Then I wait, praying for the answer that won’t lead to my total crash out.
Daddy: Yes. Eleanor and Trent
I toss my phone onto the counter, the metal clattering loudly on the smooth surface, echoing through the quiet kitchen.
I can do this.
Only Eleanor and Trent are in town. Not Preston. The man who made ‘hedging your bets’ feel personal.
Granted, still far from ideal. Especially with Puck Boy in tow.
But I can manage his parents. Always have.
I’m sure nothing much has changed in the last year.
I’m up half the night working on a proposal deck. But I’m so hopped up on caffeine and adrenaline, I don’t mind.
Plus, the work keeps me distracted from the upcoming gala and the various potential disaster scenarios.
Honestly, there are too many to count. I lost track around ten or twelve, and the catastrophizing did nothing to help me prepare or calm my nerves.
Finally, I take melatonin around three AM. In a rare fuck-you to the universe, I silence my phone, turn on my white noise machine, cover my eyes with the satin sleep mask, and fall dead asleep.
Which is how I miss my alarm.
I wake up to silence and warmth on my face. Ripping off the sleep mask, I’m horrified to see bright slashes of sunlight pouring through the blinds.
Shit.
Entirely too bright for seven AM.
Flinging the covers off, I jump out of bed and grab for my phone with such force that the charger rips from the wall.
I have sixty-two emails, the morning check-in text from Bennett, and an SOS from Knox:
Target missing
Followed by another message, then another, in rapid succession.
Phone offline. Last location: arena
Report back with instructions
WTF.
This is the last thing I need today. We’re supposed to attend the gala in less than eight hours and the jackass is nowhere to be found.
If he disappears today, my father’s not blaming Bennett — he’s blaming me.
I dial Knox, heart racing, while hopping around trying to get dressed.
“Knox, it’s Tori. Have you found Bennett?” I try to control my voice, but panic still creeps in.
“No, ma’am.”
“How the fuck did this happen?”
“Bishop got boxed out by arena staff at the tunnel. Bennett must have slipped out a side exit. We tried tracking him, but his location’s stale. His dot’s been frozen the last two hours.”
