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Chapter Eighteen
Beckett
I wait outside the Hub. My phone pings a moment later, just like I’m expecting it to. It’s Brady.
He’s got some serious explaining to do.
I pick up, in no mood for pleasantries. “How on earth did you make it so she could erase the footage?”
He heaves a sigh into the phone like he’s over being tangled up in my drama. I let it pass. Don’t blame him.
“I put the screens and recordings on baby mode. The one we use for beginners when we’re training them? I figured whoever she belonged to would be along soon enough and there wasn’t much damage she could do. Trying to erase videos or whatever she was there for would keep her occupied long enough for someone to show up.”
“Clever. Thank you. I appreciate you not making a scene. And as soon as I saw her come in the building and not leave, I figured she was in there.”
“Yeah. I knew you would.”
“I could have hunted her down right there and then, but I didn’t know where she was in the building and I risked her getting spooked and ending up deeper in the Hub, in places she shouldn’t be.”
“Agreed.” His voice lightens. “Want me to take her the long way out? You can meet her on the other side?”
I like the idea. The Village isn’t far enough from Trevor. I’m ready to get her out of here. “Sure.”
“Awesome! I never get to go down there and it’s the coolest place we own.”
A private island in Greece. A mansion in the Blue Ridge mountains. An entire town in Connecticut. And this kid loves the musty old subway?
I don’t get it. But I don’t question it either. Time’s a tickin’. “Where is she now?”
“She was hiding under the desk. I brought her out, left her sitting at the desk. I told her I would help her get out of here, but I had to make a call first. I could tell she trusts me. Told her to wait for me. Felt kinda bad lying to her. Terrible, actually, to be honest. She’s real sweet. But it’s the best plan I could make on the spot to help you out. You know…”
I finish for him. “Brotherhood first.”
“Exactly.”
“Let me let you go so you can get back to her before she finds a way to get herself in a bigger mess.”
“10-4. See you on the other side,” he says.
I’m impressed with Brady. For a new guy, he’s handling the situation pretty well. I might have done a few things differently—like never letting my sights off Rhett—but hey, overall, he did good.
I hang up and take off toward the gate, ready to finally see my girl. Palms itching. Heart racing. Anger heating my blood. Most of all? I just want to see her face. To hold her in my arms. To confirm with my sight, touch, and smell that she is, in fact, okay.
I jog through the Village. Pass through the gates. Emerge into the city. Stride down the sidewalk. Try to play it cool when I want to break into a sprint, knocking passing bodies right and left to get to where I’m going faster.
There’s no need to slam harmless pedestrians into the sidewalk. With Rhett and Brady winding their way through the underground tunnel, I know I’m going to beat them by a few minutes, even if I had to get on my hands and knees and crawl there.
I hang a left. Stroll down Bachman Ave. Past Daughtry’s, our clothing store, Bachman’s Jeweler, our jewelry store. Clara’s, our kid’s store. I’ve already been in there twice, looking for stuff for A’s baby. Since she’s not finding out what she’s having, I got a pink teddy bear and a blue one.
I’m getting close. I cross the street, looking up at the glossy, deep red door of the brownstone home that houses our secret tunnel exit. A stairwell rises from the abandoned underground subway, up into the basement of the house.
Sometimes brothers will come here to catch a few quiet hours on their computers if they have some work to catch up on. I know the Beauties have hosted a few get-togethers for themselves here, an excuse to drink too much wine together when they need some space from the overprotective men in their lives. Other than that, it’s mostly forgotten about, residing in the back of our minds as our way out if there were ever to be a raid on the Village and we need to escape to the city.
Today, it’s going to be Rhett’s and my home away from home while I have our staff prepare us for a little trip. I no longer want her in the same country as this asshole. I have no idea why she ran from me, but I have a feeling it has something to do with him.
I rest easy, knowing in a few minutes I’ll be at the bottom of all this and know exactly what she was thinking when she left this morning. And I’m hoping to use my itchy palm against the gorgeous curve of her naughty ass to get my answers.
Now, I press my thumb against the black security panel on the wall. The door unlocks with a click. I reach for the cold metal door handle.
