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“Edee? Baby? Where are you?”

“I’m still at the stadium. Well, near the stadium.” She’s moving fast. Her voice is shaky as she runs. “Where are you?”

“I’m outside our apartment.”

“Lyndell? Is he with you?”

I close my eyes and exhale shakily. My nerves and my overwhelming fear impossible to hide. “No. I don’t know—”

“I’ll be there in 7 minutes. We’ll find him.” She hangs up and I stare at my phone in my hand for several long seconds. A couple minutes later, a police cruiser pulls up to the curb, and the one of the officers I spoke to earlier steps out.

“Any word?”

I shake my head, “No, sir.” He plants his hands on his hips and stares off down the street.

“Who the fuck—” He cuts himself off with a chuckle. I follow his stare and can’t help the smile that comes to my lips, seeing my woman run full tilt toward me, her braids flying behind her, her bags banging against her hips. I open my arms and catch her as she runs right into me. I lift her a few inches off the ground and bury my face in her neck. She nudges my face with her nose, and I shift enough to fuse our mouths together. It’s been only a few hours, but I’ve missed her.

I gentle the kiss, placing her back on solid ground, holding her until she’s steady on her feet. She’s out of breath, a little sweaty, covered in something sticky, and so damn gorgeous. Resting her cheek on my chest, humming as she hears my heartbeat underher ear, she glances at the police officer, and I feel her stiffen in my arms.

“How the hell did you get here before me?” she asks. The officer points to his cruiser with a grin.

“I drove.”

“AHHH!” she yells, separating us, and pointing at the cop. “You could have given me a damn ride.”

“I could have. But you didn’t ask.”

Edee agrees grudgingly. “True. But still. I ran. All the way here.”

“The university has a great track and field program.”

“Shut it.” I don’t know what she’s been through in the last few hours, but her backbone is a bit sturdier than before her recent brush with the law. Edee pulls her phone from her back pocket, taps on the screen and hands it over to me. It’s on speaker. She bends at the waist as it rings, then stands with her hands behind her head and walks around. “I hate running. Fuck! I hate running! Cramp! Lung cramp!”

“Why has my daughter been running?” Mama Mary answers, her voice commanding even over the phone.

“Lyn—” I stop, clear my throat and try again. “Lyndell is missing.”

“What?” Her side of the call is muffled as she yells for Dennis. “We’re both here. What do you mean Lyndell is missing?” I explain what happened while my girl tries to stretch out her lungs and catch her breath. Tears pool in her eyes as she watches me. When I finish, she slides under my arm and nestles into me, her arm wrapped around my middle. I feel like she’s holding me together at this point.

“We are on our way. Where have you checked?” I list off all the places the police, campus security, and I have checked. “Edee, did you—”

“I just got released from police custody like 15 minutes ago.”

“We’ll discuss that later,” Dennis sighs, but I can’t tell if it’s disappointment or just acceptance. “He didn’t call us…why didn’t he call us? We could have been there hours ago!” I hate this, but I do love how they’ve adopted Lyndell and I. There was zero hesitation. One minute, Lyn and I were a two-man team and then BOOM. We’re part of a loving, supportive family.

“He left his phone at the stadium. Hell, he left everything behind and ran.”

“FUCK!” I yell toward the sky. “Officer, get someone to the Mountain Lion Manor hotel. That’s where he is.”

“Get in!” The officer waves to his cruiser, opening the back door for Edee and I to get in, while he clicks his radio and starts talking.

“We’ll be there as soon as we can. Call us as soon as you find him.”

“We love you both, be safe.” Dennis and Mary hang up. I sit in the back of the police cruiser, a first in my life, and stare wide-eyed at Edee. She glances around the interior with a grimace, shifting on the hard plastic seat beneath us.

“This is not for me.” Laughter bursts free, and I wrap her up in my arms and hold her tight, tears escaping as I press kisses to her neck, her jaw, cheeks, and finally her lips.

“I love you, Edee. So fucking much.” She smiles brightly, returning my kiss enthusiastically.

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