Page 105 of The Bad Brother

Leaving my apartment, I don’t even bother to close the door behind me. Back across the hall, I rush upstairs to retrieve my phone to call Sloane. Snatching it off the nightstand, thumb poised over the keypad, I feel it buzz in my hand, a second before the nameCal Montgomeryflashes across the screen.

Cal doesn’t call me.

Not without reason.

Fuck.

Heart pulsating in my throat so hard that I’m dizzy, I hit the button to accept the call. “What happened?”

For a second, Cal doesn’t say a word.

“Cal—”

“River called me,” he says without preamble. “She and your doctor friend are at the hospital. River asked me to come sit a spell with Red while Reese gets some sleep because?—”

Because Ethan is the one who stabbed him and sooner or later, he’s going to realize that he didn’t do a good enough job at killing him. Sloane saved his life, which means, when Red wakes up, he’s going to be able to tell Colt who tried to kill him. That’s something not even a Pryce can walk away from.

“While we were on the phone, I heard someone say,good morning sweetheart, fancy meeting you here. Right before he told River tohang up the fucking phone.” Cal clears his throat. “Line went dead after that. I tried calling back but no answer.”

I feel my entire world start to wobble on its axis.

Ethan has them.

He took them.

He took them away from me.

“I called Colt,” Cal says, all business. “He’s on his way to the hospital right now and he’s already alerted their security team. Cameras in the staff parking garage were looped. When they checked, they found Sloane’s bag on the ground but when they checked it, there was no phone. They found River’s phone under a?—”

“Thanks for letting me know, Cal,” I tell him, my tone flat. Lifeless. “I appreciate it.”

“Now you listen here, boy—” Cal spent thirty years of his life serving as Barrett County Sheriff. He knows an unhinged man when he hears one. “Let Colt handle this the right way. If Ethan has them?—”

“I appreciate everything thing you’ve done for me,” I tell him quietly. “Tank made me family but you and Aunt Penny made sure it stuck, even after he died. Didn’t turn me away. I’ll be forever grateful for that.”

“Goddamn it, Jen?—”

I hear fear in his tone—real fear. I hang up before he can finish. River was on the phone when Ethan grabbed them so he made her get rid of her phone but when they looked, Sloane’s cell was nowhere to be found. If Sloane’s cell wasn’t in her bag, there’s a good chance she still has it.Phone still in my hand, I find her number in my phone and hit send.

It goes straight to voicemail.

I try again.

Same thing.

I try again.

Same thing.

Fuck.

Chest heaving, vision blurry, I feel my blood, the hard pump of it, rushing through my veins. Echoing in my ears so loud my head hurts.

Ethan has them.

He took them.

He took them away from me.

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