“Langston!” Jack yells again. “Breathe. Look at me—no, listen to me.”
I drag in a breath so sharp it burns. Another. My knees feel weak. My hands are shaking.
I don’t hear myself move, don’t remember standing, but suddenly Jack’s voice is louder—sharper.
“Say it again,” I grind out.
“Sabrina was called to the hospital,” Jack says quickly now. “Her old neighbor—Mrs. D, I think?—she was taken in. Sabrina rushed over to be with her. She’s not hurt.”
The pressure in my chest cracks just enough for air to rush back in.
I bend at the waist, bracing a hand on my thigh, breath shaking.
Mrs. D.
Hermomstand-in. The woman she checks on, worries over, builds her days around.
“Fuck,” I mutter, pressing my palm to my forehead. “Okay. Okay.”
Then another thoughtslams into me.
“How did she get there?” I demand. “Please tell me she didn’t take a fucking Uber.”
I already know she’s upset. I know she’s scared. The idea of her rattled and alone in a car right now makes my skin crawl.
“Mr. Rizzoli was still here,” Jack says. “He took her.”
Relief hits me so fast it almost makes me dizzy. I sag against the wall, eyes closing briefly as my heart finally slows from a gallop to something survivable.
“Thank God,” I breathe.
I don’t stop moving. I’m already heading to the door. Passing people that I should be walking through a warehouse with.
“Wait, Which one?” I ask, that fucking family doesn’t know how to travel alone. “Please don’t say Cross.”
There’s a pause.
“Callum,” Jack confirms.
I exhale hard. “Good.”
Then, quieter: “Cross was there too.”
Of course he was.
I roll my eyes, even as my hands keep moving. “Naturally.”
“Jack,” I say, already halfway out the door, “Call the hotel and tell them to ship me everything left in my room. Call the pilot. We take off in twenty minutes.”
There’s a sharp inhale on the other end. “Boss—you have another tour tonight. One youcan’tmiss.”
I stop cold.
My jaw tightens until it hurts.
All day I’ve been telling myself distance was safer. That restraint was noble. That keeping my heart locked away was control.
Bullshit.
