“We have to go,” Kurt says, turning towards his bike. “Lie low until you hear from me. You’ve got the burner phone?”
I tap my pocket and nod.
But Kurt narrows his eyes. “You know how to use it?”
“I showed him,” Mac calls out as he swings a leg over his bike. “And I put a fun ringtone on it for you, too,” he says to me with a smile.
Kurt rolls his eyes, then steps in and pulls me into a hug.
I wrap my arms around him and hold on tight. I didn’t realize how much I needed this… for a few reasons.
“Proud of you,” he murmurs, then he pats my back and pulls away, hand gripping my shoulder. “It’s working.”
I nod, giving him a smile. “It’s fucking working.”
I watch as he climbs onto his bike, and the others follow. One by one, engines roar to life, drowning out the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks below. Each of my brothers gives me a nod or a wave as they pull out, heading up the winding road through the trees, hugging the edge of the coast, and I watch until they disappear.
Then I turn back to the water and pull in a breath.
Everything is sliding into place.
Almost everything…
I watch the seagulls circling over the rocks, drifting and diving, as I try to clear my mind and just take in this place. And try not to worry about the other thing taking up all my thoughts.
But when my pocket starts buzzing, my heart thumps.
It’s not the burner… It's my phone.
And only one person has that number.
I grab it out of my pocket, flip it open, and hit the green button, hoping that’s the right one, and I didn’t just hang up on him.
“Cade?” I press the phone to my ear.
“Hi,” his voice comes through the speaker.
But when it’s followed by a sniff, all hope I had drains out of me.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, locking my eyes on a rock just offshore as waves break over it again and again, like it’s being punished.
“I didn’t know if you would have your phone,” he says, his words slow and slurred.
I close my eyes as my heart drops. “I brought it in case you need me.”
Silence stretches between us, but I can hear his ragged, uneven breaths between muffled sniffs.
“I need you.”
My eyes lift to the sky as those words make me wish I could leave everything and go to him right now.
“Where are you?” I ask. He’s clearly drunk, and I need to know he’s somewhere safe.
“Home.”
He pulls in a shaky breath, and the sound damn near rips my heart in two.
“What’s wrong?” It’s fucking killing me not to be there with him when he’s like this. And I hate that I put him in this position. I left when he was falling apart. I knew I couldn’t leave him alone… and I did.
