Page 115 of Creed

“Yep,” I squeak and get out.

He presses the fob to lock the car, and we hurry into the hotel from the back parking lot. He opens the door for me, and we head straight for the elevators.

“Did you eat?” he asks, and I shake my head. “We have brunch in the room. We’ll order up fresh stuff for you, though.”

“No, that’s okay. I’m barely hanging on to my stomach’s contents as it is.”

The door dings and opens onto our floor, and Miguel looks down at me with concern. “Food is just as important as sleep.”

I roll my eyes at him. “Okay, Father.”

He smirks. Our loosely jovial nature falls away when we enter the hotel suite, especially when I see Ryn and her security team in the room.

Antonio rushes to me, enveloping me in a hug, and I cling to him, feeling like he’s my rock and connection to Sophie. The tightness with which he squeezes me tells me he feels the same.

I pull back and hold out my phone. “There are no missed calls in the log, and I know it wasn’t an issue with having no service because I had just gotten off the phone with Zac.”

Worry fills Antonio’s eyes. “Abuelagot a voicemail, too. Same situation as you; no phone call, and the voicemail just showed up.”

“Shit,” I whisper, my eyes going wide. “She’s probably worried sick.”

Antonio looks guilty. “None of my family is aware of what’s happening; I haven’t told them yet.Abuelajust thought it was odd but didn’t think much else of it.”

“Sophie callsAbuelaevery few days to check in,” Miguel explains. “That call was so that still happened.”

“Sophie didn’t want her or you, Ollie, to worry.” Ryn stands by the window in dark jeans and a black turtleneck.

“Or someone doesn’t want any red flags to be raised that they have her,” I state the alternative, looking around the room.

No one disputes my statement, and my worry for Sophie increases tenfold because thisisn’tme overreacting. Either Sophie is in danger and someone is keeping her safe, or someone—AKA the bad guys—have her and are covering their asses.

Nexin comes over to me. He, Rolf, and Tag are all dressed like they’re ready to go out onto the streets to fight said bad guys—black pants, shirts, and boots. “Could I listen to the voicemail, Ollie?”

I open my voicemail app, get the message, and hand Nexin my phone.

“How about we sit?” He motions to the sofa.

I sink into the corner of the sofa and hug my knees to my chest. Antonio sits in an armchair, and Ryn comes from the dining room table and sits on the arm of Antonio’s chair. Tag stands behind her, and Rolf and Miguel talk quietly in the corner.

“I have a program to analyze the voice to check if it’s Sophie’s.” Nexin pulls a tablet from his bag and sits on the other end of the sofa. “It will also detect if the message was spliced together.”

“You mean, if it’s like a bunch of recordings of Sophie, and the words are cut and pasted to make this message?” I hug my knees tighter.

“Exactly.” He smiles as he presses play on Sophie’s message.

I bite my lip as I hear her voice, forcing the tears back. I’m not a crier normally, but I’ve constantly fought tears the past few days. Nexin plays the message three times, and each time, my breath catches in my throat with her goodbye.

Instead of focusing on that, I regard Tag standing so close behind Ryn. The guy is like her shadow, protective and possessive, like he can’t let her get too far away from him. Ryn looks at him over her shoulder, and his dark look eases somewhat.

He gently pushes her hair behind her ear, then focuses on Nexin. “Is the program picking anything up?”

Nexin frowns, then glances up at us. “It’s authentic. It’s Sophie’s voice, and it wasn’t spliced together.”

“You’re sure?” Tag asks.

“This program is positive. But I’ll shoot it to Genuis Man for deeper analysis.”

“Could there have been a delay in the voicemail arriving?” Rolf asks.

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