Page 24 of Line of Resistance

The evening was everything he hoped. Emmett turned out to be an accidentally decent poker player and managed to hang on to all of his chips and then some. Did it seem like a few of those were given to him? Maybe. But no one seemed upset or bothered to lose a little bit of cash to a kid who was clearly having the time of his life.

Nate was still nursing his second beer when Naomi came out of the bedroom where she was spending her evening binge watching Bridgerton. Her brows were pinched together and her cell phone was in one hand.

Tyson stood, abandoning their game to go to her side. “What’s wrong?”

Naomi’s expression was tight. “That was Jen. She’s been trying to call Eloise and it keeps going to voicemail.”

As much as he wanted to believe it would be easy to pretend his interest in Eloise was nonexistent, the mention of her name pulled every bit of his focus to where Naomi stood, looking concerned.

“Maybe she’s busy.” Tyson lifted one shoulder and let it drop. “Maybe she’s asleep.”

Naomi shook her head, lips pinching tight. “Eloise always answers her phone when one of us calls.” Her eyes met Tyson’s, serious and solemn. “Always.”

It was something he’d also noticed about Eloise. She was literally there the second anyone needed her. No questions asked. She’d helped Naomi out with babysitting on more than one occasion, rushing over at the last minute no matter what her initial plans were. At any party they had, she was the first one to jump in and help set up or do dishes, happily taking on any task with a wide smile on her face. It made sense that Eloise not answering her phone might be as concerning as Naomi was making it out to be.

And why he couldn’t make himself stay quiet. “Have you called her?”

Naomi’s gaze jumped to him as her head tipped to one side, irritation narrowing her eyes. “Of course I called her.” She slid one thumb across the screen of her cell, punching the call button and putting it to her ear, blowing out a breath. “It goes straight to voicemail.”

That was different from her not answering. Whether it was different good or different bad was still up in the air. “Is it possible she dropped her phone? Maybe it’s dead and she’s out getting a new one.”

His suggestion barely eased the tightness lifting Naomi’s shoulders higher with every passing second. “Maybe.” She chewed her lower lip, turning back to Tyson. “Could you go over to her apartment and make sure she’s okay? I won’t be able to relax until I know she’s fine.”

Tyson shifted on his feet, glancing back at the line of beers he downed during their game. “I’m not sure I should be on the road right now.”

Everyone around the table looked at each other. At this point practically all of Rogue lived in the neighborhood, so it was easy to walk home. That meant it was also easy to get shit-faced without worry.

Only Nate and Reed still lived on campus, which meant they were the only two who ever had to drive home. Not that they normally did. Any other time he would have been just as lit as Tyson, and ended the evening crashing on his couch, but it hadn’t seemed right to sit next to Emmett and tie one on. And that left him as the only one in the group capable of going out.

But it wouldn’t have mattered if someone else was also sober. The thought of anyone else going to check on Eloise, even one of the men he considered brothers, made his gut burn.

Nate stood. “I’ll go check on her.”

Naomi’s eyes rolled toward the ceiling. “Lord help me.” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then faced him down. “You better act right, or I swear—”

This was exactly why he had to stay away from Eloise. Already she was making things tense between him and the family he desperately wanted to keep. “I’ll just check on her and leave. That’s all. I promise.”

Naomi studied him through narrowed eyes. “You call me the second you see her.”

He nodded. “Got it.”

He collected his shit and headed out the door into the shitty weather. A storm hit heavy and hard earlier in the afternoon, dumping a heavy layer of thick white snow on everything. It normally wouldn’t have been a big deal, but it came down so fast it wasn’t easy to keep up with and the city was still attempting to dig out.

Luckily, Pierce paid well to make sure the roads of the little neighborhood where most of his family lived were the first cleared, so the trek out of the gated community was easy. Even the main roads of Fairbanks were already mostly passable, so it didn’t take much longer than normal to reach Eloise’s apartment.

Unfortunately, it was obvious she wasn’t there. There were no lights on inside and the snow leading up the steps was undisturbed.

Mostly.

An odd-shaped pile sat on the doorstep, the tip of a bottle of wine the only thing identifiable in the mess. He pulled to a stop, leaving his Jeep running as he trudged up the steps, kicking away as much of the snow as he could to clear the path in case Eloise made it back here after he left. The least he could do after everything was make sure her steps were clear.

He leaned across the small porch and rang the doorbell, continuing to knock the snow off the steps and the stoop as he waited, giving it another ring before shaking the snow from the collection of items stacked on her welcome mat.

It was definitely a gift of some sort. The fancy box was from a local gourmet shop that sold imported items and pricey red wine was crusted in ice and snow. He collected the items, along with the card accompanying them, and shoved everything into the floorboard of the front seat.

After kicking the bulk of the snow from his boots he climbed in and backed out, making a call using the touchscreen on his dash. Naomi answered on the first ring and he delivered the bad news. “She’s not here.”

She let out a loud breath. “Shit.”

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