I nod and answer. “I’m so sorry, babe. We ran into some complications.”
I watch closely with the guys when Nolan zooms in on her face. She looks annoyed but not upset. I don’t know which is worse or what it means. “So, you’re not coming?”
“Not today.”
“Are you avoiding me? You get kidnapped, and they put you on lockdown from your best friend. Did I do something wrong?”
“No, they’re just being protective. I promise I’m not avoiding you.”
“To me, it sounds like they’re being controlling. Babe, are you really okay with them?”
“I’m perfect, and they aren’t controlling. They’re just scared that something is going to happen again, and so am I.”
“I get that, but I’m worried about you.” Amber sighs. “Fine. Call me when you actually want to see me.” She disconnects the call and immediately dials someone else. She starts animatedly talking to someone on the other end, then walks to her car. Seconds later, she backs out and disappears.
“Can you find out who she called?” Cole asks Nolan.
I rattle off her number, and he gets to work looking. He runs the number and shakes his head. “It was a burner phone. No name listed.”
“That’s not good, is it?” I ask sadly.
“We don’t know what it means for sure, Dragonfly.”
I smile because I know Kai’s just protecting my feelings. “You have an idea, though.”
Cole gets up from his chair, plucks me from mine, and sits with me in his lap. “We do, but it’s all just speculation. Charlie isn’t showing up, so he might have been waiting for a signal from her, or she has nothing to do with it at all.”
I snuggle into his arms. “Thank you for being honest with me.”
“Look at it this way, we just cleared Ari, and there’s still a chance we’ll do the same with Amber.”
“What about Baxter and Roland?”
Cole shakes his head. “We cleared them. It doesn’t fit because why would they hide you from Brady instead of handing you back over? Besides the assault and battery charge on Baxter, they’re clean. No suspicious calls or numbers on their phone. They’re loyal to you.”
“I think it’s time that we pull them in closer,” Axel says. “We’ve kept our distance because we didn’t trust them, but I think they can be an asset.”
“I think so too.” I shrug. “They’ve always been amazing to work with.”
“One problem,” Sean laughs. “They fucking hate us.”
“That’s because they don’t trust us either,” Nolan replies. “They’ve been protecting her for a long damn time, then all of a sudden, everything goes to shit when we show up.”
“I’ll message them to come up to the house for a meeting,” I say. I pull my phone from my pocket and send a message to Baxter. Minutes later, they’re both walking in. “Have a seat.” They sit on the other side of the table, eyeing the guys. Roland is the more laid back of the two and mostly observes. Baxter’s dislike is written all over his face. “Axel wanted to talk to you guys.”
“I know we haven’t gotten off on the right foot,” Axel starts. “But we’re all here for the same thing, and that’s to protect her.”
“Is that right?” Baxter says, leaning his huge arms on the table. “Because we were doing just fine before you came along.”
“They would have come for her eventually, with or without us.” To Axel’s credit, he doesn’t look pissed. He actually looks impressed. “But yeah, we probably brought it down on her faster. Now, we need to stop it, and we want your help.”
“Why?” Roland asks. “We don’t have any special skills.”
Axel laughs and leans back in his chair. “Yeah, you do. Baxter is fully qualified in several different types of martial arts, and you can use any type of weapon that’s laid in your hands. We did our research, and something tells me you’ve done the same on your end.”
“We have, and I find it funny that we can’t find shit on any of you. It’s like you guys don’t exist,” Baxter answers.
“Because we don’t,” Cole adds.