Page 61 of Bookgasms
I dash back up the stairs, finding a confused Andrés standing in the living room.
“What’s going on? Where is Dani?”
I ignore his questions, grab my phone and dial her number.
Unsurprisingly, she sends me straight to voicemail.
“Dani, I’m so fucking sorry. I didn’t mean any of it. Please come back. You have a stalker after you. You can’t be out there by yourself. It’s not safe. Just come back. Andrés is here. He can take you wherever you want to go. I won’t even be here when you get back, if that’s what you need. Just please come back.”
I hang up the phone, turning my attention to a glaring Andrés. “What. Did. You. Do?”
“I fucked up,” I tell him, swiping at the tears still spilling down my cheeks. “She told me about the two of you. About her, Jason, and Victor. About the four of you. I was hurt and jealous, so I lashed out. I called her a whore. I blamed her for having a stalker.”
“You did what?” Suddenly, Andrés is in front of me, towering over me.
“I fucked up. I didn’t mean any of it. I just…I can’t. Fuck.” I bury my face in my hands. “I love her, Andrés. I was never supposed to love anyone, which is why I sent you packing. It’s why I lashed out. She ran away from me. I followed her downstairs, but she was already in her car and driving away. I didn’t have my keys on me, or I would’ve followed her.”
A cruel laugh spills from him. “You better fucking hope she goes to Jason and Victor. If anything happens to her, it’s on you, and I won’t ever be able to forgive you.”
All I can do is nod because I don’t think I can forgive myself if something happens to her. I lower myself onto the couch as mybody shakes, adrenaline coursing through me as I watch Andrés pull out his phone.
“Victor? Have you heard from Dani?” He curses. “No. Shit. I was lying down and giving Dani and Maya some space. She wanted to tell her about the four of us and how we wanted her to be a part of the relationship we’re starting and about the pictures. I don’t know how far she got in the conversation.”
“She told me about the letter and what the pictures were of,” I tell him softly.
He nods but continues to glare at me. “Apparently, she was able to tell her about the package, but Maya decided to be a petty, jealous little bitch. She called Dani a whore and said it was her fault that she had a stalker. Dani took off—as any normal person would when someone they love is attacking them. Maya tried to go after her, but she drove away. I’m hoping she’s headed your way.”
I rub my fist in a circle on top of my chest as he pauses, listening to whatever Victor is saying.
Fuck.
I can’t believe I did this. I can’t believe I fucked up this badly.
“Yeah. I’ll stay here with Maya. Hopefully, she’ll come back or show up there soon. I’m so fucking worried about her. This is the perfect opportunity for her stalker to grab her.”
My tears fall faster as I realize he’s right.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
There’s another pause. “Should I call them now? Or wait. She could just be cooling off or headed your way. The last thing we need is to be the people who cried wolf, and then when she really needs them, they don’t show up.”
“What about her place?” I ask. “Would she go there?”
Andrés is still glaring at me, but he relays the information to Victor. “You’re sure? Yeah, okay. I’ll let Maya know what the plan is.”
I chew on my bottom lip as he ends the call, swiping a hand over his face.
“Why do you always have to make things difficult, Maya?” When he meets my gaze, I see the pain I’ve caused him. “All either of us wanted to do was love you.”
“I’m just…I’m not…”
He shakes his head. “That is not important right now. Right now, we just need to focus on figuring out where Dani is. Victor’s going to run over to her apartment to see if she’s there while Jason stays at their place. We’re going to give her a few hours to see if she shows back up, but if she doesn’t, we’re calling the cops. He also thinks we should all try calling her. I don’t think she’ll answer your calls, but hopefully she’ll answer ours.”
I call her again, not bothering to leave another message. I don’t want to fill up her voicemail box with my apologies. I’ll tell her when she comes back and leave room for the guys to leave her messages.
Over and over again, I dial her number, but she never picks up. Andrés stalks across the floor of my living room like a tiger in a cage, and I can practically feel how angry he is with me. But he doesn’t lash out again as he continues to call her.
Thirty minutes after hanging up with Victor, he announces that she’s not at her place. We don’t speak again as we just continue trying to call her repeatedly until the clock hits seven and his phone rings.
