Page 65 of Fortune's Control
The car sped, leaving Sophie and me alone.
Sophie struggled to breathe and speak. “Are you okay?”
“I’m not hurt. What about you?”
She shook her head and looked down at our feet. “We’re in a ditch.”
A ditch filled with muddy water. The sun disappeared behind the clouds, leeching some of the day’s color away.
He found me. How?
My wobbly legs gave out, and I sank to the ground.
“Lilah, you’re sitting in the mud.”
I didn’t care.
Shane put himself as my emergency contact when he gave me the phone. I touched his name, and he answered before the first ring. “Shane? I need you.”
22-Shane
“Whose phone is that?” Jack asked.
I yelled to be heard. “Mine. Can you check it for me?” I left it in the kitchen before starting my work. Lilah planned a visit after meeting with Sam, and everyone else who called me was already here.
“It’s Pete.” Jack brought it over.
I waved him off. “It’s an order update. Lilah will take care of it for me; if it’s important, he’ll leave a voice mail.” I resumed applying caulk in the tenant’s bathroom.
My phone rang again.
“Voice mail?” Jack asked.
“No, I’ll take it.” I wiped my hands on an old towel and grabbed it, expecting to see Pete’s name lit up. “She typically texts.” A chill hit me. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
The two men paused at my visible concern.
“Shane.”
“I’m right here.”
“I need you.”
Jack and Aiden noticed my expression, and alarm grew in theirs.
“Tell me where you are. I’m coming right now.”
“City Hall. Sophie is with me.”
“I’m two minutes away. Both of you stay there.”
I flew down the stairs, not bothering to explain. My leg wobbled on the last two steps as the quick movements threw off my balance.
“He was here, Shane.”
I didn’t waste time asking who she referred to.
******
