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“Hey,” a husky male voice murmurs, and a warm set of lips brushes across my forehead.
My eyes flutter open, and it takes me a moment to focus and see Tanner leaning over me. His face is dirty, but he looks safe. He’s here. He’s alive. I make a happy sound in my throat and throw my good arm around his neck, pulling him down to me. His big body comes down over mine, gently, of course, and he wraps his arms around me. He smells like dirt, and gun powder, and possibly blood, but I try to ignore that.
“You’re here,” I whisper. “You came back.”
“I came back,” he says, pulling back and cupping my face in his palm. “Are you okay?”
I nod. “I’m okay.”
“I couldn’t stop fuckin’ thinkin’ about you. Felt like there was a knife in my stomach the whole time we were in there. Wonderin’ if you were okay, if you were goin’ to make it. Doctor told me they pulled the bullet out. You did good, babe.”
I smile, and then glance behind him. No Jo. No Tatum. No Garrett. No Chase.
“Where are they? Did something happen? Is everyone okay?”
Tanner glances over at Ethan, who is asleep, his head dropped forward. He looks back at me and sits on the edge of the bed. “It was intense, to say the least. They figured out who Jo was, I guess they had more knowledge than we thought. When we realized she wasn’t comin’ back out, we had to go in. It was fuckin’ horrible, but the cops showed up only minutes later and took the joint down. Arrested all of them. Few people got shot, but we managed to get out fine. Had to make a statement before I could come here.”
“And Chase?” I ask, my eyes wide.
“Got him, too. He’s with Tatum, they’re on their way here. Garrett and I had to make a few stops, sort a few things out, and then we said we would meet them back here. Thought they would be here before me, but they must have stopped, too.”
I nod, reaching for his hand and curling my tiny fingers around his big palm. “Was anyone hurt?”
“Jo got pushed around a bit, hit a couple of times, nothing major. She’s okay. Bit shaken up, but okay. She managed to plant what she needed to plant before they figured out who she was. Brave girl that friend of yours, couldn’t have done it without her.”
“She really is.” I smile, feeling a rush of warmth when I think about my best friend.
“We didn’t leave her in there long, had a gut feeling they figured it out. Must have got suspicious when she randomly came in, not too sure what tipped them off, but we got to her before they could do too much damage.”
“Did you ... shoot anyone?”
Tanner shakes his head. “Tatum did, but nobody can prove it was him, there was too much gunfire when the cops came in, think he got away with it.”
“Will you get into trouble?”
Tanner shrugs. “No idea. Unless the cops get suspicious that we planted the goods there, then no. We gave them the information, told them we were tryin’ to get our friend, we brought a huge fuckin’ operation down. If anything, they owe us.”
Good point.
“I’m so glad everyone is okay; I was so worried.”
Tanner glances at Ethan, then says, “He stay with you?”
I look over at my friend and smile. “Didn’t leave my side. He’s good to me, Tanner. I know he means something to you, too. You should put the past behind you and mend fences. It would mean a lot to him.”
Tanner nods, his eyes seemingly distant, and then he murmurs, “Yeah, maybe.”
He looks back down to me and leans forward, brushing his lips across mine. I take it, relishing in how good it feels for a moment. “Was so scared,” he says against my neck as he nestles down, holding me close. “For a fuckin’ minute there, I thought you were gone. Made me realize what I did to you, Callie ...”
“Is in the past,” I say, tipping my head to the side and breathing him in. “It’s done. It can’t be undone.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
“I want to move forward, with you, clean slate.”
“Me, too,” I whisper.
“Thank fuck for that.”
He releases me and stands. “I’m goin’ to find a shower, and then I’m comin’ back to stay with you until you get out of here, understand?”
I smile, nodding. “Understood.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
He disappears and, while he’s gone, Ethan wakes and goes and gets some dinner. I eat the food the nurses bring me and wait for the doctor to come and check on me. They’re happy with my progress and finally move me to a ward where I’m put up in a far more comfortable bed. I have a sponge bath, get changed, and am just getting comfortable when Tanner returns. He’s clean now, his hair still damp from a shower, his clothes fresh.
There is a look on his face, though.
A look that bothers me.
He glances around the room, and his eyes narrow.
“You’re back,” I say once the nurse leaves the room. “Is everything okay?”
“They’re not here with you?”
“Jo and Tatum?”
He nods.
“No, they haven’t come in.”
Tanner pulls out his phone and dials, listening for a few seconds and then hanging up. He tries again. Then shoves his phone into his pocket just as Ethan walks into the room, clean as well. Tanner turns around, facing him. “Have you seen them?”
“Who?” Ethan asks.
“Jo, Tatum, and Chase?”
Ethan shakes his head, “No.”
“What’s going on, Tanner?” I ask, my heart suddenly jerking into a race of its own.
“They should be here. Went to the motel, nobody has been there. Called them, all their phones are off. I don’t know where they are.”
Oh, god.
“Maybe they stopped for dinner?” I ask, my voice shaky.
It’s shaky because I know they wouldn’t turn their phones off to have dinner. I also know Jo wouldn’t stay away from me a second longer than she had to.
Something is wrong.
Something is very fucking wrong.
“No. They were coming straight back here.”
“Maybe they turned Chase in?” Ethan asks.
“Tatum would have told me, and he isn’t about to turn his brother in,” Tanner murmurs, running his hands through his hair.
“Tanner?” I whisper. “What does this mean?”
“It means something went wrong, Callie,” he tells me, his eyes meeting mine. “It means they’re gone.”
Gone?
Gone where?
TO BE CONTINUED....