Page 7
“Gray,” Kylie croaks.
I bolt up. “What’s wrong, Ladybug?”
“Chris is— I found— I need you,” she sobs. My heart splinters in two at the sound. I swear to fuck, if Chris hurt her, I’m going to kill him.
“Okay, baby. Are you somewhere safe?” I pull up flights on my laptop. There’s a regional airport in Caulfield that I usually fly out of, but they don’t have flights this late. Denver’s two hours away, but they’ve got a flight to Seattle that leaves in three. It’ll be close, but if I drive fast enough, I’ll make it.
“I’m in my car, but I can’t go home, Gray.”
“That’s okay. Is there a hotel nearby?” I’m sprinting upstairs and throwing underwear, my toothbrush, and a couple of T-shirts into a backpack as I talk.
“Um…yeah, I think so.”
“Good. I’m leaving for the airport now.” I gun my truck out of my driveway. “Can you stay on the phone with me while you make the reservation?”
“I’m doing it now.”
“Good girl.”
She sniffs a few times while I wait for her to confirm that she’s finished. “Okay. It’s done.”
“Great. Can you walk there, or will you have to drive?”
“I can walk.”
“Keep talking to me, Ladybug. I need to make sure you’re okay.”
“Oh, Gray. I’m such a fool.”
“Why do you say that, honey?”
“I should’ve seen it coming. How could I be so stupid? It was right in front of me the whole time.”
I clench my teeth hard enough to make my jaw ache. I have an inkling as to what happened tonight. “You are the furthest thing from stupid.”
She’s silent for a minute until I hear her talking to the front desk staff of the hotel. “I got the room key.”
“That’s good. Are you going up to the room now?”
“Yeah. I look ridiculous. My eyes are so swollen and red, and I don’t even have my purse. Just my phone case that holds my license and credit card.”
“Not a single person in there is paying attention to you right now.” The highway is flying by. I’m praying with every mile that passes that I don’t run into a cop.
The slamming of her hotel room door echoes through the phone. Then she starts giggling.
“Ladybug? What’s going on?”
“Um…” More watery laughter. “I wasn’t really paying attention when I booked the room. It’s huge. Like presidential-suite fancy.”
“Is there a bathtub?”
Silence and then, “Holy shit, Gray. Not only is there a tub. There’s a massive glass-enclosed shower with a million jets on the walls.”
I shove away the mental image of Kylie naked in a glass shower. “Perfect. How about you order some room service and take a bath? You’ve got books on your phone, and you can take this opportunity to relax on Chris’s dime.”
She blows out a breath. “Yeah, okay. I asked the front desk to hold a key for you. I’ll probably be asleep when you get here.”
“Stay on the phone with me until I get to the airport.”
