Page 38 of Hurt to Love
“Cats or dogs?” I pushed, trying and failing miserably not to fall under the spell of my brown-eyed girl.
“Erm, dogs?”
“Cool, me too. I’m glad we’re on the samepage.”
“Please Lord, strike me down now. End my misery.” She looked to the skies for divine intervention. I, however, was already in heaven.
“See, it’s the way I tell them. Okay, one more.”
“I think I’ve had enough for one day,” she said, trying to look stern, but the gentle smile on her lips told me otherwise.
“I need to get it out, these jokes are killing me.”
She muffled her laugh and tried to look bored. “Fine. One more. Only one.”
“You are like something out of a calligraphy book.”
“Why?”
“Because you are one beautiful Paige.”
That one earned the biggest groan, but I also got a blush too, and I’d take it.
* * *
We strolled quietly backalong the beach to the house. Paige seemed pensive, but more relaxed than she’d been a few hours ago. Me? I felt like a fucking giant. I was walking on air. I called Angela, Paige’s counsellor, as soon as we got indoors, and filled her in on the turn of events. I could barely contain my excitement. This was a massive breakthrough for Paige. For both of us, really. I found myself going to say Wednesday more than once; that habit was going to be a hard one to break. Maybe it’d have to become her new nickname. I liked Paige though; the name rolled off my tongue. I wanted to say it over and over again. I started imagining myself saying her name in other… situations, and I became a little too distracted. So I put in a call to Jackson to fill him in and get the lowdown on the fuckers back home.
“Nice of you to finally call. You do realise I’m sat here most nights worrying about your sorry ass. You haven’t checked in for four days.” He tried to sound irate, but the concern in his voice was evident.
“Jeez, mate. Save all that hot air for the blow-up doll you’re gonna need to use when Ryley’s out of action. How is she, by the way?”
“Fuck you,” he growled, and then his tone became lighter. “She’s got a little bump now, it’s… cute.” The guy was a soppy git, but I got it. I’d recently joined the ranks of the pussy whipped, and I wasn’t even getting any.
“Yeah? I can’t wait to see her. Tell her I miss her. Are you gonna name the baby Cillian if it’s a boy?”
“And burden my son with a name everyone mispronounces? No, thanks. We’re keeping names to ourselves for now, but no, it won’t be Cillian.”
“Speaking of names…” I couldn’t keep it in any longer. “I got Wednesday to talk to me and now I know who she really is.”
“Well, come on. Don’t keep me waiting.” Jax sounded as eager as I’d been to find out.
“It’s Paige. Paige Olsen.”
“Well, that makes it easier to track her family down and find out what her story is.” He cleared his throat and what he said next sent rocks plummeting deep down into my gut. “You need to know something. The Contis have gone underground.”
“Shit, when did that happen?” I could feel the euphoria from seconds ago slipping away, replaced with sickening nausea.
“A few days ago. I’d have told you sooner, but you haven’t been using the fucking burner phones I’ve sent you.” Yeah, because this was all my fucking fault.
“Jesus, enough already. Just tell me what’s been going on.” I could feel my palms getting sweaty as the realisation sank in about what their going missing could mean for us.
“They’ve disappeared.” He sighed. “One minute they’re sniffing about, asking way too many questions and getting on everybody’s last fucking nerve. The next, they’ve cleared out the house they were renting and no one’s heard from them since. Luca has had his sources out tracking anything they can find, but we’ve got nothing, mate. It’s like they’ve been wiped off the face of the Earth.”
I ran my fingers through my hair to try to stop myself punching a hole in the wall. “I bloody hope they have. Mind you, a quiet death would be too kind for those cocksuckers.”
“Let’s not be naïve here. Chances are they’re hiding out, biding their time. I don’t like this, Cill. I don’t have a good feeling about those two.”
“Does anybody? They’re fucking evil pricks who need to be exterminated. I just hope I get to do the honour myself. God help them if they ever show their fucking faces again when I’m around.” I probably sounded like Charlie-big-balls to anyone listening, but I meant it. I was ready to take them out. I wanted to make them suffer so badly.
