Page 41 of Entwined Hearts

There’s a follow-up message five minutes after it:Don’t worry.

Occasionally, the Marine Corp grants these unexpected bouts of leave. The last one was six months ago, and Scott’s visit then was the reason I was able to convince Paige to move back to Bishop. He must be back from Afghanistan. He’d be due a few days of family leave.

There’s another message, this one from today:Can you babysit tomorrow night?

Flipping the phone over, I refocus on the drive. I know my sister is excited to see him. It’s good for them to try to be a family, but with everything that’s happened, I’m instantly on edge.

I should be there. I swore to keep her safe.

A tight groan leaves my lips, and I run a hand through my hair. Fuck. This is not good.

I tell myself to calm down. Paige would have sent a message if she needed me. I’m tempted to call my dad to go over there and make sure everything’s okay. But I don’t because I know he’ll say I should butt out.

Fuck that.

While I know Scott is trying, he shouldn’t be alone with them.

Pressing the accelerator down, I watch the dial jump. I send Paige a text, telling her I’m on my way home. Twenty minutes later, she hasn’t replied.

I decide to drop my friends at the Mexican place, then swing by Paige’s, make sure everything’s okay.

I’m suddenly glad Anya’s not with me. I blow a hard breath at the windshield, gripping the wheel.

At the parking lot, I idle on the curb until the group emerges from Kabir’s car. Confusion passes over Anya’s face when she sees me still in the truck.

“I just have to go check on something,” I say, my voice sounding tight. “I’ll be right back.”

“Want us to order for you?” Kabir asks.

I can’t think about food right now. “Sure.”

Kabir nods, and I put the truck in gear. As I pull away from the curb, I can feel Anya watching me.

With each turn in the road, the feeling that something’s wrong intensifies. Paige should have checked in by now. I think about Maddy and the things I overhear her say when she’s playing with her stuffed animals, things that break my heart.They need me, I think, exhaling a hard breath.

Everything’s probably fine. I’ll be back at the restaurant in no time. After, I’ll drive Anya home and maybe never come back.

The lights on the houses blip by in a blur as I turn down Paige’s street, my ribs contracting with the tension brewing behind my lungs.

In front of her house, I see her little Hyundai and a blue Ford sedan with Nevada plates. I park on the street behind it. When I turn off the engine, I hear the thing I’d most feared.

I bolt from the truck, adrenaline pumping into my veins.

When I hear Maddy’s muffled scream, I leap onto the porch. But the door is locked. I dig out my keys, but they might as well be a handful of spoons. Finally, I get the right key in the lock, turn the knob, and race inside.

My brain does a lightning-quick assessment. Scott has Paige cornered in the kitchen, his bulging muscles flexed. Maddy isn’t in the room, but I can hear her crying. While I want to comfort her, she’s safe for now. Besides, I have a bigger problem.

“No,” Paige yells, but her voice is garbled by sobs.

“Then who was texting you?” Scott demands, his angry voice overpowering the small space.

“Just a client,” Paige says, pleading with him to believe her. “It’s nothing!”

“Scott!” I bark, my feet pounding the floor as I enter the kitchen. “Let her go.” My anger throbs like a depth charge inside me.

“Fuck off, Colby,” Scott says. He slams Paige against the refrigerator. “You fucked him, didn’t you?”

I tear at his arm, and he wheels on me.

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