Page 14 of Lonely Heart

“I’ll call Cooper and tell him I have something to take care of today. I don’t call off from work for nothing, so he’s not going to give me a hard time about it.”

I knew that was the truth. Marco and Cooper might have been best friends, but Marco never took advantage of that fact when it came to work. Without a valid reason, he never called off from work.

“Okay. Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all. And I don’t want you to think I’m pressuring you about it, but I’m curious what your plans are for telling your family about what happened last night?”

I closed my eyes and sighed. When I blinked them open, I confessed, “I honestly don’t know. I think my dad and my brothers are going to lose their minds. My mom and Jules are going to be horrified. And if there’s one thing I can be certain of, it’s that all of them, along with Ava, Rhea, and Skye, are going to surround me with love.”

“Well, you can add me to that list, too.”

Warmth moved through me, and a smile spread across my face. “Thank you. I don’t plan to keep it from them, but I’d like to deal with the police before I get all of them involved.”

“Alright, well, how about I get up and make that call to Cooper, since I should have already been at work,” he reasoned. “Then we’ll have some breakfast and get you down to the station.”

If I was honest, I wanted to stay right where I was for the rest of the day, perhaps longer. But I knew it wasn’t an option, so I had no choice but to nod in agreement. “That sounds like a plan.”

Just as Marco let go of my hand and moved to get out of the bed, a knock came at the door.

I gasped and bolted up in the bed, my body going rigid. “Who’s that?” I panicked, my wide eyes pleading with Marco’s.

He shook his head and stood. “I don’t know. Sit tight, and I’ll check.”

As he made his way out of the bedroom, I realized I didn’t want to be a sitting duck. If that guy had followed me here last night, if he knew where I was, I couldn’t risk being out in the open.

I moved to the doorway to the bedroom and listened as Marco opened the door. And what I heard next had my body stiffening.

“Hey, man. Is everything okay?”

My brother.

Why was Cooper here?

“Coop? What are you doing here?”

My stomach trembled with nerves. Not that I was unsafe, but with the uncertainty of what could happen if Cooper learned not only about what happened to me last night, but that his best friend had stayed the night with me.

“Well, I tried to call you this morning, but you didn’t answer,” Cooper said. “I saw Toby when I was leaving last night. He was at your truck getting you your T-shirt, and when I asked him what was going on, he said that he had just brought you a first-aid kit while you were working on the dryer and that you said you were just going to crash in this room last night. I was going to come up here right away, but then I got a call from Skye, and I could tell something wasn’t right with her, so I rushed home.”

“Is she okay?”

Cooper hesitated. “Yes, but… wait. What happened to you? Why did you need a first-aid kit?”

Marco cleared his throat. “Oh, um, I got a cut and needed some ointment. Plus, I whacked my head and thought an ice pack would be a wise move.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay. Did you need help with the dryer?”

“No, I got it taken care of. I’m sorry for not answering earlier. My phone was with my tools, and I forgot.”

I heard movement and realized Cooper wasn’t planning to just leave. My hand clutched my stomach, the trembling becoming more intense.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not a big deal. I’m kind of glad you’re here, because I wanted to tell you about what happened last night with Skye.”

“Oh, right, yeah. What happened with her? You said she was okay, right?” I couldn’t miss the nervousness in Marco’s tone. He was worried that the three of us were in this suite and only two of us were aware of that fact. God, I hoped he could keep Cooper in the living area, so he wouldn’t know I was here.

“Technically, yes, she’s okay, but?—”

“But what?”

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