Page 66 of Chloé

“Chloé, we’re so sorry to hear that. Do you know anything more than that?”

“No.” Her voice shook. “We just got the call a couple of minutes ago. My dad, he… He and mypèreare going to get Papa and drive up there now.”

“There?” Zayne asked as they made their way through the main floor of the club. “Where is there?”

“Oshkosh. They live in Oshkosh.”

Okay, so a good three hours away from them.

“Chloé?” Ethan said as they reached the foyer. “Do you want us to take you up there to see him?”

“No, I, uh, I have to stay,” she said, and Zayne could imagine her nodding. “I said I would stay and look after the restaurant so Dad could go. So they couldallgo with him.”

Of course she’d done that. She had such a big heart, and even though it was breaking right now, she was busy thinking of others.

Zayne looked at Ethan and covered the phone. “What do you want to do?”

“Tell her we’re coming over there, right now.”

Zayne nodded. “Okay, this is what we’re going to do. Ethan and I are heading your way—”

“No, you don’t have to do that.”

“Chloé.” Ethan looked down at the phone in Zayne’s hand as though she could see him through it.

“Yes.”

“We’re coming. We’re going to spend the day and evening over there with you. However long you need. But you’re not spending it alone.”

“Okay,” she said, her voice soft but much steadier now.

“Is Justin on shift with you tonight?”

Oh shit, Zayne hadn’t even thought of that.

“No, um, he’s got tests to grade and— Oh God, I need to call Justin.”

“You can do that when we get there.” Ethan’s tone was strong and steady, the exact kind of rock you needed in a moment like this. “We’re walking out the door and will be there in less than ten minutes. Right now, just stay where you are—where is that?”

“My…my dad’s office.”

“All right, stay there. We love you.”

Ethan gave a clipped nod as he yanked open the front door and stepped outside. As he gestured for the valet to bring their car, Zayne brought the phone up to his ear.

“I’m going to stay on the phone with you until we get to the restaurant, okay?”

“Okay.”

Zayne gripped the phone a little tighter as Ethan opened the door to the SUV for him to climb in. “We’re coming, Red.”

* * *

ETHAN WASN’T SURE how she did it, but Chloé somehow managed to not only run JULIEN like the well-oiled machine it usually was, she also cooked, commanded, and soldiered on through what had to be one of the most stressful nights of her life.

When they’d arrived at the restaurant hours earlier, they’d found her just as she’d described, sitting in her dad’s office, with her legs curled up against her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees.

Her eyes had been red from crying, her face pale from the news, but by the time they reached her, she’d stopped with the tears and was merely staring at her phone as though willing it to ring.

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