Page 71 of Unexpectedly Wanted
But I never actually got any words out.
Or had a chance to bend down and grab my phone.
There was currently a big guy standing in front of me, too close for me to feel comfortable. His eyes were so cold and dead-looking that an actual chill ran down my spine. I took a step back but bumped into something. There were two of them, and they were caging me in.
A hand wrapped around my neck from behind, and I was suddenly being forced down a side alley.
Then everything went dark as a bag slid over my head.
25
Remy
Dinner was almost ready. Meatloaf and potatoes, just to make the house guests happy. I didn’t often eat red meat, since it always ended up sitting too heavy in my gut and made me feel sluggish. But I’d do it this one time as a ‘fuck you, thanks for coming’ to Milo’s parents. Well, his mother, mostly. Though Harold lacked a backbone, I could see the ways in which he’d tried. He was trying.
Milo had shared a little of what happened with his parents, and I could sense a shift in the house. I could see that things weren’t as tense between him and his father. They actually smiled at each other this morning, Harold giving Milo a head nod like he was doing his best to tell his son that he was proud of him.
I could also see the thin strings between Harold and Lorna pulling tight. I wondered how much longer it would be until they snapped, because it was clear the woman wasn’t going to change. She might not have been pushing for Milo to move back home anymore, but she still didn’t see Milo for who he was. I didn’t think she ever would. And that was just a shame.
There was just one problem, Milo wasn’t home yet.
Pulling out my phone, I checked the time.
He promised me he was going to leave work almost an hour ago. It had been two hours since I’d seen him. When I left him, he looked like he was super focused on something, but he did tell me he’d set an alarm.
He should be here by now.
I didn’t want to crowd him, but I couldn’t hold back any longer. I sent him a text asking where he was.
Then I stood there like a loser, waiting to see if he’d read it and if he’d respond back.
“Did you hear from him?” Harold asked me.
I shook my head, eyes still glued to the screen. I’d told them that Milo said he’d be home. Harold had been hanging around the kitchen for the last twenty minutes, trying to make small talk. I was nice, I swear. We might not have a lot in common, but it was clear that he was trying to get to know me.
“I’m going to call him,” I said, my finger already moving to do so. I chewed on my lip as it rang. And rang. And rang. Then, voicemail. Fuck.
My head shook as I disconnected the call. If he wasn’t seeing my messages, he certainly wasn’t going to get my voicemail.
“Is there a reason to be worried?” Harold asked me.
I looked that man in the eyes, but said nothing.
Yeah, our job came with risks. Less for Milo, since he wasn’t out there in the field. Which was good. The thought of something happening to Milo made me feel like I wanted to throw up.
What if something happened to him?
I was calling Austin without another thought.
“Yeah?” he answered.
“Can you see if Milo is still there?” I didn’t bother asking him if he was at the office.
“I saw him rushing out of here a little while ago,” he automatically answered. “Looked like his ass was on fire.”
Okay, so maybe he was just running late. If he was driving, he probably wouldn’t answer his phone.
“How long ago?” I asked. I knew I wouldn’t rest easy until I could get a timeline on this whole situation.
