Page 145 of The Rules of Dating

Fuck.

Fuuuuuuck!

I ran back out to the street and looked right and left. Where the hell did I go now? This city had eight-million people, and it felt like they were all blocking my view at the moment. Maya could have taken her anywhere! Where the fuck did I even start to look?

Think.

Think.

Think.

If I needed to get out of town undetected, how would I do it?

Maya wouldn’t want to fly because she was here illegally. She’d be too afraid of getting caught by security at the airport. She also didn’t have a driver’s license to rent a car.

Then it hit me. The bus depot was only about three blocks away. So I ran toward it. Of course, just like the rest of the damn city, it was packed. I frantically weaved in and out of people, but there was no sign of either of them anywhere. Unsure what the hell to do next, I whipped out my phone to enlist the help of my friends. We could split up the city and check more places.

Holden didn’t answer, so I left a message. “I need your help! Maya took Saylor! Call me back!”

Then I dialed Owen. My damn call went straight to voicemail. Fuck.

My fingers shook as I searched through my contacts for Brayden’s number. But before I could hit enter, my phone buzzed with an incoming call.

Billie.

I swiped to answer.

“I can’t talk. Maya took Saylor!”

“I know. She brought her here.”

“What?”

“She’s here with me at the shop, Colby. That’s why I’m calling. I thought it was strange. Maya just showed up two minutes ago with her, handed me a letter to give you, and told me to take good care of Saylor.”

My heart pounded. “Saylor’s okay?”

“Yes, Colby. She’s fine. What’s going on?”

I leaned over with my hands on my knees to catch my breath. “Holy shit. Thank God.”

“You’re scaring me. What happened?”

“I’m not sure. But I’ll be there in two minutes. Just don’t let Saylor out of your sight, please.”

“I won’t.”

Even though Saylor was apparently safe, I ran the entire way to the tattoo shop. When I walked into the back, my little girl’s eyes lit up. “Daddy!”

I wrapped her in my arms so tight. “Where did you go, sweetheart?”

“Maya took me for ice cream.”

“At Coyle’s?”

She shook her head. “No. The ice cream man was parked outside, and I wanted a cone with sprinkles.”

I pulled back and looked her up and down. There was a giant brown spot on her shirt. “I guess you got chocolate.”