Page 27 of Big & Burly Rockstar

Devon

I call Elli. Once, twice. She doesn’t pick up. On the third try, the call goes straight to voicemail. My stomach tightens. Something’s wrong. Maybe her phone just died. Maybe she turned it off cause she’s already at the hospital.

The hospital. Maybe they can tell me if she’s already there. I google Mercy Hospital and call the number. After one ring, a calm female voice answers. “Mercy Hospital, how can I help you?”

“Peter Dawson. I’m calling for Peter Dawson. He should’ve arrived within the last hour or so. Heart attack.”

“Are you family?”

I grit my teeth. “I’m married to his daughter,” I say, scared she won’t tell me anything if I tell the truth.

A pause. Then I hear fingers clicking over a keyboard. “There’s no Peter Dawson here. You must’ve gotten the wrong hospital.”

I hang up without saying goodbye. I check the text again. Elli said Mercy Hospital, and there’s only one hospital with that name in the area.

Panic constricts my throat. I need to find her. Fuck.

“Where’s Elli?”

I look up to see Carrie standing in front of me. “She left. Her dad had a heart attack.”

“What?” Carrie’s eyes widen. She pulls her phone out of her purse and checks it. “Are you sure? No-one’s texted me.”

“Can you call her mom? Please?”

She nods, her fingers already flying over the screen.

“Hi, it’s Carrie. Are you at the hospital? Is Peter okay?”

She listens, her brow furrowing. “Oh. Okay. Yeah. Must’ve been a misunderstanding. Talk soon.”

She looks at me, confusion clouding her face. “Peter’s fine. They’re watching a movie together.”

My insides turn to ice. I knew something’s wrong. Knew it. It’s the stalker. He must have tricked her. If he has her—

Carrie starts to say something, but I stomp away. Icy fear eats at my gut. I know I need to stay calm. I need to get out of here. And then I need to go to the police. Fuck, I promised her I’d keep her safe. I’ve failed her. If anything happens to her—I can’t finish the thought.

Fingers shaking, I call Stan. “Bring the car. Hurry. Elli is in trouble.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

I love Stan for not asking questions. I hasten outside, ignoring the flashing cameras and the screams. “Where did your girlfriend go, Devon? Did you have a fight?”

The black SUV comes to a screeching halt, and I run for it. As soon as I’m inside, I tell Stan to drive to the nearest police station. Then I make a call to Nick, the tech guy who was supposed to dig into her stalker. He picks up on the first ring.

“Devon! I was just about to call you. I found your guy.”

I let out a shuddering breath. Thank fuck. “Send me everything you have on him. Now.”

The phone is already away from my ear when Nick says, “wait.”

“What?” I don’t bother hiding my impatience.

“I thought you’d want to know immediately—she knows him. He’s engaged to her sister.”

My heart thunders against my ribcage. That sick bastard. I’m gonna kill him. I’m gonna wring his neck with my bare hands until he stops breathing.

“Can you track him?”

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