Page 156 of The Wright Man

"I'm texting her now," Tina said, tapping furiously on something.

"I'm checking Find My Friends," Bella muttered. "And... great. Her location's off."

"Goddamn it, Angie," Tina hissed. There was a flurry of motion and the sound of a man in the background asking something in Spanish, followed by a door slamming. "I'm calling her from my iPad, she's not answering."

Tina exhaled like she was about to pop a blood vessel. "Okay. Let's just get one thing straight, Leek—we knew y'all were gonna lock lips eventually."

"Lips, hips, genitals," Bella added dryly. "It was inevitable. Like taxes. Me and Tina had a bet going."

Tina kept going. "We did. I figured New Year's Eve at the latest. Maybe after a night of too much wine or having you change her tire or something. What I didn't bet on was you pulling a full Navy SEAL op on her mouth after spilling her guts about losing her baby."

"And while she's still married," Bella chimed in, clearly fed up. "To Satan in loafers, yes, but married. Like, read the room, bro. You know how she is—the girl would stay loyal to a dead rat if she took vows over it."

"She basically has," Tina muttered.

"She will go down with a flaming, sinking ship because she said she would," Bella snapped.

"Exactly," Tina said. "It's not what you did. It's when you did it. That timing was trash."

"I fucked up." I sat down hard on the edge of my bed, gripping my knees like they might anchor me.

"Yeah, you did," Bella said.

"Abso-fucking-lutely," Tina echoed.

They didn't say it cruelly. It was just honest. Brutal. Loving, in that Reed sister way. I pinched the bridge of my nose, breathing like I'd just run five miles uphill.

"But..." Bella's voice softened slightly. "I don't think it's something you can't un-fuck up. After all, I'm sure she kissed you back, right?"

"You scared her, Leek," Tina added, more gently this time. "You know Angie. When she's scared, she runs."

"Or she tries to fix shit," Bella added.

"Or both," they said together.

I thought back—to high school, to graduation, to the night I left for basic training, to her wedding day. Every time I'd hurt her, even unintentionally, she folded in or fled.

It hit all three of us at the same time.

"Maleek..." Tina's voice went low and lethal. "If you pushed her back into the arms of Satan's anus, just when I was finally getting my sister back, I swear to God I will end you."

"Let's all calm down," Bella said, clearly deep into one of her breathwork techniques. "We don't know she's running to Gavin."

Tina scoffed so loud I heard it echo. I had to remind myself to breathe. I couldn't rule it out, not after the look on her face when she left.

"But if she is?" Bella added. "Maleek, we swear to God—we will end you."

"Thanks for the support, y'all," I said dryly, scrubbing both hands over my face.

"Respectfully, fuck you, baby brother," Tina shot back. "I'll keep trying to call her. If I have to fly home tomorrow, you owe me three days in Tulum, roach."

"I'll give you five."

"Damn right you will."

"I second that fuck you," Bella added. "I've already got my shoes on. I'll be there in a couple hours."

I felt some of the panic in my chest loosen—not vanish, but shift. Threats to my life and reproductive health aside, at least I knew I wasn't completely alone in this. If I couldn't fix this, maybe they could at least make sure Angelica was okay.