haven’t touched in days.
The key to his apartment.
I wrap my fist around it, the sharp edges digging into my palm as the city blurs past my window.My heart hammers a terrified, three-word rhythm in my chest.
Please be okay.
