Page 25 of My Three Mountain Men

“You’re joking, right?”

Brooks shrugged. “I warned her that you would be a prick about it, but I thought it couldn’t hurt to ask.”

I took exception to the characterization. “I’m not being a prick,” I retorted. “The storm is still going, and it’s in and out. Do you really think that the YouTube queen’s first priority should be getting out there and selling makeup right now?”

Brooks’ eyes narrowed as he stalked into the paneled office. “She’s not looking to do a live broadcast… I don’t think.”

“You don’t think, but you don’t know. The fact is, you don’t know anything about her, but you sure are ready to give her the benefit of the doubt without any problem.”

My cousin folded his arms and stared at me darkly. “It wouldn’t kill you to try seeing the good in people once in a while, too,” he replied sharply. “She’s not a bad person.”

“And you know this from the forty-eight hours you’ve spent with her, twenty-four of which she’s been unconscious?”

“I shouldn’t have bothered with you,” he muttered, spinning around.

“Where are you going now? To wait on her some more?”

He paused, turning back to me, a speculative look overtaking his face.

“What?” I demanded when he didn’t answer, but he never did reply, stalking out of the office, leaving the door open. “Close the door, Brooks!”

He didn’t return, and I pushed the chair back to do it myself, but before I could get to the threshold, he came back with Simone in tow.

I groaned aloud. “What’s this now? An ambush?”

“Tell her yourself,” my cousin said.

I stared at him blankly. “Tell her what?”

“About the internet.”

I smirked and plopped back into my chair. “No, you can’t get online and sell mascara, Simone. The internet is barely working, and it’s only a matter of time before it goes down permanently.”

She nodded agreeably. “All right. Thank you.”

Her response took me aback. I’d expected more of an argument. Suddenly, I felt bad. “When I’ve been able to get online, I’ve been looking for information about you missing.”

Her face lit up gratefully, and she stepped forward. “And? Did you find anything?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. Is it possible that people don’t know you’re missing yet? Would your parents be expecting you home? Or your boyfriend? Or girlfriend?”

Brooks and Simone exchanged a look rife with something I didn’t understand in the least, her cheeks tinging pink before she looked at me. “No one would be looking for me except maybe my sponsors. For all I know, Aimee took my phone and is pretending to be me, responding to my texts so that everyone thinks I’m okay.”

An unexpected bolt of anger shot through me.

“Who is that bitch?” I asked curiously. “And what did you do to her to make her want to kill you?”

“Nothing!” Simone insisted defensively. “She accused me of stealing her sponsorship, but that’s the business, you know? I mean, I have no control over who the company uses as their spokespeople. Oh, and then she seemed to think I was sleeping with her boyfriend.”

“Are you?” Brooks and I asked in unison.

“NO!” Simone sounded offended by the question, and Brooks eyed her apologetically, but I grinned.

“Well, sooner or later, your family and friends are going to wonder where you are,” I offered, shrugging. “So they’ll probably start looking for you somewhere… I guess.”

Simone curled into herself, shoulders hunched, her arms tightly crossed, displaying a physical manifestation of being uncomfortable.

Brooks put his hand on her shoulder, causing my eyes to narrow.

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