“It’s about Mika. I know where she is.”
Aidan flops to the ground when I drop him on accident, narrowly missing the concrete, and he groans as he flips onto his back, spitting dirt out of his mouth.
“Where?!” I snap, watching her flinch.
“Promise you won’t let Aidan kill me when he sobers up?” she asks, taking a wary step back.
“Whit, you should be more concerned about me right now,” I growl.
“I know you won’t hurt me, but he might,” she goes on, pointing at Aidan who is cursing and trying to sit up.
“Where is she?” Hunter barks.
Whit reaches out, handing me a piece of paper, and Hunter tries to snatch it away. I don’t let him. I read it over.
“It’s a three—”
“No numbers,” I interrupt, hearing Whit swallow the rest of her words. “I have to go.”
“Right now?” Whit asks. “He needs to sober up.”
“Yes, now.”
“Me too,” Aidan says from the ground.
Hunter lifts him, and we toss him back in the back.
“We can grab coffee on the way to sober him up,” I tell Hunter as my skin tries to crawl off me.
Whit is talking, but I’m already shutting the door.
“Fuck her. She’s known all along,” Aidan slurs from the backseat.
I say nothing, because I don’t know if I’m furious with Whit for holding this back or happy as hell that she told us. Everything is conflicting right now, and I can’t get out of the driveway fast enough.
“You know the address?” Hunter asks.
“No, but I can figure it out without GPS, considering that thing uses arrival times and exact miles.”
“We can cheat this once,” he argues.
“No. We can’t. I can’t. I’ve worked too hard to be what she needs to fuck it up this close to the finish line.”
My motor roars when my foot pushes harder on the pedal. My tank is full, and I should be able to make it there without stopping. Hopefully. Fuck the coffee.
“I changed my mind. Hang Aidan’s head out the window and let him get fresh air,” I tell Hunter. “I’m not stopping.”
Chapter 48
MIKA
“You’re it for me,” Chase says as he collapses on top of me, almost crushing me with his weight.
“You’re it for me too,” I say breathlessly, kissing the side of his neck as our bodies stay joined.
He holds me tighter, burying his face against my neck. Sometimes I almost think it’s a dream to feel this way… Not real.
“Mika,” he says against my ear.
“Yes?”
“Mika!” he yells louder.
“What?”
“Mika! Mika!”
I jolt awake, grabbing my chest as something loud bangs from the living room.
“Mika! Open up, damn it!”
My blood freezes in my veins. Hunter? That definitely sounded like Hunter.
“Mika!” Aidan roars, and something heavy slams into my door like it’s about to be broken down.
Shit!
My legs swing off my bed, and I run down the hallway, feeling my entire body shivering with nerves. How the hell did they find me?
Just as something bangs on the door again, I swing it open, and two strong arms immediately wrap around me, almost knocking me down as someone clings to me and buries their face in my neck. It takes a second to realize it’s Aidan.
“Fuck you,” he says around a choked, strained sound, and my heart breaks in my chest as I slowly wrap my arms around him, returning the embrace. I can’t remember the last time Aidan hugged me.
It’s not allowed.
Physical contact stirs emotions.
Emotions lead to irrationality.
Too much emotion is not allowed, and I’ve just gotten my emotions back in check.
That doesn’t stop me from hugging him as hard as I can as the tears I’ve restrained for weeks start to creep out. Hunter flips on the light as he steps inside. The exhaustion in his eyes hurts to see, and with the way Aidan is clinging to me…
“You fucked up,” Hunter says, shaking his head as he comes to wrap his arms around me too, making it one big group event. “And you were wrong,” he adds against my ear.
I don’t speak, because my brother is still clinging to me like he can’t let go, and Hunter is tearing up. If I try to say anything, I’m going to break down.
For several long, silent moments, we stand there in a group hug, until Hunter finally withdraws and clears his throat, wiping his eyes as he turns away. Aidan continues holding me, and a new sense of self-loathing seeps in.
I did this to him.
In my quest to make his life better, somehow I’ve made it worse.
Whit said he was bad, but I didn’t realize he was destroyed. There’s a huge difference.
Hunter just stares as Aidan’s grip slowly loosens, and I hear his breathing change seconds before his knees give out. A grunt leaves my lips when his body becomes dead weight, forcing me to strain to keep him upright, and Hunter hisses out a breath before he grabs Aidan and lifts him off me.