Page 27 of A Damaged Soul
I didn't have the slightest idea who Black was, but he sounded important. I also didn't want to think about his last assignment, considering that was the one where he’d gotten shot.
ELLE
Oh.
I didn't get the chance to lock my phone before it was ringing in my hand with an incoming video call from Rhett.
"Hello?"
With a serious expression on his face, Rhett was quick to reassure me. "I'll be safe, I promise. And I'll call you as soon as I'm back in the States."
"Okay," was all I could manage to croak out, since it would seem the rest of my words were lodged somewhere in my throat.
"I have to go though. I have a call with my parents, and then I need to get ready."
"Be safe and I'll talk to you soon." Oh good. I no longer sounded like a wordless idiot.
"Bye, beautiful."
Rhett hung up before I could say anything else.
In a bit of a daze, I packed my bag and slowly made my way out to the parking lot. It wasn't until I pulled onto my street that I realized I had driven home purely on muscle memory and barely remembered the drive. Not a smart idea if I was being honest with myself.
I knew there was only one thing that would keep me busy enough not to think about what Rhett was about to do.
As soon as I walked into my house, I immediately went to the kitchen and fed my starter. Baking always relaxed me, so for tonight, I was going to use my discard and see what kind of baked goods I could make.
With a plan in place, I instantly felt better.
Too bad it wouldn't stay that way.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Rhett
I looked down at my phone with a sigh. Time was running out, and if I didn't hit dial soon and call my parents, they would call me and, once again, be disappointed that I didn't reach out first.
Before I could come up with another excuse as to why I couldn't talk to them, I hit the call button and waited while the phone rang.
Any hopes that it would ring out vanished when my father answered seconds later.
"Hello, son. It's good to hear from you."
"Hey, Dad. Hey, Mom."
My father always answered the phone on speaker so that he and my mother could talk to me at the same time.
"Hey, baby."
I cringed at the endearment. If only she knew how much I was no longer the baby she liked to call me.
"How have you been, son?"
My father started our conversations the same way every time, and I would always answer the same way. "I'm good, Dad. Same old, same old."
"Did your sister call you?"
I knew where my mother was headed with the question, so I answered, "Yup, she told me she and Colt are expecting. I bet you're excited to have another grandbaby on the way."
