Page 86 of Hero's Prize

A couple of women saw the exchange and glared at Ella for a moment before laughing and leaning their heads close together to whisper. Ella couldn’t hear, and didn’t want to be paranoid, but she could swear they were saying things about her. As they got closer in line, they waved Tony over to ask him something, looking in her direction again. Whatever he responded made them roll their eyes. Tony shrugged and walked away.

Was she being paranoid? Ella had never been one to make everything about her—she preferred to be out of the limelight. Though she couldn’t help but feel like these women were talkingabout her. Although it shouldn’t matter. Even if they were, there was nothing she could do about it.

But more concerning had been that discussion with Tony. Arguably, he knew Colton better than anyone else, especially when it came to his career. And she couldn’t help but think that when Tony had been talking about the questionable choices Colton had been making recently…

He was talking abouther.

CHAPTER

THIRTY

Ella sat up in bed from a sound sleep, trying to figure out what was wrong. Sometimes this happened when she’d forgotten to do something at the bakery and her subconscious realized it. Had she forgotten to turn off an oven? Were there some ingredients she’d forgotten to order that she would need later in the week?

No, that couldn’t be it. She’s gone shopping yesterday with Colton and?—

Colton. He wasn’t in bed with her. That’s what had woken her up.

She glanced toward the bathroom but that door was open, so he wasn’t in there. She made her way out of bed and padded into the kitchen. Maybe he’d gotten hungry. But he wasn’t there either.

Had he left?

They both had gone to bed a little early, the incident at the sporting goods store having taken a lot of Colton’s energy. He’d apologized multiple times for it taking so long. Not that an apology was necessary.

She walked over to a front window and peeked out. His truck was still parked out front, so he had to be here somewhere.

“Colton?”

She wasn’t sure that searching for him was even the right thingto do. Maybe he needed some time to decompress. Maybe he wanted to be alone.

She didn’t call out for him anymore, but she walked around and noticed all the doors were open so he couldn’t be here inside. Her house wasn’t very big, and unless he was sitting in one of the closets, he wasn’t in here.

She rubbed the heels of her hand against tired eyes. Where could he be? She glanced out the window one more time, thinking perhaps he was out walking. But the sidewalks were clear. He couldn’t?—

Wait, was that a shadow in the cab of his truck? She squinted and watched for a few more seconds. Yes, he was definitely in there. Maybe he’d forgotten something. But he didn’t seem to be moving or looking for anything.

Finally, she decided to go out there and see if he needed something. Wrapping herself in her favorite cardigan, she walked out and tapped on the window.

She knew immediately he wasn’t okay. He jerked away from the window at the sound, but his eyes were wide and unfocused.

Shit. He was in the middle of a panic attack.

She slowly eased the truck door open. “Colton? It’s Ella.” She wasn’t sure how coherent he was during these events.

His breath sawed in and out of his chest at way too rapid a pace for someone as fit as Colton who wasn’t doing anything.

Should she touch him? Should she leave him alone?

She couldn’t stop herself; she had to try to help him. She slowly moved her hand toward his arm, ready to jump back if he got violent. She touched him as gently as possible, concerned at how clammy his skin was under her fingers. Cold, yet she saw sweat beading on his forehead.

He stared down at her hand, his breath still coming way too fast.

“Colton?” She was careful to keep her voice even. Not betraying any of her own panic at seeing him this way. “Can you come back to me?”

She had no idea if she was saying the right thing.

“It’s late. Still dark out. Do you think you might want to come inside? I would like for you to come inside.”

He blinked rapidly at her. Maybe she was getting through to him. She kept talking and rubbing his arm gently.

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