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The wind whistled outside, making Ethan’s silence even more palpable. He wasn’t obligated to tell me his whole life story, but we were basically together now. I thought taking the plunge with me was going to make him open up, but I was wrong.
I pushed the hurt inside of me down and stretched to cover my disappointed face. How were we supposed to be in a relationship if he didn’t tell me where he’d come from? Or at least hint at it? I hoped he’d loosen up.
CHAPTER20
Harrison
Returning to New York's cold weather after being in the Bahamas was a harsh adjustment, but necessary. Taylor had to get back for some meetings and events with brands here, and we had to get back to normal. The bubble of perfect tropical weather and incredible sex had to be popped.
Not that being back in New York was terrible by any stretch of the imagination. Now that we were all together, our life felt even more seamless. We switched between watching Taylor and keeping her safe when we were out in public, then being her boyfriends when we were all at home. Taylor’s bed had become all of our beds, even though it was a bit too small for all four of us.
We started to understand each other and how we all worked in one relationship, too. The balance of our personalities kept Taylor happy, whether she wanted to feel protected or giggly or adored.
I checked the time on the car’s dashboard. Taylor was in her Pilates class, and it was almost over. Cody was standing outside the door to escort her from there to the car, since we’d parked down the block. Construction blocked the parking spaces directly in front of the studio, with only quick drop-offs allowed. The partially blocked-off sidewalk funneled foot traffic into a narrow corridor, making it look much more crowded. Once Taylor was out of class, I was going to get out and help clear the way for her to get here.
Ethan was going through his email on his phone, his brows furrowed. He was much less grumpy since we’d started this relationship with Taylor, but he still had his moments.
“Everything all right?” I asked him, looking down the block.
“Yeah. I was just looking into a few things. Nothing that urgent.”
So he was probably figuring out something completely world-changing. He wasn’t going to tell us until he had all the details down.
We both got a text at the same time, telling us that Taylor was finished with her class and was coming out with some friends. I stepped out of the car into the flow of people squeezing through the narrow sidewalk. I fell into the flow of foot traffic and spotted Taylor as she stepped out with a bunch of friends. Usually, she chatted with one or two people when she came out of her workout classes, but today, she was talking with a whole group, at least five.
They obstructed my view, to my annoyance. Some of her friends were much taller than her. But Cody had her covered on the other side, which eased my worries.
A man in an orange construction vest stepped out in front of me and put his arms out.
“Hold up,” he said. “Need to get some machinery through.”
The whole flow of foot traffic stopped, some people behind me grumbling. We waited for another construction worker to push some machine across the sidewalk, almost painfully slowly. I was tall enough to see above it. Taylor was still speaking with her friends, Cody approaching from her other side.
I wasn’t sure how things abruptly changed as quickly as they did. One minute, Cody was on one side of her, and so were her friends. The next, someone had surged out of the foot traffic toward Taylor and grabbed her. Her friends screamed, just as Taylor did, and leaped away. My stomach dropped to my feet as I shoved past the construction workers, jumping over part of the machine and nearly tripping.
“Taylor!” I shouted.
The sound of her screaming was more than enough to stop everyone on the sidewalk, even the most jaded of New Yorkers. I shoved them aside like they were nothing and spotted who had taken her. It was a young, lanky man, whose eyes were wide and frantic. He was saying something to Taylor rapidly, his lips moving like he couldn’t get the words out fast enough.
It was the same man who had tried to deliver that package to her. The one who had sent so many creepy letters and DMs that we had to stop telling Taylor about every single one, so we didn’t scare her. He’d been almost impossible to track, and now, he was here.
My heart pounded in my ears so loudly that it drowned out the sound of the city. My greatest nightmare was starting to unfurl right before my eyes. Of all the times for her to be less accessible.
Cody appeared on the other side through the crowd and grabbed the attacker. The two struggled, stumbling off the sidewalk and heading toward traffic. I couldn’t pay attention to them, though. I had to get to Taylor.
“Everyone get back!” I shouted, grabbing Taylor and pulling her aside. She was trembling so badly that she stumbled over her feet. I picked her up and ran toward the car with Ethan.
“Cody!” Taylor reached out toward him over my shoulder, as if she could do anything. “Help him! They’re going to get hit by a car! Stop!”
I stole a glance backward, my chest tightening. Traffic was still zipping by as Cody tried to apprehend the man who’d attacked Taylor. A car passed dangerously close to them, but the attacker didn’t seem to care. He was in a frenzy, still trying to get to Taylor. A car got so close that Cody had to leap back to avoid getting hit. The attacker managed to leap in the opposite direction.
Before Cody could cross traffic to get him, the attacker stumbled to the other side of the road and took off, ducking into a car down the block. The car pulled off before we could get a picture of the plates.
Cody stepped back onto the sidewalk, a defeated look on his face. His shoulders sagged, and he dug his fingers into his hair, tugging at the roots in frustration. Taylor sobbed against me, still shaking. I tried my best to rub her back and soothe her, even though I wasn’t much more stable than she was on the outside.
The man had gotten away, and we didn’t have a single hint as to where he’d gone.
CHAPTER21
