Page 54 of Bad Boy in Her Bed

“Because Jocelyn’s hotel is surrounded by firetrucks and ambulances and every cop in the county.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Birch dialed Jocelyn’snumber again, his throat tight as it went to voice mail for the fifth time.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Grey said, pulling into a back alley and parking next to a fence to avoid the roadblocks set up around the hotel.“My phone dies on me all the time.”

Nodding, Birch exhaled and jumped out of the car, scanning the tall building in the distance for any sign of what happened and where she could be.With Grey hot on his heels, he broke into a jog toward the flashing lights, stopping only when he was met with the strong arm of Sheriff Fogerty across his chest.

“Whoa there, Birch.No one’s going inside.”

Running a hand through his hair, he strained to see through the sliding glass doors of the entrance.“I have a friend in there and I can’t get ahold of her.”

Fogerty motioned to the large crowd gathered across the street.“Everyone in the hotel was evacuated and sent over there.Why don’t you check and see if she’s there and if she isn’t, come back here.”

He nodded, already on the road when the sheriff’s voice cut through his whirling thoughts.

“Wait up, Birch.Your friend, is that Jocelyn Carter?”

Coming to a halt, he turned.“Yeah.Have you seen her?”

“I was hoping you had,” Fogerty replied, catching up to him and Grey on the street.“Her name hasn’t appeared on any of the roll calls yet, but I know she was staying here.Before I go calling her parents and worrying them, I want to make sure she’s actually unaccounted for.”

The words hit Birch in the gut, and he swallowed the lump in his throat.“Is there a fire or something?Why was everyone evacuated?”

Glancing around, Fogerty stepped in tight and dropped his voice to a whisper.“Bomb threat.Someone called it in.But I’d appreciate it if you kept that between us until we receive the all clear.”

“Yeah,” he muttered, scanning the crowd of hotel guests.“Yeah, of course.Where did they say it was?”

“Room 435.”

*

Jocelyn walked throughthe gates of the Newark airport, inhaling the heavy east coast air as she powered her phone on.Primed to call Angelo, she froze as her missed calls lit up her screen, a wall of texts interspersed amongst Birch’s repeated calls.

She dialed his number as she hopped into a waiting taxi, giving her address while Birch answered, the fear in his voice palpable.

“Hey, yes, I’m here.It’s me,” she said, cutting off his rambled words.“What’s going on?”

She could hear him speaking to someone else for a moment before returning, his voice tight and gruff.“Fuck, Jocelyn.I’ve been trying to reach you for an hour.Where are you?”

“Newark.Now what’s going on?Are my parents okay?You?”

“Newark,” he echoed, the commotion in the background sounding suspiciously like sirens.“Yeah, we’re all good.There was a bomb threat at your hotel here and no one could get ahold of you.I…holy fuck, you’re okay.”

Sitting back in her seat, she stared at the New York skyline in the distance.“A bomb threat?Was anyone hurt?”

“It was a false alarm.But you were missing and Fogerty and I were trying to track you down before he had to call your parents.”There was another voice in the background.“Yeah, she’s safe.Jocelyn?Grey says hi.”

She let out a small laugh, her mind spinning.“Tell him hi back.And my parents know I’m here, so no worries, okay?”

The din died down and she could hear the steady pace of his footsteps.“I’ll level with you, I’m a bit of a wreck right now and I need to get my head on straight.Can I call you back once Grey and I get home?”

“You have forty-five minutes.And not a second more.”

*

Birch pressed hispalm against his forehead with a curse before slamming his hand onto the kitchen table, sending coffee over the lip of his mug and making Grey jump.“Sorry.”He squeezed his eyes shut.“What time is it?”

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