"Speaking of Mariah." I step outside my team's room, looking up and down the hall. "Have you seen her?" I know she likes to go look at the fish in Trevor's office and frequently peruses the snacks in the closest break room. But when she's ventured out before, Mariah always came back before my meeting was over, and I'm curious to find out what she's gotten into. If maybe she found something interesting, or possibly made a friend.
Holding Mariah back isn’t anything I ever want to do. I love having her at my side—and knowing she’s close helps ease my anxiety—but that’s my problem. Not hers. So whatever she’s found to occupy the time, I hope she’s having a hell of a good time.
“No, but I’ve been busy trying to train my new assistant.” Trevor tips his head toward the security station near the entry. “I’m sure we can track her down.”
“Or I could just call her.” I pat my pockets, looking for my cell phone, but come up empty. “Shit. I must have left my phone in the car.” I’m still not used to going out of the house, and once I set my phone in the console, I have a bad habit of abandoning it there.
“I’d call her for you, except I don’t have her number.” Trevor gives me a smirk. “You feel like sharing it yet, or are you still worried I’m going to try to get her to bring me a caramel cake?”
“Like we’ve discussed before, you are more than capable of getting a chef of your own. It’s not Mariah’s job to provide you with fucking caramel cake.” I cut a path across the lobby, going for the security office. “And I’ll send you her number as soon as I get to my phone.” It’s probably best if Mariah can get in touch with my brothers in an emergency. I don’t ever want her to feel like I’m all she has. Not when it comes to entertainment or socializing or support.
Will I be thrilled if she calls one of my brothers for help instead of me? No. I’ll fucking kick their ass for it. But I still want her to have the option.
We walk into the room and park ourselves beside the guard seated in front of the wall of monitors. Trevor props one ass cheek on the desk, crossing both arms over his chest. “We’re looking for a pretty blonde who doesn’t work here. You know where she’s at?”
The security guard looks between us before focusing on my brother. “You mean the one he carried out of here last month?”
Trevor glares at me. “Yes. I mean the one this fucker carried out of here last month.”
“Last I saw her, she was with Maren, the girl who restocks all the supplies, headed into Tobias’s garage. They haven’t come back out yet.” The security guard checks his watch. “That was probably a good fifteen or twenty minutes ago though.”
Great. It sounds like Tobias is the first brother getting an ass kicking for monopolizing Mariah’s attention. “Thanks.” I turn and walk out, intending to go track Mariah down.
I’m barely out of the room when a tiny brunette comes sprinting toward me, her feet skidding across the floor as she tries to come to a stop. “There you fucking are.” She sucks in air, breathing heavily. “You need to go to Willowdale right now.” She wrinkles her nose in a scowl. “And start answering your phone.”
My brows jump up, both in surprise at her sharp words and the directions she’s given me. “The hospital?” My stomach drops. “Why?”
“Because Mariah got real weird when we were in Tobias’s office, and she sort of passed out and when we couldn’t get a hold of you, Tobias decided you would want him to take her to get checked out, and told me to find you.” After the run on sentence spills free, her eyes dart to where Trevor comes to stand at my side, lip curling a little at his appearance. “And since you weren’t answering your phone, I had to run all the way here to try to find you.”
“I gotta go.” I turn, ready to run myself, but pause to thank the woman before taking off at full speed, racing out the doors to where my car’s parked in the spot I now occupy on a regular basis.
Thankfully, the hospital is close by, and I’m pulling into the emergency lot in under ten minutes, phone pressed against my ear as I dial Tobias’s number for the five hundredth time. When he doesn’t answer yet again, my molars grind together. I want to be pissed at him, but he did bring Mariah here knowing I’d want her to get taken care of as quickly as possible.
I’ll reserve my anger until I find out whether or not he was successful in that endeavor.
The second the car’s in park, I’m out and running again, feet flying across the blacktop, grateful I haven’t given up on my nightly workouts. I’m still breathing heavily by the time I reach the check-in desk, but it’s got nothing to do with physical exertion, and everything to do with fear.
“Hi there. Are you here with someone?” The nurse behind the desk greets me calmly. Like she doesn’t know the woman I love needs me.
Fuck.
I’ve been avoiding the full scope of what I feel for Mariah, thinking it would protect her from my expectations and desires. But I’m not sure I can pretend like she’s not become my everything. Like I’m not ready to peel my skin off right now with how badly I need to be at her side.
Because I love her. Plain and fucking simple.
“Mariah Copeland. I think she came in not long ago with my brother.” I fight for a full breath. “Can you take me back?”
“You must be Titus.” The nurse stands. “Your brother said you would come running in here looking like you were going to dismantle the building.” She gives me a grin. “But there’s no dismantling required. I’ll take you right back.”
The air rushes from my lungs as cautious relief makes it a little easier to breathe. “Thank you.”
“I’m sure she’ll be happy to have you with her. It can get kinda scary when things like this happen.” The nurse swipes her badge across the sensor and the doors to one side of the desk open. “They’re checking her out right now and making sureeverything looks good.” She leads me down a quiet hall, stopping outside a room, frowning at the empty space. “This is where she was...”
“They just took her for an ultrasound.” A woman in scrubs rolls past us with a computer on wheels. “Probably only left five or six minutes ago.”
“I guess we’re headed there then.” The nurse helping me find Mariah starts walking again and I stick right with her.
Why would they be taking her for an ultrasound? Are they worried something’s wrong with the baby?
