Page 49 of Never and Always
“As far as I know. I’ll find him.”
“Good.” I pictured a shaking, scared Piper in my arms. “Because the next time I talk to him, I’m not going to be so pleasant.”
Chapter 16
Piper
Back in my suite, I picked at the lunch I’d ordered from room service.
My meetings were done. Now, all I had to do was stew and worry about Chance.
My phone dinged and I snatched it up, thinking maybe Everett had messaged. Or maybe Chance had finally responded. It was from my mom.
Hope you’re actually having a weekend off, my darling. If you hear from your brother, let me know. He’s not returning my messages.
I bit my lip and pulled a face. I did not want my mom to worry. She’d worried enough for a lifetime. And if Gram got too stressed, it could affect her heart.
I had to find Chance and deal with his mess. I just wasn’t sure how to go about that.Ugh. I hated not having a plan. I liked action and getting things done. I was a problem solver. That’s what I did.
After shooting my brother a millionth text message, I decided to distract myself. I grabbed my tablet and pulled up the plans for the pool.
Rich, the building contractor, and his team would be here Monday to start erecting the tenting. Then, once that was in place, he’d start digging out the pool. I made myself go over the materials list and the timeline.
Despite how fabulous the pool and the new spa would be, my mind kept wandering. My chest was tight.
I kept seeing those men leap out of the car. Kept feeling hands grabbing at me. Kept hearing the screech of tires.
I closed my eyes and thought of Everett. Curled up on his couch in front of the fire, held against his strong body, I’d felt…safe.
It was something I wasn’t used to. Not since my father had left us. Growing up, I’d never felt safe. I’d always known how hard things were, always been worried. I used to chew my nails to nothing—a terrible habit I’d forced myself to stop.
There was a knock at my door and I stiffened. Shaking my head, I rose and hurried over to look in the peephole. Tessa stood there, and who I guessed was Allie and Sierra standing beside her, although I could only see their arms.
I opened the door. “What are?—?”
She pushed inside, followed by the others.
“How are you?” Tessa pulled me in for a hug. She squeezed me hard.
“I’m fine.”
Her gaze narrowed. “You were almost abducted last night. You were upset.”
“Rightly so.” Sierra threw her tiny, fit body onto my couch. “An attempted abduction would rattle anyone.”
I looked at Allie. “Are you all right?”
The brunette waved a hand. “I’ve actually been abducted before, remember. I’m practically an expert at this.”
My stomach clenched. I remembered she’d tangled with some dangerous extreme-sports guests who’d been dealing drugs. Unsurprisingly, Caden had rescued her.
“She knows Caden would go to the end of the Earth to keep her safe,” Tessa said. “He’d tear Windward apart to find her if she’s ever abducted. Again.”
I stumbled over to the couch and dropped down. “This is all because of my brother. His troubles are way bigger than anything he’s done before, and I don’t know how to extract him from this.”
“I say leave him to deal with it,” Sierra muttered.
“I can’t. He’s my brother.”
