Page 94 of Love Notes & Lifelines
Leo claps me on the shoulder. “Perfect. Marco said he’d have the ring done in a few hours. Tabby and I can take the girls to the aquarium while you get your work done.”
“That’s…” Stella’s words about trust bounce around my head. And she’s right. Telling myself I don’t trust people—that I don’t need them—has been a deflection and a way to protect myself. But there are people in my life like Tabby and Leo who have never once done me dirty. Knowing you’re wrong is a hard pill to swallow, but I choke it down.
“That’s a great plan. Thank you. Let me call Elijah, then you guys can drop me off.”
He nods and helps Tabby load the girls into their seats while I stand outside the car and make the call.
Elijah answers after six rings. “Hold on.” His voice sends a fissure of fear along my skin. Something’s wrong.
“Elijah? What’s going on?”
“For fuck’s sake, Beck. Hold on.”
But I don’t hold on. I jump into the driver’s seat and am already steering us to my building when Elijah comes back on the line.
“It’s Stella,” he finally says, and my foot automatically slams on the brakes, causing everyone in the car to jerk forward and cars to zip by with horns blaring.
Fuck them.
“What about her? What’s going on?”
“I—I don’t know. I’m heading over to the facility now, but she was upset.”
“What facility? Where is she?”
“Shit, Beck. Don’t make me lie to you. I have to go. I’ll let you know when she’s all right.”
“Elijah, don’t you dare fucking hang up on me,” I roar. Emmy whimpers and Ruby cries. “I’m already here. I’m in Raleigh. Tell me where she is, and I’ll get her. I’ll make sure she’s all right.”
Me, goddamn it. It should always be me.
“Beck, don’t play with her. She’s already been through so much.”
His words kick me in the gut and steal my air. Stella trusts him. Stella doesn’t trust me…yet. It’s theyetthat keeps me going.
“I’m not fucking playing, Elijah. I just bought a two hundred-thousand-dollar ring. Does that sound like I’m playing?”
“She might view this as a betrayal, Beck.”
“Tell. Me.”
“She went to visit her mom, but when she signed in, she saw that her ex was there too. Things were really bad for her with him, Beck.”
“Silas,” I snarl.
It takes Elijah a moment to reply. “Ah, yeah. She told you?”
“Hints. Where’s her mother?”
“Mindful Moments. It’s about fifteen minutes outside the city.”
I hang up without a goodbye, glance at my passengers to make sure everyone is still buckled in, enter the address into GPS, and then pull a U-turn with my tires squealing.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
STELLA
“Is he still in there?”I ask when Lucía enters the room. She’s one of the most sought-after nurses, in part because she’s one of the few who work in both homes and facilities, and partly because she has a little mama bear in her, and that’s exactly who you want caring for your loved ones. But today she’s grown to twice her size.
