Fletcher was dead. He’d gotten into an accident on the way there. He’d never made it to Sky.
Fuck.Don’t think like that.
I swallowed hard. Looking at Janee, I gestured to my station. “I need to take this. Can you cover me for a minute?”
“Sure thing, boss.” She gave me a two-fingered salute and stepped in to take over. I swiped my finger over the phone screen to accept the call, then slipped out the back, into the frosty night air.
“Hello?” I rumbled out, anxiety gripping me by the throat. It could’ve been any number of people—pack mates, telemarketers—but my fear was that it was the police, bearing bad news.
“Adam?” The voice on the other end of the line was soft, deep, and a little panicked. It took me a moment to place it. Jem Murphy, Sky’s guardian.
Relief flooded me. “Yeah. What’s up?”
“Please,pleasetell me Sky’s at work,” he uttered, as if his world had come crashing down around him.
I straightened up. “He’s not. He never came in today. Why? What’s going on?”
“Oh god…” Jem’s voice took on a wounded tone. “He left me a letter, saying that hopes my life gets better now that he’s gone,and a bunch of my alcohol is missing. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where he went. His depression has been getting worse lately, and I’m not sure if he’s been taking his meds, but damn it! I should’ve been more present!”
I took a deep breath and spoke in a calm, Alpha tone, hoping to reassure the frazzled Omega. “I know. Fletcher and I became concerned when he never showed up for work. I won’t lie to you. We received some concerning texts, but Fletcher is out there right now, searching for him. I can’t promise you we’ll find him, but I will reach out the minute I hear from my mate, alright?”
Jem let out a shaky exhale. “Okay. Thank you, Adam.”
“Take care,” I said, and the phone line went dead.
Something inside my chest twisted, like a piece of barbed wire piercing my heart. Did Sky not care who he hurt? Was he that selfish? Or was he just suffering that badly?
I went back into the kitchen and tried to focus on work, but all I could see in my mind’s eye was Sky’s body rag-dolling off the side of the water tower. Falling to his death, over and over again.
I hissed as pain licked up my finger, singeing my skin where it touched against the too-hot burner.
“Shit!” I hurriedly ran it under some cool water, frustrated with myself and the situation.
“Why don’t you go take a break, boss?” Janee said, patting me lightly on the shoulder. “We can handle it from here. Things are winding down out there, anyway.”
I frowned and looked around the kitchen, at the tired-but-determined faces of my employees who always seemed to have my back.
“Are you certain?” I asked, hesitating.
“We are,” Sam said, giving me a big thumb’s up. “Go on.”
“Thanks, guys. I owe you one,” I told them.
“We expect a big bonus,” Corey tittered after me, but I just shook my head and strolled out of the kitchen.
Once I was inside the office, I sat down at the desk and pulled out my phone. No word from Fletcher. I sent a text. Nothing. My stomach knotting only tighter, I set my cell down and started working on paperwork from the day before. Might as well get something done.
An hour later, my phone finally pinged. Half-afraid to pick it up, I held my breath and clicked on Fletcher’s text.
Immediate relief. Sky was safe. They were at home. Thank god…
After squaring things away with Fletcher, I texted Jem to tell him that Sky was alive and safe.
Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. Sky might be rough around the edges, but he’s not a bad person. He’s just gone through a lot of trauma in his lifetime.
I believe you,I replied.
“I’m going to head home,” I announced to my crew a little while later. “I have some personal matters to attend to. You guys are rockstars. Keep it up.”
