Page 117 of Don't Call Me Daddy
The last thing I want to do right now is crawl down this hole, where my nightmares were born—especially without Ivy here, giving me a reason to pretend like I’m not afraid—but it’s the only place left to look. If she lost it somewhere in the woods, it’s going to take a whole lot more manpower to find it—which is my backup plan—but I have a very strong feeling that it’s down in that bunker.
I pry open the heavy hatch door, its rusty hinges squealing as I squeeze through the opening. The dank smell of the cave makes my stomach coil, and I do my best to push my fear away. I’m doing this for Ivy, and it’s going to take more than a dark, cramped space to stop me.
Taking a deep breath, I use my phone’s flashlight to illuminate the rusted metal ladder until it disappears into the darkness beneath—my own personal hell.
“Let’s get this over with.”
I lower myself inside, clinging to each rung of the ladder with a steel-like grip as I try to distract myself by counting backward.
The darkness swallows me whole, and the putrid smell grows stronger, triggering all the painful memories that fueled my nightmares as I go deeper inside. Bile rises in my stomach, and I spit, trying to rid myself of the scent. It feels like it’s worse today than it was last time, but maybe that’s because I don’t have Ivy’s comforting scent to distract me.
I cover my nose with the neck of my shirt as I descend the last few feet, breathing a sigh of relief the moment my shoes connect with the earth.
Now, for the fun part.
I suck in a breath to calm my nerves, but the smell’s only growing worse, and the damp, stale air swallows me up, coatingmy skin like a film. My back brushes against the wall as I maneuver my broad frame through the tight space.
My blood goes cold, and my palms begin to sweat as a fresh wave of fear shoots up my spine.
I’m halfway through the narrow opening, pinned sideways between the tight cave walls, using every panic-attack coping strategy I can conjure from my memory when I hear the haunting squeal of metal hinges, immediately followed by a loud thwack. The noise is so loud that I can feel the vibration through the cavern walls surrounding me.
I don’t have to go back to know that my worst nightmare just came true … yet again.
I’m trapped, with no phone signal, locked in from the outside.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Ivy
“I don’t understand why he’d take you there. Leo’s terrified of that place. He had to go to therapy for two years after his accident. I remember waking up from him screaming from his nightmares. Mom had to move his bedroom downstairs because he kept waking everyone up every night,” Luka says.
I check the time on my phone again, trying to come up with all the logical reasons I haven’t heard from him. Maybe he dropped his phone when he was crossing the creek, just like I did that night we met.
Who am I kidding? Of course, he’s got a waterproof case on his phone, and he wouldn’t be so careless to leave it lying around, not on a day as important as today. Besides, when we tried to track him with my phone, I got an error message, saying his location was unavailable.
I can’t believe he’d do this. The man willingly drove straight toward his biggest fear, just for me. I’d almost think it was sweet if I wasn’t so worried about him.
“Hey, guys. Do you think I could borrow one of your cars?” I say, interrupting their argument over who remembers Leo’s hot therapist’s name.
“It was definitely Gillian because I remember every time I saw a G name for a girl, I’d get a boner … for, like, three years or something.”
“That doesn’t make any fucking sense, Guy.Yourname starts with a G. Tell me you’re full of yourself without telling me.”
“Hey, I’ll not have you, of all people, kink-shaming me,” he says pointedly.
And after hearing Luka’s search history, I don’t know if I want to know what he’s suggesting. If these two are anything like their brother, then there’s not a doubt in my mind that they’ve got some hidden kinks buried under their conventionally handsome exteriors.
“I don’t mean to interrupt this extremely important argument you two seem to be having, but I’m really worried about your brother.”
They stand nose to nose, and neither one of them bothers to look at me before Luka finally answers, “We can take my bike. I’ll get us there in half the time.”
“God, you think you’re so cool because you drive a motorcycle.” Guy pushes Luka in the chest and rolls his eyes.
“I mean, yeah, that’s kind of the whole point,” Luka says like it’s obvious and turns to face me.
I want to argue with him, but there’s no time. Leo’s been missing for over four hours, and I need to know that he’s all right. Even if it means reassigning my responsibilities to the questionably reliable andonlyother person in front of me.
“Guy, do you think you can stay here and hold down the fort? Jett should be here any minute with the keg.”
