Page 75 of Beat around the Bush
“They said he wasn’t?” He’d come to the conclusion who had left the voicemail.
“Didn’t fucking mention anyone other than Oakley, so no. Doesn’t sound like he was.” My voice was deadly, but Cal didn’t shrink back. He knew I cared deeply about the people in mylife, and someone having been in danger when I couldn’t do anything to stop it tore at me the same way it would him. Callan and I loved deeply and cared fiercely, with all our being. We were the closest out of our other siblings for that very reason.
My tires screeched on the pavement as I made the turn to head into town, speeding down the road faster than anyone should be going. I didn’t give a fuck if I got a speeding ticket. I’d take a thousand of those if it meant making sure Oakley was okay.
A few minutes later, I slammed on the brakes, stopping a few feet in front of a police cruiser. There was a firetruck, an ambulance, and two police SUVs sitting out front of the store, filling the parking lot.
I jumped out of the truck, my gaze immediately finding Oakley sitting on the back of the ambulance. My heart dropped seeing her sitting there, curled under a blanket, looking so damn small and vulnerable.
I ran to her, her eyes shooting up when she realized it was me.
“Oakley,” I said her name like a plea, wrapping my arms around her and holding her to my chest. She shook in my arms, her limbs trembling. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head against my chest, her red hair falling out from under the blanket.
Callan was talking to an officer a few feet away from us while I held her.
Her voice was muffled by my shirt as she said, “I’m sorry, Lennon, the window-”
“I don’t give a damn about the fucking window, Oakley. I just want to know you’re okay.” I wouldn’t be able to breathe until I knew for sure she was unharmed.
“I’m okay,” she said into my chest.
My hand stroked down the back of her head, my fingers brushing through her hair. “Where’s Leo?”
She looked up at me, those green eyes glazed over. “It’s not his fault.”
My jaw clenched. “It is.”
She reached up to cup my cheeks, the blanket still draped over her shoulders being held up by my arms around her. I wouldn’t let her go. Didn’t think I could if I tried.
“It would have happened if he was here or not.”
I searched her eyes, trying to convince myself she was okay. “You could have been hurt.”
“But I wasn’t. I’m okay,” she said softly, her thumb stroking my cheek.
But she wasn’t okay. She was fucking scared, and I could see it in her eyes, feel it in the way her hands shook against my skin.
I wrapped my arms around her tighter, guiding her head back to my chest. She dropped her hands from my face, wrapping them around my waist.
Callan came up beside us, looking over Oakley for a brief second before moving his attention to me. “The guy left before the cops got here.”
My jaw tightened, my teeth threatening to break. “Did they check the cameras?”
He nodded. “He was wearing a black hoodie with the hood drawn, so they couldn’t see much. He came in through the door in the back next to the roll-up door for freight.”
I cursed, looking down at Oakley’s red hair against my chest as she looked at Callan. “That’s why I didn’t hear the bell go off.”
A muscle in Callan’s jaw twitched. “He picked the lock on the door, and without the alarm set yet, you would have never known. He must’ve broken the window for an easier escape.”
Tears pooled in her eyes, the lights on the vehicles reflecting in them.
I wanted her out of here.
“Is she cleared to go?” I asked the paramedic by the back of the ambulance.
He nodded. “All good.”
