Page 46 of Love Shots

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Teddy looked at his watch again. Where on earth was Summer? Twenty minutes his ass. She’d been gone almost an hour now. After forty minutes he’d tried to call her, only to realize she’d left her phone there. In her purse. Then he’d tried calling her landline. Then the bar. But nothing. No answer. Seeing as she’d taken his truck, he was currently considering some sort of smoke signal.

“You look like you’re about to give the buffet table a beatdown, man, you okay?” Jake collapsed into the seat next to him.

“Yeah. No. I don’t know.” Teddy scrubbed his face in frustration.

“Well, that clears that up.” Jake continued to eye him cautiously.

Teddy’s gaze went back to the house. His eyes had been straying there for the past hour, hoping to get a glimpse of Summer swaying back over to him. Maybe then the roiling in his gut would stop.

“Sorry, man, it’s just Summer’s supposed to be back by now ... she took my truck to go pick something up from the apartment and then she was gonna come straight back.” He flicked his eyes back to Jake. “I’m worried. I can’t get a hold of her.”

Understanding, Jake nodded before reaching into his back pocket. “Here, take my truck.” Teddy caught the keys tossed at him. “Go check on her.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, man. Go check on your woman. Hell, you don’t even need to bring it back—party’s almost over anyways. Keep it and I’ll pick it up tomorrow. Lily and I will hitch a lift with Ali and Brady.”

Teddy was out of his seat before Jake had even finished talking. Grabbing Summer’s purse, he offered his friend a chin lift and was on the move.

Thankful he’d only indulged in one drink; he climbed into Jake’s truck and started the engine. His mind was still all over the place and his stomach continued to flip. Something was wrong. He could feel it.

The longest ten minutes of his life ensued as he envisioned everything from a car accident to Summer falling down the stairs and breaking her ankle.

As he finally drove down main street, it didn’t take him long to spot his truck. That had to be a good sign. Surely. It meant Summer was still at the apartment. Then why didn’t he feel better?

“Keep it together, man,” he mumbled as he parked and jumped out. Headed straight to the bar, it took no time at all to reach Mickey's.

The bar was locked, dark, and empty. After switching on the lights, he rounded the bar and headed for the back stairwell leading up to Summer’s apartment. Even though he was mildly relieved not to find her injured at the bottom of the staircase, he was all too aware of how quiet it was. And dark. If she’d have been there, she hadn’t switched on any lights.

Taking the stairs two at a time, he unlocked the door only to find more darkness. Cursing under his breath, he flicked them on and did a quick check of the apartment. Empty.

Damnit. Where is she?

Now he was starting to panic. This wasn’t some bad movie. People didn’t just disappear. Something bad had to have happened. He knew it. Every hair on the back of his neck pricked up. Every muscle tightened. His heart began thumping for freedom.

Minutes later, he was outside Mickey’s, phone in hand. He stared intently at the glowing screen as if it had all the answers. No calls. No messages. And still no freaking clue. Trying to decide who to call first, the police or the hospital, he began to pace the street. His foot froze mid-step as he got to the side alley. A splash of blood on the concrete caught his attention.

No. No. No.

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