Page 55 of Caffeine & Chaos

Trail cam down at the creek. Nadia felt a rush of embarrassment flood her cheeks as she stared down at her plate, unable to meet anyone’s gaze. Teetering between extreme humiliation and unbridled rage, Nadia forced herself to remain seated; to remain civil.

When Nadia finally dared to look up, she was met with Justin’s sickening grin as he nonchalantly loaded another forkful of casserole. She could practically see the amusement dancing in his eyes, barely contained behind that smug facade. Bastard.

Ryan squeezed Nadia’s leg, silently promising to deal with Justin once his father returned to the hospital.

“I’ve been up and down the property multiple times today, and I haven’t seen any sign of those coyotes. Maybe they’ve moved on,” Melanie said.

“Doubt it,” scoffed Daniel, “But thank-you for doing that, Mel. You’ve been a huge help to us,” he added.

Nadia’s stomach twisted with unease at the thought of Ryan’s brother watching them have sex. She felt violated and seethed with anger towards Ryan for not considering the possibility of cameras on the property.

Then again, maybe that was unfair. The cameras could have been installed after Ryan left, he hadn’t been home in a long time, after all. Regardless, he needed to beat the living hell out of Justin and ensure any recordings were promptly destroyed.

Nadia’s phone began buzzing in her pocket, and while she normally wouldn’t dream of checking it while at dinner with guests, she desperately wanted to escape this situation. She was seething angry, thoroughly disgusted, feeling inadequate in Melanie’s shadow, and didn’t have anything worthwhile to add to a conversation about coyotes and cows.

Slipping her hand into the loose pocket of her dress, Nadia retrieved her phone and glanced at the caller ID. It displayed a Miami area code, but she didn’t recognize the number. A moment later, her phone buzzed again, signaling a voicemail. She’d check it later.

Nadia shoved her food around on her plate, while the ranch-oriented conversation hummed around her. Her phone started buzzing again and she slipped it out of her pocket to check it. It was Mandy calling her. Another buzz indicating a voicemail followed it up, along with another buzz indicating a text message.

“Everything okay?” Ryan quietly asked, while Justin, Melanie, and Daniel traded barbs over who was a better shot with the rifle.

“Absolutely not. I am horribly uncomfortable, and I want to blacken your brother’s other eye,” Nadia whispered.

“Don’t you worry, I’ll take care of all that, the prick,” Ryan sneered, before turning to Nadia in concern, “I meant your phone is going off like crazy.”

“I’ve missed a couple of calls, one from a Miami number I don’t recognize and one from Mandy. I’ve got a couple of voicemails, and a text from Mandy as well,” Nadia said, lifting her phone up from below the table.

“Go ahead and check it, they’ll be at each other for a while yet, they probably won’t even notice,” Ryan reassured her.

Mandy: ARE YOU ALL ALRIGHT? The police just came by the café, looking for you. Said they were concerned for your well being!

Nadia’s heart raced with alarm as she stared at the unexpected message. Why were the police looking for her? Confusion and bewilderment washed over her, leaving her mind racing with unanswered questions.

“I think the unknown Miami number might have been the police department. I need to check the voicemail,” Nadia whispered urgently to Ryan.

“What? Why?” Ryan’s protective instinct kicked in immediately, and he reached for his phone. “I’m going to make a call. I’ve got some connections there,” he said determinedly.

“Just give me a minute to check this voicemail. Mandy might be overreacting; she’s pretty dramatic,” Nadia insisted.

Nadia excused herself from the table, intending to check the voicemail in privacy, but Ryan immediately followed her. It seemed she wouldn’t be handling this alone after all.

Once they were in the living room, Nadia checked the voicemail:

“This is Detective Aldana with the Miami Police Department. I’m looking to speak with Nadia Moore of Unit 6513 in the Parkline Miami Building. Call me back at 1-305-603…”

Nadia’s heart was pounding in her ears. Why were the police looking for her and concerned about her safety?

“Well?” Ryan impatiently asked as she ended the call to her voicemail box.

“It was a call from a Detective, umm, Aldana from the MPD,” Nadia fought to clear her head.

“I don’t like this, I don’t like this one bit,” Ryan was pacing around the living room.

“It’s got to be some kind of a misunderstanding, I haven’t broken any laws, and I’m obviously completely safe here with you,” Nadia slowly lowered herself onto the tired floral couch, frowning out the window.

“This isn’t about broken laws; they think you are missing and in danger. Your picture just hit the tabloids with me and now the cops are looking for you? Something isn’t right here,” Ryan continued to pace the room.

“You think it’s related to my relationship with you?” Nadia asked, struggling to keep up with Ryan’s thought train.

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