Page 52 of The Scout

I needed out. I needed to breathe.

By the time I made it downstairs, Marcus was in the foyer, leaning against the wooden staircase with his arms crossed. His hair was still damp, his broad frame relaxed but alert, like he had been expecting me.

“I was gonna make breakfast,” he said, tilting his head slightly. “But something tells me you’re about to make a run for it.”

I sighed, tugging at the hem of my dress. “I need to go.”

Marcus arched a brow. “You sure about that? Because I get the feeling Ryker isn’t done with you yet.”

“I’m done with him,” I shot back, though the words tasted hollow.

Marcus didn’t argue. He just studied me for a beat longer before finally nodding. “Come on, then. I’ll take you wherever you need to go.”

I exhaled in relief, following him out to the driveway.

Marcus drove me back to The Sound Barn, where my car was still parked in the lot, miraculously untouched and untowed. A small mercy. I slid into the driver’s seat, gripping the wheel for a second, trying to ground myself before starting the engine. My body ached with exhaustion. I needed more sleep.

I headed straight to my apartment, the familiarity of it feeling both comforting and foreign after everything that had happened. Pia was already gone for work—another small mercy. I wasn’t ready to explain everything yet, to see the concern in her eyes, to answer the inevitable questions that I didn’t have answers for.

Instead, I took the fastest shower of my life, scrubbing away the salt, sweat, chlorine, and Ryker from my skin. As if washing him away would erase what had happened between us.

It didn’t.

I pulled on a pair of soft joggers and a loose sweater, something comfortable, something that made me feel normal even when my world was anything but. My damp hair hung in loose waves, and I swiped a bit of concealer under my eyes, but it wasn’t enough to hide the exhaustion, the way my eyes felt too hollow, too haunted.

Still, it was enough to make me look put together, enough to make sure I didn’t walk into The Palmetto Rose looking like a woman on the verge of collapse.

I grabbed my keys, took one last deep breath, and headed out the door.

I found myself standing outside the hotel, staring up at its grand façade, feeling like a stranger in my own world.

I should have been here hours ago.

Should have been standing behind the front desk, smiling at guests, handing out keycards, acting like my life hadn’t just been ripped apart at the seams. But I hadn’t shown up for my shift. Because how could I?

Sasha had covered for me.

She had texted me earlier to say she told management I had a family emergency, and it wasn’t a lie.

My brother was missing.

I stepped inside, the cool air-conditioning washing over me as I made my way through the marble-floored lobby. The familiar scent of jasmine and rose did nothingto soothe me. Instead, it felt wrong. Like I had outgrown this place overnight.

Sasha was behind the front desk, speaking to a guest, but her eyes widened when she saw me. She quickly finished up, then rounded the counter, grabbing my arm and dragging me toward the back office.

The door barely closed before she turned on me.

“Where the hell did you go last night?” she demanded. “You ran out of The Sound Barn like the devil was on your heels, and then I didn’t hear from you again. What happened?”

I exhaled slowly, wrapping my arms around myself.

“It’s Will.”

Sasha’s expression shifted instantly. The irritation vanished, replaced with something sharp, concerned.

“What about him?”

I swallowed against the tightness in my throat. “He’s missing.”

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