Page 22 of Never Fear (Whiskey Ridge)
“Yeah. I came out about five minutes ago.” She looked up from her phone long enough to do a double take of me. “You look pissed.”
“Iampissed. I told her not to move, and look where she is now.” I flung a hand at the small building.
“She just had to pee, Austin.” Her voice of reason was pointless right now. “You know,” she went on, “being overbearing is only going to make her push you away more.”
I scoffed, flicking my gaze up to the branches above us as if they’d give me the patience I so desperately needed right now. “She can try to push me away all she wants, but her safety is the number one priority.”
Brynne cocked her head to the side. “Is it?”
I looked at her now, her gaze disbelieving. “Is what?”
“Is her safety really your number one priority, or are you using this as an excuse to be near her?”
“Merely a week ago, she wanted to kill me. You think I’d put myself in front of her for no reason when she’s pissed at me for not letting her attack my best friend?”
“Yes.”
“How fun,” I deadpanned, turning back to face the restrooms. “You must think the note is a joke, too, then.”
“I think she can handle herself,” Brynne clarified before turning her attention back to her phone.
After what felt like minutes, I glanced at her. “How long has she been in there?”
Brynne’s eyes flicked up to the top of her screen like she was checking the time. “Eight minutes or so now.”
My jaw clenched, and Brynne studied the look.
“What? Her stomach might be hurting.”
I closed my eyes for a brief moment, that patience the tree didn’t care to afford me slipping even more. “Then maybe she shouldn’t be at a fucking rodeo. Hell, we shouldn’t even be here in the first place.”
Brynne offered no response to that. We’d already been over this on the way here, and like always, the girls had won.
Focus now trained on the open door again, I grew tired of waiting.
“Go back to Booker. Now.” I didn’t wait around to seeif she’d refuse. But I did glance back on my way into the restroom to make sure she was heading in the direction of the bleachers. Then, I rounded the corner into the women’s restroom and found it…empty.
Every stall door was wide open, not a single person in here. I passed by each one, checking behind the doors like she might be hiding somewhere. When I made it to the last one, my gaze roamed the stall until it stopped on the open window. I narrowed my eyes on it before entering and reaching up to look outside.
There was no one out there. No sign of a struggle. Nothing.
As I lowered myself back to the ground, I found the latch to the stall barely hanging on to the door by one screw. A chunk of the part it was supposed to be connected to hung on to it, indicating the door was likely kicked in.
With a muttered curse, I exited the bathroom and frantically searched the now-thin crowd. The bull riding event had begun, so nearly everyone was back at the bleachers. After looking over each person scattered about at least three times, I knew she wasn’t down here.
McKenna was gone, and I had no fucking idea how to find her.
Chapter 11
McKenna
My boots crunched over gravel, my ankles threatening to twist with each hurried step as I crossed the parking lot, searching for Booker’s damn truck. It was my fault for being so annoyed with Austin when we arrived that I couldn’t remember where Booker had parked, but could you really blame a girl for being mad when a man wanted her to stay home instead of going out? Especially because he had the same lame excuse as he typically did recently—that it was for my safety.
But as I debated taking these goddamn boots off, I couldn’t help but think maybe I should’ve listened to him.
I shook the thought from my head. Me? Listening to a man? I’d be digging my grave if I ever did that, even if my life wasn’t on the line already.
My hair whipped over my shoulder as I checked behind me. Even without seeing the man, I knew he was out here somewhere. He’d have to have seen me scrambling away from the restrooms and come after me, and it was only amatter of time until he caught me if I didn’t find somewhere to hide.
