Page 154 of Of Heartbreak and Harmony
“And now that you’re done with Savannah, he’s moved on to Callie.”
“What?” I fist my hands at my sides, resisting the urge to swing. To cut off his taunting voice.
“The fucking flowers, Tor? The calla lilies? Sav’s letters stop but then Callie starts getting flowers? You think it’s just a fucking coincidence? Or maybe he came to shoot up the place tonight becausesourcesnow say you’re sticking your dick in both of them. Either way you flip it, this is your fucking fau?—”
I swing.
My knuckles connect with the bridge of his nose, a sickening crunch vibrating through my wrist and forearm. Jonah stumbles backward,hands moving to cover his face as blood gushes down his lips and chin. He lets out a laugh that tapers into a groan.
“Fuck you, Torren.”
I watch him sit onto the couch and drop his head between his knees, then I turn back to the other people in the room. The two strangers look extremely uncomfortable, but Hammond looks irritated.
“Was that really necessary?”
I shake my hand out and nod. “Yeah, it fucking was.”
Hammond flicks his eyes over my shoulder and assesses Jonah cooly. He’s now slumped back on the couch with his head resting on the cushion, neck and shirt covered in blood. I don’t wait to see if the bleeding stops. I don’t ask if he’s okay. I’ll apologize later.
“I’m going back to Callie. Come get me when you find him.”
I leave the room without another word. I bypass the door to the other suite and instead walk directly to the room where I left Callie. I knock, but there’s no answer. She’s probably sleeping, so I pull the keycard from my wallet and open the door as quietly as I can.
I walk on light feet toward the bed. I have every intention of climbing under the blankets and holding her against me for as long as possible, but I find the bed empty, and even before I rush through the door connected to the suite, I know she’s gone.
40
TORREN
“Where is she?”
Savannah glances up at me from her spot on the couch. She’s got her legs thrown over Levi’s lap with her lyric notebook on the coffee table, and her beat-up acoustic is resting on the cushion beside her.
“Where is who?”
She’s still wearing the outfit she wore for the show, and the Caveat Lover tank top taunts me as I try not to lose my shit. I have to clench my fists to keep from shaking her. To make her answer me. To make her stop wasting time.
“Callie.” I scan the room quickly. “She was just here. Where is she?”
Mabel is sitting on the floor next to Sav, staring at the ceiling with her headphones on, but when she sees me, her brow furrows and she slips them off. Mabes hasn’t changed out of her outfit either. Jonah is probably still slumped over where I left him, bleeding all over his vintage Nirvana T-shirt from the jab I landed to his nose.
“She’s not in the room?”
Sav’s voice is laced with panic as she bolts up from the couch and crosses the floor of the hotel suite. My stomach twists with anxiety as I take out my phone and dial her number. I listen to it ring and ring before it goes to voicemail.
Sav swings the door wide to the connecting room and disappears inside. I know she won’t find Callie in there. I already checked. Instead,I check the bathroom and the other two bedrooms while dialing Callie’s number again.
“Fuck,” Sav says, and I turn to find her staring into a small, sleek designer handbag. “My keys are gone. I think she took my keys.” She drags her eyes to mine and chills race up my spine at the way her face goes ashen. “Why would she leave now? She was out there when?—”
I push past Sav without an answer. I don’t stick around to hear her finish the sentence. I know what happened out there. I don’t want to recount it.
Just before I reach the door, Red steps in front of me and puts his big hand on my shoulder. It doesn’t matter that I’m almost thirty—Red makes me feel like a teenager trying to sneak out after curfew. I’d laugh at the thought if I wasn’t on the verge of succumbing to my panic.
“Let me go, Red.”
He shakes his head. “Can’t do that, kid.”
“I have to get to Callie. She’s alone. She’s upset. She’s not answering her phone. I need to get to her.”
