Page 95 of Unlocking Melodies

The elevator doors opened with perfect timing - though knowing Mia, she'd probably orchestrated that too. I stepped in, turning to find my father and my most trusted colleague watching me with matching expressions of concerned determination.

“Bring him home,” my father said again, and this time I heard what he wasn't saying: Bring yourself home too.

The doors closed on their nodded support, and I let out a breath that felt like I'd been holding it for eight years. Three hours to Oakwood Grove. Three hours to figure out what Gary Reed was hiding.

And this time, I had the full weight of the Cole empire behind me.

Hold on, Jimmy. I'm coming. And I'm bringing reinforcements.

Chapter 24

Collateral Damage

Consciousness came back like a bad hangover - all pounding head and cotton-mouth, minus the fun memories of whatever caused it. The first thing I noticed was the smell. Hay and damp wood with a distinctive eau de cow that suggested I definitely wasn't in Kansas anymore. Or my apartment, for that matter.

My wrists burned, and it took my foggy brain a moment to realize why - rope, tight enough to make my fingers tingle. Real rope, not the fun kind Nina used for western-themed parties at The Watering Hole. This was the serious stuff, the kind that meant whoever tied it knew what they were doing.

Great. Just great.

I tried to move and immediately regretted it. My body felt like it had gone ten rounds with Melody in a bad mood, which was saying something considering she once knocked Ethan into a mud puddle for wearing the wrong cologne. The memory of him, covered in mud but still somehow looking unfairly attractive, hit harder than any physical pain.

Ethan. Was he okay? The last thing I remembered was leaving work, then... nothing. Just fragments of shouting and the peculiar sensation of falling. Had they gone after him too? The thought sent panic shooting through my chest, making it hard to breathe.

Focus, Jimmy. One crisis at a time.

My eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom. The space looked like an abandoned barn, moonlight filtering through gaps in the wooden walls. Old farm equipment cast strange shadows, and something that might have been a tractor lurked in the corner like a sleeping metal beast.

A groan from beside me nearly made me jump out of my skin. I wasn't alone. There, slumped against a support beam, was a sight that made my already churning stomach do additional acrobatics.

Gary. My father. Looking considerably worse for wear, with blood matting his hair and what promised to be some spectacular bruising around his eyes.

The conflicting emotions hit like a tidal wave - hatred for the man who'd abandoned me, who'd left me drowning in his debts and broken promises, warring with an instinctive concern that made me hate myself a little. Because no matter what he'd done, seeing him hurt made something in my chest ache.

My head throbbed, and suddenly memories crashed through the walls of my amnesia like breaking glass: Mom's funeral, rain soaking through my too-thin suit because Gary had pawned my good one. The way he'd disappeared right after, leaving nothing but a stack of medical bills and a note saying he'd “figure something out.” Me at eighteen, working three jobs to keep the debt collectors at bay, falling asleep in class because night shifts were the only way to make enough to cover his gambling debts.

The memories kept coming, sharp and clear now - Gary showing up at Rosewood with another scheme, another promise,another way to ruin everything I'd built. The look on Ethan's face when he found out about my father's latest “investment opportunity.” The way everything had fallen apart after that.

Funny how a knock to the head could bring back all the memories I'd rather stayed lost.

“Dad?” The word tasted bitter, but old habits died hard. “Hey, come on. Wake up. This really isn't the time for your usual disappearing act.

He stirred slightly, face contorting in pain. In the dim light, he looked older than I remembered - more gray in his hair, more lines around his eyes. Or maybe that was just the blood and bruises talking.

“Jimmy...” His voice came out rough, barely above a whisper. “You... shouldn't be here.”

“Yeah?” I couldn't keep the bite from my words. “Whose fault is that? Because I distinctly remember planning to spend my evening catching up on paperwork and spoiling my cat, not starring in 'Father-Son Bonding: The Horror Movie Edition.'”

He tried to sit up and immediately winced. “Still got that smart mouth, I see.”

“Well, someone had to maintain the family traditions. Since you were busy with your own - what was it this time? Another 'sure thing' investment? Another deal gone wrong?”

The bitterness surprised even me. I thought I'd moved past this - past him. But apparently being tied up in a creepy barn with your estranged father really brought out the old wounds.

“It's... complicated,” he managed.

“When isn't it with you?” My laugh came out harsh. “Let me guess - you owe the wrong people money again. Made promises you couldn't keep. The usual Greatest Hits of Gary Reed's Greatest Mistakes.”

He had the grace to look ashamed, though it was hard to tell under the blood and bruising. “Jimmy, I... I never meant for you to get involved.”

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