Page 67 of My Three Rivals

“Oh, hello? Hi, Beatrice. This is Maverick Hardison…”

My head jerked up as Atticus’ heavy steps plodded back up the stairs.

“Yes, that’s right, from Suncrop… no, no, nothing like that,” Maverick chuckled, his eyes shadowing. “Actually, that’s why I called.”

I gestured at him to put the phone on speaker, and he obliged.

“What do you want, Maverick?” Bizzy asked coldly through the phone.

Atticus moved toward the cell to interject, but I threw up my hand to hold him back, shaking my head.

“We’re just looking for Tegan,” Maverick explained politely. “She absconded with Wyatt’s vehicle, and he needs it back.”

I rolled my eyes at the flimsy excuse.

“She wouldn’t happen to be with you, would she?” Maverick concluded.

“Absconded?” Bizzy echoed dubiously. “She stole your car?”

“No! No!” I jumped in. “Nothing like that. I just need to get somewhere, and…”

I trailed off, making the situation worse. Atticus filled the gap.

“We need to find her, Beatrice,” he told her sternly, his no-nonsense voice flooding through the kitchen. “It’s urgent.”

“Don’t you guys each have a vehicle? Which one did she take? The Porsche?” Bizzy sounded amused, but I was losing patience with her.

“Bizzy,” Maverick said patiently. “It’s really important that we find Tegan ASAP. Any idea where she might be?”

Bizzy scoffed over the phone. “Really? I’ve barely heard two words from her since you guys took over her life. Maybe she’s running away from you.”

Suspicion filled her words, and I groaned loudly. “This was pointless.”

Maverick waved at me to be quiet. “Bizzy, if you do happen to hear from her, could you just have her call one of us?”

“I’m not her damn keeper. She’s a grown-ass woman, and if she isn’t answering her phone, it’s for good reason.”

“Maybe—” I started to say, but Atticus kicked me, pressing his fingers to his lips. I clamped my mouth closed.

“Please, Bizzy. Can you just pass along the message?” Maverick growled, his charm faded entirely.

“Whatever.”

The phone went dead, and I started to pace the kitchen.

“Stop that,” Atticus snapped. “You need to call the police and report that your car is stolen.”

“Don’t be an asshole,” Maverick snapped before I could again get into it with Atticus. “You want to get her arrested?”

“It might be better than the alternative,” Atticus yelled, his composure fraying. He cleared his throat and collected himself as we eyed one another.

“Let’s just give her some time,” I said slowly. “We’re all on edge, but that doesn’t mean anything has happened to her. She went on her own. She has no idea how to find Lou. She’ll be back.”

But for all my brave words, my stomach twisted and swirled with that terrible sense of foreboding I’d known my whole life. It was the same one that had encompassed me upon finding my mother’s dead, beaten body on the floor of our roach-infested apartment and her pimp standing over her like a grinning sadist. And it had fed on me when I’d wrapped the belt that had murdered my mother around Ricky’s trachea to wipe that smile from his putrid, slimy face forever.

Yet there was nothing to do but wait and hope that my gut was wrong. After all, Tegan was nothing like my mother. And fate wouldn’t take away the only other woman I’d loved in my whole life… would it?

Love. Holy shit, did I love her?

---