Chapter 302: Right Into Their Hands

Holly’s POV

I woke up to my phone ringing nonstop.

It drilled into my skull like a jackhammer, dragging me out of the deepest, bone-melting sleep I’d had in years.

My body was a live wire of ache…thighs burning, core still pulsing from how hard I’d ridden David hours ago. Like a stallion. God, the way his hands had bruised my hips, the way he’d bucked up into me, cursing my name while I took everything he had and begged for more. We’d wrecked each other until neither of us could move, collapsing in a sweaty, naked tangle of limbs and sheets that smelled like sex and us.

I groaned, face buried in his chest, not ready to face the world. His phone was going off too, somewhere on the nightstand, but mine was louder, closer, vibrating itself halfway off the mattress beside my pillow.

David stirred first, a low rumble vibrating through him. His arm tightened around my waist, sliding down to grip my bare ass, pulling me flush against his thigh like he was already half-hard and ready for round… whatever number we were on.

Warmth exploded low in my belly. I wanted to disappear under the covers, wrap my lips around him, suck him slow and deep until he was the one begging.

But the damn phone kept screaming.

I cracked one eye open and Ava’s name flashed on the screen. Over and over. Twelve missed calls. Immediately, my stomach flipped.

I bolted upright, still completely naked, hair a wild mess, and snatched the phone. “Hello? Ava?”

Her voice cracked through the line, panicked and gasping like she’d been running for her life. “Oh thank God, Holly! You’re alright… I was so scared. I thought something happened to you too when you didn’t pick up!”

“Too?” Ice shot down my spine. “Who got hurt, Ava? What’s going on?”

On the other side of the bed, David’s voice cut in sharp and angry as he answered his own call. “What the hell does that even mean?!” He sounded furious, the kind of fury that made my heart squeeze so tight I couldn’t breathe.

What now? What fresh nightmare was crashing down on us?

He sat up fast, sheets pooling around his waist, and I caught the flash of panic in his eyes before he swung his legs out of bed. Phone pressed to his ear, he stalked out of the bedroom, bare feet slapping the floor, and I heard the living-room door click shut behind him. Whatever that call was, he didn’t want me hearing it.

Ava broke into a sob on my end, raw and broken. “It’s Liam.”

My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I thought it would crack. Liam. My sweet little nephew. Ava and Orion’s baby boy.

“What happened to Liam?” I whispered, voice shaking.

“He’s missing,” she cried. “Uncle Theo said he looked away for just a second…at the orphanage, some paperwork thing…and when he turned back, Liam was gone. Nowhere to be found. They’ve searched everywhere. I’m losing my mind, Holly. I had complications last night, bleeding, they rushed me to the hospital. Doctors say I have to stay monitored or I could lose the baby. Orion’s out of his mind…he’s with the police, investigators, everyone. I know it’s Rachel Jameson. I know it is, but I can’t prove it. They searched her place, but they didn’t find anything. Nothing tracing her to this chaos. She must have someone working for her, just like her dad used Mason Brown.”

Mason?

The name hit me like a slap and my heart skipped so hard I felt dizzy. It can’t be David. He was right here. In bed with me. He wouldn’t…couldn’t…hurt Ava’s child. Not after everything he just told me. Not after we opened up to each other in that manner.

Ava’s sobs turned into desperate, hiccupping gasps. “I’m so scared. And tired. Holly, please… Can you come home? I need you. I need my sister.”

I was already crying, hot tears spilling down my cheeks as I scrambled out of bed, legs wobbly from the earlier sex marathon. “I’m coming. I’m entering the next flight out…don’t worry, I’m on my way. Just hold on, okay? Breathe. I love you.”

I hung up, chest heaving, and started grabbing clothes off the floor…my pajama top, yesterday’s jeans, whatever. My hands shook so bad I dropped my bra twice. Liam missing. Ava possibly losing the baby. Rachel. All of it slammed into me at once, and I couldn’t think straight. Couldn’t even remember to knock on the check on David and tell him about it. My brain was in pure panic mode…get to Kayla’s, grab my stuff, airport, home.

I shoved my feet into shoes, snatched my bag, and ran.

Tears blurred everything as I burst out of the house and sprinted down the street, heart hammering like it wanted out of my chest. Please let Liam be okay. Please don’t let Ava lose the baby. The words looped in my head like a prayer. I didn’t even look back at David’s place the moment I was out. Couldn’t.

A cab rolled up at the corner like the universe had thrown me a lifeline. I waved it down, gasping, and slid into the back seat. “Kayla’s neighborhood…Riverbend Estates, you know it?”

The driver nodded, meter ticking. I pulled out my phone again, trying Kayla’s number so she could meet me with my suitcase. Straight to voicemail. “Ugh!” I groaned, slamming the phone against my thigh.

The cab took an odd U-turn, sharp enough to throw me against the door. I stared out the window, frowning. This wasn’t the way. I glanced at the rearview mirror. “Hey, where are you taking me?”

The driver looked back. Black cap pulled low, nose mask covering half his face. Eyes cold. “Taking you where you belong, missy.”

Before I could even open my mouth, a sharp hissing sound filled the car. Something sweet and chemical flooded the air…smoke, gas, I didn’t know. I coughed hard, lungs burning, vision swimming. My fingers clawed at the door handle but it slipped out of my grasp. Just then, I felt the world tilting in a heavy and dark direction.

The last thing I heard was his voice, low and almost amused through the mask.

“Don’t worry. I don’t bite.”