Page 124 of Keep Me

Enid is shocked, and Nikki is a slut for good gossip and drama, so she eats the entire story up, wanting all the juicy details. When Enid realizes Nikki doesn’t know the full story about how they came to our house in Scotland and the way Killian escorted them out, she has to tell that part of the story herself.

We’re all laughing together when I feel my phone buzz in my back pocket. A sense of relief washes over me as I assume it’s Killian. Pulling it out, my face falls when I see that it’s not him.

It’s his sister.

Quickly, I swipe open the call and step away to give Anna my full attention. Immediately, I hear her panic.

“Sylvie!” she shrieks in tears. “He needs you, Sylvie. You have to comenow.”

My eyes widen with fear as something cold and heavy lands in the pit of my stomach. “Anna, where is he? What happened?”

Already I’m moving. I don’t even say a word to the girls as I burst out the front door, walking toward my apartment. I’m just a few blocks from my place.

“He’s gone,” she wails into the phone.

“What do you mean he’s gone?”

“He’snot here!” Her voice is frantic and screaming. “My auntcalled me this morning to tell me that Killian had just dropped off the deed for the house to her, and then he was gone. No explanation. No warning. I’m scared, Sylvie. What if he’s gone somewhere to hurt himself? What if we drove him to do it? He was doing so well.”

My hands are shaking now with fear, and I know she’s being hysterical. I know Killian would never do that. Don’t I?

I haven’t seen him face-to-face in months. What if he’s lied to me? He’s made me believe he was fine before.

And he didn’t answer my call today.

“I’m coming, Anna,” I say because it’s the only thing I can manage at the moment. I’m sprinting now, just a few blocks from my street. I’ll pack my bag in less than five minutes and be at the airport within an hour. I could be in Scotland by morning, and we will find him. He has to be all right.

“Please, Sylvie. You’re the only person I knew to call. He talks about you so much still, so I knew you would help us. He needs you.”

“I’m coming,” I say again. Nothing could stop me. I’ve never moved with so much purpose in my entire life. I’ve never felt something so true and real. There are no doubts or questions. If my husband needs me, I will be there—every single time.

“Anna, I’m almost home. Let me try to call him again. I’ll let you know when I get a flight at the airport.”

“Please hurry,” she sobs.

“I’m hurrying.” With that, I hang up the phone.

I have to cross one more intersection before I’m on my street. The light takes forever to turn, and all the while, I’m running through possibilities in my head. Maybe he’s on a bender with his friends somewhere, drunk out of his mind. Or he met someone and stayed at her place. Or he decided to leave us all behind and took off like a thief in the night.

Or the very real possibility…he had an attack somewhere, and I wasn’t there to help ground him. And he got hurt or worse.

Finally, the light turns, and we cross. I sprint to the next street, making the last turn as his phone’s voicemail picks up again.

“Damn it!” I snap as I shove my phone back into my pocket. Then, I look up from the street and stop dead in my tracks.

My chest is heaving for air, and I’m staring down the long street with my building halfway down. There, onmystoop, is a large dark-haired man sitting on the steps as if he were waiting for me. I continue walking toward the apartment, not wanting to let my heart get away with my head.

But the closer he comes into focus, the more hope I allow myself to feel.

Then he sees me coming. In one quick movement, he stands, and I gasp as goose bumps cover my skin. My heart might as well fall out of my chest and down to the cement. My hand covers my mouth as I walk toward him.

I’m begging my mind not to play tricks on me. I need to know it’s him before I let myself believe it. And when he smiles, that same smile I saw on the beach, I break out in a full sprint. My shoes click against the pavement as my legs carry me the rest of the way, anticipating the moment when I have my arms around him again.

And when I finally get there, I launch myself against him so hard I nearly knock him off his feet.

Chapter Forty

Killian’s body is large and warm in my arms, and hearing his breath in my ear feels like home. My arms are clutched tight around his neck as his huge arms engulf me, pinning me in place against him.

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