Page 6 of Timeless
I reached out instinctively, but as my hand hovered over the phone, the screen went black.
The ringing stopped.
A sick, cold wave of panic washed over me while my heart hammered in my chest, desperate to break free from the invisible walls that had held me together since she disappeared. Seconds stretched on, impossibly long, as I stared at the lifeless phone, willing it to ring again.
Countless thoughts raced through my head, but one predominantly stood out. Had I just missed the first sign of life?
My vision blurred, and I blinked hard when the phone’s screen lit up again. That time I didn’t hesitate. My thumb slid across the glass screen before I lifted the phone to my ear.
“Oh, thank God. I’m so sorry.” A rushed, feminine voice cutthrough the noise of the bar, and I knew instantly it wasn’t just anyone; it washer. “Arizona isn’t answering her phone and—” Her voice shook with panic.
“Where are you?”
“GPS says I’m two miles outside of town, but I’m stuck; my car has a flat tire.”
“T-town, as in Sutton River?” I stuttered, unable to mask my disbelief.
The last thing I heard before the call abruptly ended was her sharp gasp, a breath of pure shock that sliced through the static and lingered in my mind like a gut-wrenching echo. I yanked the phone from my ear, the screen now lifeless in my hand, while my attention sought out my brother.
The moment we locked eyes when he turned my way with Arizona’s hand in his, I saw red. My fists clenched involuntarily as fury surged through me. The anger rising in my chest, coupled with searing red-hot blood pulsating through my veins, had every nerve ending lit up like a live electrical wire. But it wasn’t until Jameson’s smile, so bright I wanted to wipe the floor with it, faltered that my stomach twisted.
“You good?” he asked hesitantly.
“You’re my brother, my fucking twin, the one person who truly knows the pain I’ve gone through; I can’t believe you kept this from me.”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“No clue?” I laughed with distaste coating my tongue. “That’s rich. You have no fucking clue, and yet, the love of my fucking life just called you.” I shoved him in the chest with both hands, causing him to lose his footing.
“Shit, Jaxon. Let me explain.”
“Explain? The time for explaining has passed.” I curled myfingers into a fist and sucker punched him in the face. The crack of his nose beneath my hand hadn’t even begun to touch the surface of my wrath. “I’ll never forgive you for this.”
With those parting words, I moved through the crowd, which parted for me like the Red Sea, creating a clear path as I made my way outside the bar.
Chapter Two
Jaxon
“Jaxon, wait!” Arizona’s voice cut through the commotion, sharp and frantic.
Fuck, that!
The door to the bar, which I’d just thrown open with a thunderous force, crashed shut behind me while the outside air slapped me in the face, biting deep into my skin, a stark contrast to the suffocating heat inside.
She was alive.
Lily was alive, and she was coming back here.
To Sutton River.
That knowledge made my center of gravity heavier. And hearing her voice for the first time after all these years was like having my heart's rhythm recalibrated. It was a jolt that shot straight through my chest, unearthing a rush of memories I’d spent years fighting to shove down.
Having spent what felt like an eternity wondering what had happened to her, dreaming up one version after another of thismoment, never knowing if I’d ever get the opportunity, and now that it was here, I was frozen.
Shellshocked.
But the reminder of Jameson’s burning betrayal quickly pulled me from my stupor, leaving a bitter taste in the back of my throat.
