Page 71 of Overtime for Love

Isaiah’s cell phone rang. He pulled it out. “It’s Jacobe.” He answered the phone. “You coming to hang out?”

“Nah, I’m calling to see if you’ve heard about what happened at Sweethearts,” Jacobe said in a hesitant voice.

Isaiah’s stomach clenched. “What happened?”

“Mark went there with some of his friends. He was drunk and grabbed Angela.”

“What?” Isaiah yelled. He looked around for his keys. “I’m going to kill him.”

“Calm down, Rambo, apparently she handled it. Left him on the floor throwing up. Lots of damage and one of his boys posted the video on Instagram already,” Jacobe said with a laugh. “Your girl is pretty badass.”

That didn’t lessen Isaiah’s anger. He was happy to hear she was okay. He was crazy for behaving as if she couldn’t handle herself. She wouldn’t have been able to work for so long at Sweethearts if she needed a savior. Someone who rebounded after her aunt’s betrayal, took in a teenager without argument and fended off idiots like his teammate didn’t need a savoir to step in. She only needed a partner. He wanted to be her partner.

“Thanks for telling me. I’m going out there now.”

“All right. Just wanted you to hear about it now instead of in the locker room.”

“Thanks for looking out,” Isaiah said. They got off the phone and he looked at the fellas. “I’ve got to go check on Angela.”

Isaiah hurried out to his vehicle. He went straight to Sweethearts first, but her boss informed him that he’d sent her home for the day.

“Was she okay? Is she hurt?” Isaiah asked.

Z shook his head and chuckled. “Anyone who messes with Angela is more likely to be the one who ends up hurt. She knows how to handle herself. She had your teammate on the floor long before my bouncer could even get in there.”

Isaiah’s shoulders relaxed hearing that. He smiled and felt a little proud. “Really?”

“You sound surprised. Don’t you know you’ve got a fighter on your hands?”

“I do. It’s one of the things I love about her. She doesn’t let anything stop her.” Including him.

He left Sweethearts and went to Angela’s apartment. He thought about what he could say. Obviously he wasn’t there to rescue her because she didn’t need to be rescued. He had to apologize, hope she was willing to listen and hope he hadn’t pushed her away.

His palms were sweaty and his pulse raced when he knocked on her door. Worry that she was okay and concern that she didn’t want to see him caused his stomach to clench.

Angela jerked open the door. “Cory?” Her hair was out of place, as if she’d run her hands through it constantly. Her eyes were wide and worried, and she gripped her cell phone in her hand. When she focused on him, her lower lip wobbled and she flung herself into his arms. “Isaiah, Cory is missing.”

CHAPTER 28

Angela didn’t care that they were kinda sorta broken up. When she saw Isaiah, she knew he would help her find Cory. Since his fourteenth birthday was the following week, she’d agreed to let him stay home while she worked that night. He’d said he was just going to spend the time playing video games and watching television. He still seemed upset about the phone call with his father and said he didn’t want to hang out with Nate. Stupid, stupid, stupid of her to let him stay.

Her mind raced with all the possibilities of what was going on. Had someone knocked on the door and taken him? Had he left to go somewhere and gotten snatched? There was no good reason for him not to be here, which meant there were only bad reasons for him to have left.

Isaiah brought her into the apartment and sat her on the couch. His hands were stable and strong as they pushed the hair away from her face. She drew her first steady breath since coming home and finding Cory missing. Her entire body trembled.

“Now tell me what happened?” he said in a calm voice. He met her eyes and took several deep breaths.

She mirrored his breathing. “I got home about thirty minutes ago. I thought Cory was in his room. I changed, then knocked on his door. He’s wasn’t there. I called his cell phone, but it’s going straight to voice mail. There isn’t a note, but when I looked in his closet I noticed his book bag and some clothes are missing.” Her voice wobbled. “Where would he go? Do you think someone took him?”

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