Page 141 of Stay for Me

“Mags.” Beau.

I ground my teeth, pocketing my phone for the fifth time this morning.

“Mags,” Kings called out this time.

We were set to head out to the herd, a long day’s work ahead, but something was stopping me. I turned around, the brim of my hat blocking the autumn sun as I looked at the cowboys, all of them perched atop their horses. “Something is wrong,” I declared as Midnight brushed my shoulder with her nose.

Mason’s eyes hardened. “What are you feeling?” he asked.

I looked out into the pasture in the direction of my cabin. “Diana hasn’t called me this morning.”

What I expected were jokes from the twins at the very least, telling me I was in deep or some other stupid shit they usually tease Beau or the Langston brothers about, but that’s not what I got. Instead, the first sign of the cold front we were expected to get hit, a cold breeze flowing around us, reminding us of the dark winter we had ahead. My gut tightened, twisting so painfully with doubt, I nearly doubled over.

“Call her now,” Beau said, dismounting Spirit and coming to me. He jerked his chin. “Call her now, Mags.”

Holding his eyes, I pulled out my phone, dialed her number, and put it on speaker. As it rang, I held my breath, hoping I would hear her sweet voice any second. By the time the third ring came around, Kings was off his horse. By the time the air filled with the sixth ring, dread settled on my shoulders, and when I got her voicemail, my mind was racing with thoughts blended with the worst version of my nightmares.

“Fuck,” I muttered, my chest starting to heave, panic shooting through me. “Fuck.”

I called her a second time, putting the phone to my ear and handing Beau Midnight’s reins. I was pacing back and forth now, listening to the ten rings, and when it got to her voicemail, all I could see was the image of her against the tree, covered in blood and dirt. I pulled off my hat and looked at Kings. “Do you have her location?” I asked.

He already had out his smart phone out, and I moved to him, eyes on the screen. The little blue dot with her name on it was in the middle of her house. “It’s active, Mags,” Kings told me in a low voice.

“Maybe she overslept,” Lawson tossed in. My neck twisted as I looked up at him. His brow was furrowed, his mouth set. “She had a hell of a weekend.”

“When the body needs rest, it will get rest,” Lance tacked on, nodding.

“Send Chase out there,” Mason ordered to his brother.

“I’ll call him,” I muttered, looking back to my phone and stepping away. Last night, Diana told me since she started teaching, Chase would stop by her house with a coffee to wish her luck on the first day. I silently cursed myself for not thinking of calling him sooner. It was ten in the morning now, and Diana’s class was set to start in an hour, which meant she should’ve been on campus by now at the very least.

He answered on the first ring. “Mags,” he said, his voice on edge.

My spine snapped straight, the hair on the back of my neck rising. “Talk. Now,” I bit off through my teeth.

“Is Diana with you?” he asked desperately.

My world crumbled around me, his question like a hot poker searing straight through my tainted soul, taking the little light within it, my firefly.

“Where is she?” I whispered, my voice fading along with my sanity.

“Stopped by this morning with her first day coffee and found the door open,” he explained.

All eyes were on me then, but I didn’t see them. I didn’t see the barn in front of me, the beauty of Hallow Ranch around me.

All I saw was the woman of my dreams covered in dirt and blood.

“Her phone is here, the screen shattered beyond repair. Her bed is unmade, her office computer is shattered, all her kitchen cabinets are open, and there’s trash all over her living room. I need you to tell me she’s with you, Mags,” Chase said. Right now, he wasn’t a cop. Right now, he was Diana’s best friend.

“Tell me, Mags,” he clipped, not giving me a second to respond.

My firefly had been taken.

The vision of her on the forest floor morphed then, transforming into something else altogether…

Phantom screams filled my ears, and I dropped my head, suddenly unable to breathe. My phone was taken from my hands, and then I heard Kings’ voice. “What the fuck is going on?” he all but roared.

My scar began to burn, and I looked at my hands, usually covered in dirt but now they were covered in blood. In the distance, I heard Grayson yelling at me, and I felt something—someonein my arms then. I blinked, and Anthony was there, bleeding out, his body riddled with bullets, eyes soulless. I heard my name, but it wasn’t Grayson calling me. It was someone else, but I was too far gone.

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