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It’s four in the morning and I know she’s not in her apartment. I know because I’ve been waiting for her all night long to come back home.
I guess…she decided to stay with Grayson.
Maybe to rekindle their relationship. To fix whatever was broken between them.
My lungs squeeze painfully at the thought of Riley and Grayson together. Is she in bed with him right now? Did he touch her, the way I crave to touch her?
“If you’re not going to talk—” I spit out furiously. Why is she calling me now? To torment me further? “I’m going to hang up.”
And that’s when I hear it.
A hitch in the back of her throat.
A pained whimper.
My heart stutters and I listen closely. Her breathing pattern is shallow and erratic. Almost like she’s…scared or panicked about something. “Riley?” The harshness in my voice disappears, replaced with worry.
At the sound of her name, Riley lets out a wounded cry, and I’m immediately on my feet. My stomach tightens with nerves as fear courses through my veins.
I keep the phone at my ear, listening to her tiny choked cries as I rush out of my bedroom. “Where are you?” I ask, my voice softening. She needs me to be calm right now. I grab my coat and keys, slamming the door behind me as I leave Maddox’s apartment. “I’m coming to you. Riley? Do you hear me? Talk to me, Sunshine.”
“Colton,” she whispers my name brokenly.
“Yes, I’m here. It’s okay, I’m coming to you.” I’m filled with a sense of urgency and horrifying dread. “Are you hurt? Where are you? Send me your location.”
“I think…he’s dying,” she stammers.
My heart drops. “Who is dying, Sunshine?”
Riley whimpers again. “Grayson. He’s bleeding a lot. Oh God, there’s s-so much b-blood.”
“Okay, take a deep breath,” I tell her. “Breathe with me, Sunshine. We’ll do it together. Inhale.” I hear her take a deep breath. “Good girl, now exhale.” Her chest rattles as she breathes out.
We do it three more times until I’m assured she’s not hyperventilating anymore. “Now, send me your location. I’ll be there; I’m coming to you.”
“Hurry,” she pleads with me.
“Did you call 9-1-1 yet?”
Riley is silent for a long minute and then she hiccups back a sob. “I— no, I didn’t. I called you first. I wasn’t thinking. I called you. Colton—”
“Breathe, Sunshine. It’s okay, I’m doing the thinking for us right now. Okay?”
“Okay,” she whispers.
“How did Grayson get his wound?”
“He was stabbed and he got hit on his head. Three times. He might have a bad concussion. Grayson sounded a little incoherent before he lost consciousness.”
My heart rate speeds up. She had been in danger and I wasn’t there. “Are you hurt?” I ask urgently.
“Not really.”
That’s not an answer, baby.
I need a real answer. I need to know who the fuck I need to kill. My fists clench with the urge to pummel whoever harmed her.
“Send me your location,” I demand, my chest heaving as I get in my car. “And I’m going to call 9-1-1 for you—”
