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The line went dead. I cursed, then called him back. It went straight to voicemail every time. After the tenth failed attempt, I dialed Gunner, who’s phone went straight to voicemail as well. At least it explained why Carter called me instead of Gunner. I left a message, then called Devon who answered after the second ring.
“Archer?”
“Carter called. The connection was terrible, but he said something about crash-landing, and now his phone goes straight to voicemail.”
“Shit. He’s flying a client to Chicago. She pissed off some heavy hitters and needs to stay completely off the radar. It was only her and Carter on the plane. We didn’t want to risk hiring a pilot.”
Worry for Carter gnawed at me, and the urge to do something was overwhelming. “I’ll make some calls to find out if anyone knows of a plane going down.”
“That would be great. I’ll send you the route he was taking and see if I can track his signal.”
“Let me know if you find anything.”
“Yeah, you too.”
We both hung up, and I called every air traffic control, newspaper, hospital, and ranger station along the route that Devon sent through. But there had been no plane reported as going down.
Where is he?
“Hey.” Thea stepped out onto the porch. “Everything okay?”
She pressed her front to my back, and I put my hands over hers, holding her to me. “It will be. How’s the packing going?”
Sensing that I didn’t want to talk about what had happened, she kissed my back. “Getting there.”
“Only take what you need for the next few weeks. We’ll get everything else sent to Chicago later.”
Her body relaxed against mine, and we stood like that for a while. I’d always been restless, the need to move around ever present. But with Thea, I could just be.
Turning around in her arms so we were facing each other, I bent down and kissed her forehead. “I should probably throw my clothes back into my suitcase as well.”
Her body shook against me with her laughter. “And after the five minutes you’ll spend doing that, you can sit on my suitcases so I can close them.”
We linked our hands together and walked inside, toward our future together.
EPILOGUE
Thea
“What do you think? More to the left?”
Halle, my boss, was moving the painting to the side by an inch, then back the other way. We’d almost finished hanging all the paintings for tomorrow night’s opening.
I’d been in Chicago for six months and had never been happier. When I went back to San Diego for my art show, I’d become friends with Ever’s friend Joanie. Once she heard I was looking for a job in Chicago she put me in touch with Halle. We hit it off straight away and she offered me a job at her gallery in East Garfield Park.
I’d been working for her for the past five weeks and loved every minute. She even let me hang a few of my paintings up, and they sold surprisingly well.
“That’s perfect.”
She released the frame and stepped back to look at the painting. “Looks great.”
We continued getting the gallery ready, moving furniture, dusting sculptures, and confirming the catering.
I was at the front desk, making sure our business cards and gallery flyers were accessible for anyone coming in, when the bell over the door rang and Freya walked through. I grinned at her and came around to greet her with a hug.
We’d become good friends since I moved to Chicago. Archer had introduced us, and we’d hit it off straight away. Now we met up regularly for dinner or coffee. Sometimes with the guys, but mostly it was her and her friend Quinn. Everleigh had joined us a few times as well.
Freya had a tray with three coffees that she held up once we separated. “I come bearing gifts.”
