I snorted. “People change, Delaney. I’m sure she would’ve been here if she didn’t have to work.”
“Whatever you say.” He walked off, and it took all I had not to punch the shit out of him. We’d had an uneasy alliance since Bristol had made it clear we were together, but it was beginning to look as if we’d always have friction.
“He sure does have a way of getting under your skin, doesn’t he?” Aaron said with a laugh.
“No shit,” I grumbled. “The cocksucker needs to get over it, though.”
Aaron scoffed. “Dude, if you were dating my sister I’d have a problem with it too. I love you like a brother, but I’d be pissed if you broke her heart. He’s just a guy looking out for his sister.”
I didn’t have a sister, so I didn’t know what it was like. However, I was protective of Bristol. If anyone tried to hurt her, I’d go after that person in a heartbeat.
The time on the clock ran out and the crowd went wild as we won the last game in the division. The next game we played in would be the first one of the playoffs. Super Bowl, here we come.
We all raced off the field, waving at the fans in the stands. The pressure was on now, especially for the next game. Derek threw his arm around my shoulder as we headed back to the locker room. “We were on fire tonight,” he exclaimed happily. “I think we’re going to do some celebrating at my house. Wanna come?”
“Sounds good. I just need to find Bristol and we’ll be there.”
When we got to the locker room, I went straight to my phone. There was nothing there—no text messages or missed calls. What the hell was taking her so long? I texted for her to call me and then hopped in the shower. By the time I got out and dressed, there was still no answer. Picking up my phone, I called Corbin’s number, and even he didn’t respond.
“Fuck,” I growled.
Brows furrowed, Derek glanced over at me. “You okay?”
I shook my head. “I can’t get in touch with Bristol. With everything going on, it’s not a good sign.”
“Didn’t you hire her a bodyguard?” he asked.
I huffed. “Yeah, but I can’t get in touch with him either.”
“Oh,” he said, his expression full of understanding. “Maybe you should see if Delaney’s heard from her.” I didn’t want to get him involved, but unfortunately, he heard Derek say his name.
“What’s going on?” Ryan asked, glancing at us both.
Sighing, I slid on my shirt. “I haven’t heard from Bristol. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.” He had no clue what was going on with Sadie, so he wouldn’t understand my concern.
He scoffed. “I’m sure she’s fine,” he said, walking away. “And you might want to give her some room to breathe.”
Derek moved closer, his voice low. “He doesn’t know what’s going on, does he?”
“Nope.”
“If anything happens to her, he’s going to come after you.”
My stomach clenched. “Nothing’s going to happen to her.” However, the feeling in my gut said otherwise. Grabbing my bag, I raced for the door. There were reporters and cameras everywhere, but I sailed past them to my car. Every second I spent not knowing what was going on was agony. My first stop was Bristol’s condo and when I pulled in, her car was nowhere in sight. I rushed inside to her place and looked around, but she wasn’t there. M&M was the only other place I knew to look, so I hurried back out to my car, only to stop dead in my tracks when Jason’s number popped up on my screen.
“Avery, what’s up?” I asked impatiently.
“Something happened and I think you should get here, stat.”
The blood froze in my veins. “What’s going on?”
He sighed, and I could feel the weight of it through the phone. “Corbin was shot, and there’s no trace of Bristol anywhere except for…”
“Except for what?” I growled, the anger overwhelming me.
“Her blood, Jaxon. I didn’t want to tell you over the phone, but we need you out here. You’re the only one who knew what she was doing today.” His words went in one ear and out the other. The only thing I could focus on was that they’d found her blood. That meant she was hurt.
“Where are you?”
Jason gave me the address and I sped there as fast as I could. The house was in the middle of nowhere and when I pulled in, there were blue lights everywhere. I rushed up the front porch stairs and fell to my knees when I saw the pool of blood right by the door. Jason saw me and hurried over.
“Dammit, Reed, you can’t be in there,” he growled. He grabbed my shoulder and hauled me to my feet and down the stairs. “I didn’t expect you to get here so fast.”
“Where is she, Avery?” I shouted.
The officers around us stared, but I didn’t care. Jason shook his head. “I don’t know yet. My men have been stationed at Sadie’s house, but she hasn’t shown up since the investigation started. And Corbin’s at the hospital, in critical condition from a gunshot wound to the chest. We have nothing to go on just yet. I’m still trying to figure out what they were doing here in the first place.”
“I’m assuming it’s Jennifer’s house,” I said. “Bristol was supposed to meet her this afternoon.”
Jason shook his head. “It can’t be this one. This house belongs to the bank; it’s foreclosed.”
“That doesn’t make sense. Bristol specifically said she had two consultations and then she was meeting Jennifer at her house.”
“Who is this Jennifer?” he asked. “Do you know her last name?”
“Not off the top of my head. Bristol had become friends with her, but I never met her.”
Jason pulled out his phone and held up his hand. “This shit is getting solved tonight.”
—
After several more phone calls, I followed Jason to M&M Architectural Design to meet up with Bristol’s employer, Galen Matthews. When we stepped off the elevator, he stood there, waiting by the front desk, with an elderly woman by his side.
“Please tell me Bristol’s okay,” he said.