“She’s on a job.” Why did I feel like such a dick at that moment? My woman was out there, doing God knew what, and I was here waiting for her, completely helpless.
“What job?” Julian entered the kitchen, the white sleeves of his shirt rolledup.
“She left this morning. I was still sleeping. This is the note sheleft.”
I pulled the paper out of my pocket, barely able to control the shaking in my hand. Julian read the note and bit into an apple. His nerves were definitely made of steel.
“Okay, so Hunter went with her. She’s got her gun. They’re fine. No worries.”
“She has a gun? Listen, you may not be worried, but I can’t helpit.”
“It comes with the job, Eric. You’ll get used to it,” Kendra chimedin.
“I just wish she’d call. She knows the dinner’s in anhour.”
“That’s our Emma.” Julian pulled out his laptop. “Look, if it makes you feel any better, I can check where she is. But if she finds out we snooped, she won’t like it. I’m blaming this onyou.”
“Do it. I’ll take the blame.” As I wondered how he could track her, my gut jumped at the chance to get some information – any kind of news would be better than no news atall.
Julian began clicking on his laptop, and after a few moments he froze.
“What isit?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed his phone and dialed a number. “Meet me at the airport as soon as you can.” And without saying anything else, he hungup.
“Julian, what isit?”
“Emma’s in Ogden. Her phone has been in the same spot for the past three hours. I don’t have a ping on Hunter. If that fucker set a trap, she may be in trouble.”
“So her being in one spot isn’t normal?” I asked.
“What is your gut tellingyou?”
“No, it’s not. Shit!”
“K, I gotta go. I’m sorry to ruin the party, but if Emma’s still in Ogden, then there’s no way she’ll make it anyway.”
“I’m coming with you.” I nearly jumped into my shoes.
“Hell, no.”
“Look, you’re going to need someone who knows his way around. And there’s no way I’ll just sit here while my girl is out there looking for a bastard I should never have told her about.”
Julian took a deep breath in before saying, “Fine. You better pray she’s all right.”
Afraid to freak him out even more, I didn’t want to tell him that I’d been praying since this morning.
Before I knew it we were on another jet, flying back to Ogden while my parents were on their way to New York. While both brothers clicked on the laptops and made phone calls, I listened, wondering whether there was anything I could do tohelp.
“Let’s hope this is all for nothing.” Tristan’s scarred lip twitched as he leaned back in his seat. “So, what’s gonna happen when all this settles, Eric? With you and Emma, Imean.”
“I want her to stay on my ranch.”
“She’s a citygirl.”
“So I’ve heard. But I think she needs the country.”
“Or is it just you who needsher?”