Page 53 of Twice in a Lifetime

We followed him toward a case at the back of the store. “Now, I didn’t suggest looking here, because these aren’t complete sets, but if you’ll bear with me, I have an idea.”

He slid the glass panel aside at the back of the case and reached in, plucking a ring from one of the cushions and bringing it out, holding it up for us to inspect. The moment I laid eyes on it, my heart kicked into a gallop, and I knew. Around the prongs for a center stone were four small round diamonds. One for me, Avett, Adeline, and Ainsley. The band was a shiny white gold, solid and strong, lined all the way around with much smaller diamonds. Everything about it screamed Blythe.

“I know it’s hard to picture without the two karat center stone in place. Most people would go the traditional route with another diamond, but based on your description, I was thinkingshe might appreciate something a bit more creative, say, blue topaz.”

I lifted my gaze to the man who was smiling brightly. “Some say blue topaz looks a lot like the Caribbean Ocean on a summer day. I don’t believe that’s a coincidence.”

I didn’t either. This was the ring meant to be on her finger.

Tristan clapped me on the shoulder, giving me a little jostle. “She’s gonna love that, brother.”

“I’ll take it. With the blue topaz in the center.”

He dipped his head in a nod. “Of course, sir. I’ll get to work setting that personally. It’ll take me a few days, but I promise it’ll be worth it.”

I had no doubt.

The clerk rang me up, and Tristan and I were heading out when my cell started to ring. Pulling it from my pocket, I swiped across the screen and brought it to my ear, answering, “Bradbury.”

“Rhodes, it’s Linc. How fast do you think you can get back to the office?”

My back shot straight, a chill skating across my shoulders and down my spine. “Maybe ten minutes. Why? What’s goin’ on?”

“Need you to get back here as fast as you can, son. It’s about Blythe.”

I was running to my truck before he finished his sentence. Tristan was already on my tail when I clipped, “We gotta move. Let’s go.”

“What’s goin’ on?” he asked as he pulled himself up into the passenger seat.

I threw the truck into gear and slammed on the gas pedal. “Not sure. But Linc said to get back to AO fast. That it has somethin’ to do with Blythe.”

“Fuck,” Tristan hissed beside me, raking his fingers through his hair, the agitation suddenly rolling off him matching the turmoil currently swirling around in my chest.

“What’s goin’on?” I barked as soon as I pushed through the door into the lobby.

Lincoln was already there, prepared for me to barrel in like a freight train. “My office,” he said before turning to Tristan. “Son, maybe it would be best if you headed on home?—”

“All due respect, Lincoln... but fuck that. This is my sister. If she’s involved, so am I.”

With that, both of us pushed through the lobby and into Linc’s office where a few more of the Alpha Omega guys stood, along with a woman I recalled seeing when I took lunch to Blythe at her work, though I couldn’t recall her name.

“Fill me in. What’s happening?”

Blythe’s co-worker pushed to the center of the room. Her face was white as a sheet and she was wringing her fingers together so tight in front of her, I worried she might hurt herself.

“Um, I’m Merritt. I work with Blythe. We’re... friends,” she explained, that last word coming from her lips like she wasn’t familiar with using it. “There was a situation at work today, and she wanted to bring me here so you could help—” She cut herself off, her eyes darted around the room nervously as she licked her lips and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. Whatever she needed to say, it was clearly hard for her, but I could see the fight in her eyes. “She found out my husband’s been hitting me, and she wanted to help,” she rushed out, her cheeks flushing a bright pink as tears welled up in her eyes.

“She told me if there was anyone who could help, it was you guys, and she wanted to bring me over here to talk to you. I was supposed to meet her in the parking lot, but when I got to her car, she wasn’t there. I thought maybe I heard her wrong, and she wanted me to meet her here, so I came over. Only...” Her nails dug into the heels of her palms hard enough to leave crescent marks in her skin.

Tristan moved before I could process what was happening, stepping forward and gently grabbing hold on her hands, using his thumb to straighten her fingers, preventing her from causing any more damage.

“It’s okay,” he said in a low, soft tone I’d never heard him use before. “You’re safe here. Take a breath and tell us the rest.”

Merritt blinked up at him, and whatever she saw in his gaze had her shoulders squaring and her chin lifting in determination. “I asked Mr. Sheppard if she was here, but he didn’t know what I was talking about. I’m worried... I think something might have happened to her.”

I stepped forward, struggling to keep my voice neutral when it felt like a storm was raging inside me. “Why do you think something happened?”

“Because when I was looking around for her, I saw this old, beat up car turning out of the lot and gunning it down the street. I didn’t think anything of it at first.” Her chin began to tremble and her eyes welled up. “This is my fault. I should have known.”

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