Page 101 of Love You
Darcy had also downloaded the app on her phone and while she wasn’t a huge social media user, this stuff had a tendency to spread. Screw it. He decided to make the 220-mile drive tonight. Nip this shit in the bud.
He called down to the valet to get his Jeep and raced down the stairs with his duffel. Silicon Valley traffic was legendary and he was going to be right in the thick of it. But he didn’t give a damn. He had to get home and explain to Darcy that the pictures were nothing and there was a better than good chance she wouldn’t believe him.
As he sat on I-680 in a parking lot of automobiles, he had a come-to-Jesus moment. Darcy wasn’t the only insecure partner in this relationship. All his life, he’d used his charm and good looks to worm his way into people’s lives. He’d collected them like baseball cards and discarded them just as easily. It was never his intention to hurt anyone but it had always been his way of fitting in, of being more than he thought he was.
He should’ve told Madison from the beginning that he was in love with Darcy. And that he was a one-woman man.
By the time he got to Sacramento, he tried her cell and home phone at least twenty more times, leaving more than a dozen messages. He was almost tempted to call Colt to do a welfare check and was starting to fear that Hilde had wound up in the hospital again.
Win pulled off at one of the exits to get gas and a cup of coffee to make the rest of the drive home. While he sat at the pump, he dialed TJ.
“How’d it go?” his brother asked by way of greeting. Always the freaking businessman.
“Good. Madison said she’ll call you Monday to work out the details but she’s gonna sign. Hey, you wouldn’t happen to know where Darcy is, would you?”
“She was at work today. Why?”
Win didn’t want to get into the photos. TJ would chalk it up to Win being up to his usual tricks. “I’ve been trying to call her to tell her I’m on my way home but she hasn’t been answering. I’m concerned about Hilde.”
“Haven’t heard anything. You want me to cruise by Mrs. Wallace’s house and check up on them?”
He did but what good would it do? He already knew they weren’t home or someone would’ve answered the goddamn phone. And if an ambulance had been called TJ would know. That kind of an emergency spread through Glory Junction faster than a brush fire in summer. “Nah, I’ll be home in a couple of hours.” No need pulling TJ into his soap opera. There was a good chance Darcy already knew about the photos and was ignoring his calls.
He hit more traffic outside of Sacramento, folks driving to the mountains for the weekend. At this rate, it would take him forever to get home. At ten, he finally pulled up to Hilde’s house. Darcy’s Volkswagen was nowhere to be seen and his stomach lurched. She’d either gotten the hell out of Dodge as soon as she’d seen those pictures or Hilde had taken a turn for the worse.
It was too late to knock on the door but he wasn’t going to wait for a decent hour. He got out of his Jeep and rang the bell. All the lights were out and no one answered. He pressed the heel of his hand against his eyes and broke down and called Colt.
“Everything okay?”
He heard a TV on in the background. “I don’t know. I just rolled in and Darcy and her grandmother aren’t home. I’ve been trying to call her all night.”
Win heard Colt shuffling around. He was probably turning off the television or moving to a different room.
“As far as I know there was no emergency response to the house but it’s Jack’s night. You could call Sierra General but with HIPAA law they won’t be able to tell you anything. All you can do is wait and keep trying to call her. What about her parents? You have their phone number?”
He didn’t. “No. I’ll just hang out here and keep trying her. Sorry I called so late. I hope I didn’t wake up Delaney.”
“It’s only ten. Call me when you know something. I don’t care what time it is.”
Win smiled to himself. He had a good family. A damned good family. “Roger that.”
An hour later and still nothing. Tired of waiting in his Jeep, he got out to stretch his legs. A pair of lights came up the drive and he sighed with relief until he saw the car. It was an Audi. He didn’t know anyone who owned an Audi.
A tall, older dude got out of the vehicle. It was hard to tell with only the porch light on, but he didn’t look particularly menacing. “Can I help you?”
Win approached him. “I guess I could ask the same. This is my girlfriend’s grandmother’s house. They’re not home right now.”
The man opened the passenger door and there was Hilde. “Win?” she shielded her eyes from the glare of the porch light. “Is that you? This is my son, Max.”
Darcy’s dad. “Pleased to meet you.” He stuck out his hand and Max shook it. “Where’s Darce, Mrs. Wallace?”
“She’s not home?”
“Nope. Not answering her phone either.”
“I’m sure she just went out with friends after work. I was supposed to stay overnight with Max in Reno and realized I forgot my medication.”
Win thought she looked good, not at all like someone who’d just gone under the knife.
