Page 73 of Hidden Echoes

I stare at the phone for a moment, trying to process what the hell just happened.

Excellent.

Now, not only has Mia been missing for hours, but apparently some random stranger is deciding whether I'm worthy of rescue or not.

The location takes me to an open space near a bonfire, with a group of people spread out there, some drinking, others dancing, and a guy with dreadlocks trying to balance a beer bottle on his head.

And then I see her.

Mia is passed out on a blanket on the floor, her face too relaxed for someone who is normally ready to rip someone's head off.

Beside her, three girls stare at me as if I were an exotic animal about to perform some trick.

The one holding Mia's phone smiles when she sees me, crossing her arms.

"Oh, so you're the asshole. Well, it's a small world, and that’s juicy," she says, her tone dripping with sarcasm and amusement. Her face looks strangely familiar, like I should know her, but I can’t place her for the life of me.

"What?"

"You. The guy Mia married. Do your siblings know? "

But what the fuck? Why is she asking about my kin?

I run my hand over my face, feeling a headache coming on.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Audrey Ross," she replies casually. "But you can call me trouble, because that's what you have now for hurting Mia. I don't know what disappoints me more, your shitty memory or your terrible skills at keeping a woman happy. You used to be my favorite Hill. " She says and I roll my eyes.

My brain freezes for a second.

Ross.

"Wait, Ross like—"

"Connor Ross's little sister, your brother's best friend," she finishes for me, smiling as if amused by my existential crisis. "Yeah, that's the one."

I close my eyes for a moment. This can't be happening. Wait.

"Is Seth Evans here too?" I ask, my mind already racing with how I can get Mia and make a quick escape if he’s around. People who get under Audrey’s skin don’t have a great track record—if they even have a track record at all.

“Why would Seth be here?” she asks even more irritated and Liv laughs.

“Is he?”

“No!” she yells.

So he might be here, but she doesn't know it.

“Please stop looking around like a pathetic man,” Audrey grumbles. “The boys, including your brother, are busy on a mission or something. So no, he’s not here. I’m here with other friends.”

Weird. Since when does Audrey Ross hang out with anyone who isn’t Seth Evans? And why isn’t Seth in his usual weirdly protective mode? Something’s off.

"So Kyle already knows that you were stupid enough to drunkenly marry a girl you met like, what, a month ago?" Audrey asks, clearly delighted by the information.

"Be still," I say, massaging my temples.

She shrugs. “I was just asking. If I were you, I'd be more concerned about getting Mia out of here before she wakes up and decides she wants to fight you. She was pretty upset before she passed out, and honestly, she passed out after looking at a picture on my phone.”

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