Page 155 of Hidden

“Yeah,” I said eventually, because it was easier. “She’s just late.”

He didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t push it either. “Well, if she stands you up, I’m available. Might not be as pretty, but I’m a solid second choice.”

“That’s a bold claim,” I said dryly, finally glancing at him. “Considering you’ve got the personality of a wet sock.”

“Charming,” he laughed, pushing off the bar. “I’ll leave you to your brooding then, Romeo.”

He wandered off, already shouting something at someone across the room, and just like that, the noise swallowed him whole again.

I let out a slow breath, rolling the neck of the bottle between my fingers.

Two hours.

That’s what I’d said.

Two hours before I stopped trusting the situation and started acting.

But even as I stood there, watching that door like my life depended on it, I knew I wasn’t going to last that long.

Because something had already gone wrong.

I could feel it.

“Rider ladies!” someone shouted from the window. My heart jumped.

Gabriella.

And then it fell flat. She shouldn’t have been wearing a Rider cut. But then the rational part of my brain told me that this was all planned. That she needed to wear their brand so she could leave freely.

Still, my grip tightened on the bottle I was holding, and my jaw clenched as I waited for them to come in.

Natalie stepped in first, looking around like a deer in headlights. That, on its own, would have been enough to set my nerves on edge. She didn’t belong here. None of them did. But she wasn’t the problem.

She stepped aside, her head hanging low, and in walked Gabby.

Everything else faded.

It always did with her. Didn’t matter how loud the room was, how many people were around, how much shit was going on—my focus always snapped straight to her like she was the only thing that mattered.

Only this time…

This time something was off.

It took me a second to figure out what it was.

She wasn’t moving right. She wasn’t limping, not exactly. She was just… careful. Each step had thought behind it, as though she was trying to manage pain before she took it. As though she didn’t want to draw attention to it, but knew she couldn’t quite hide it either.

My brow furrowed, pushing away from the bar without even realising I was doing it.

Her face was pale. And not the same pale from the scan room. This was ashen. Grey. She didn’t look tired, or annoyed. She was just… pale.

“Gabby?” I called, my voice cutting through the room easier than it should have. “What the fuck took you so long?”

She didn’t reply. Her mouth opened and then closed again. All she did was softly shake her head.

“You alright?” I asked, slower now, closing the distance between us. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Natalie shifted awkwardly beside her, her eyes flicking around the room like she didn’t want to be here, like she was waiting for something to happen. That alone was enough to put me on edge.