Page 79 of Bad & Bossy

I wanted to.

But I didn’t.

“Cole,” Hunter said, his face in front of me, his hands on my shoulders. “Do you understand what just happened?”

Behind him, security was escorting out my mother and father and the two little shits they’d brought with them. My father had said something about them, just before my hands wrapped around his throat.

“Dana,” I rasped. The high was slowly coming down, reality settling back in. “Where’s Dana?”

“I’m here.”

A hand slid into mine, her fingers so fucking small between my own. I turned to her, taking in the hint of fear and trepidation in her face, the way her brows rose and her lower lip quivered. Fuck.

“I’m sorry,” I breathed, squeezing her hand as I looked between her and Hunter, and behind them, Lottie and Gray, Penny in his arms and burying her face in his neck. He was the furthest away from me.

That hurt.

“I don’t know what happened,” I said, sucking in a shaky breath. “I don’t… fuck, man, how badly did I mess up?”

Hunter shook his head as he slowly released my shoulders, his tie and shirt askew. “I stepped in before it got too bad. I don’t think anyone heard much other than a few choice words.”

“I’ll get you some water,” Dana offered, and although it shouldn’t have, although it was just her way of trying to help, it stung.

“I need to go.”

“What?” Dana said, squeezing my hand tighter, but I dropped it.

“I have to go. I’m sorry. I can’t, I can’t be here.”

Chapter 28

Dana

“Ben!”

I rushed down the hallway, slipping past a woman carrying a stack of papers as she gave me a look that said, “You don’t belong up here.” Even though I looked the part of a tour guide, even though I technically only had clearance to be up here if I was going from point A to point B, I didn’t give a shit.

Cole had been gone for four fucking days. No texts, no calls, nothing. He’d taken off so quickly at the launch that none of us could keep up with him, and by the time Grayson and I piled into a car, leaving Penny with Hunter and Lottie, we didn’t even know which direction to head. We’d checked every liquor store in Boulder, checked his house, checked the apartment he’d left abandoned last year.

Gray had to calm me down when I saw the sheer amount of empty bottles scattered across the floor of it.

“He hasn’t been here since before rehab,” he’d said. “He gave me the only set of keys.”

But something in the pit of my stomach just knew.

“Dana?” Ben asked in confusion, his brow raising as I finally caught up to him. “You’re not supposed to be up here.”

“Have you seen Cole?” I asked, catching my breath as I clung to the loose sleeve of his ill-fitting suit jacket for support. “He’s not in his office. I’ve checked every damn day this week?—”

“He’s not in.” Both brows rose as he took a step back, taking away my support. “He sent me an email a few days ago saying he was taking some time off and left me to deal with all this launch shit.”

Time off? “What?”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“No, he didn’t fucking tell me,” I huffed, bearing my weight with both hands on my knees.

“But I thought you guys were like…”

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