Beautifully Decadent (Beautifully Damaged Book 3) (41 page)

“Doesn’t take away from the fact that the man is right.”

“You’re teaming up on me.” Walking to Nat, I handed her my phone. “I give up. You decide what I should get and come find me. I’m going in search of a cup of seven-hour old coffee. Maybe I’ll land in the hospital.”

I didn’t get far; Rafe grabbed my hand and yanked me into his arms. Pulling his hands through my hair, he lifted it from my neck so he could press a kiss there. “What do you want? Whatever you want. I just want you happy.”

Irritation dissolved, love replaced it. “I want to test drive the Spark.”

Nat was not a gracious loser. “Fine, the Spark but that ride is not much better than your old car, I’m just saying.”

“I’ve got to get Aidan down for a nap. See you next week. Hope your mom is still there when I get there. Bye!”

Oops, I hadn’t shared the news with Rafe that mom was coming.

“Your mom’s coming?”

“In the RV and there is no stopping them. I tried, I truly did.”

“I can’t wait to meet her. Maybe we should hold off on the car and let her haggle the price.”

I hadn’t thought of that. “That’s a good idea. She would love that.”

“So are we test-driving the tin can?” Nat asked, still unwilling to concede defeat with style.

“Nay, there’s time for a bite, let’s go eat.”

To which she replied, “This is a better plan.”

Rafe didn’t join us, he had to get back to finish up a dresser he was delivering in the morning. Before he left us though, he dragged me away from Nat so he could kiss me long and hard.

“I’ll make you dinner. Do you have a preference?”

“Surprise me.”

Naughty was the only word to describe the way his lips curved up. “Maybe in more ways than one.”

And then he kissed me again; sweet and filled with promise before he waved to Nat. “See you next week.”

“Later, handsome.”

Rafe climbed into his truck, “She’s almost as goofy as you. Have fun.”

“Nat and me? Always.”

Nat and I sat at the café just down the street from Clover. “He’s crazy about you.”

I got all warm and gooey inside. “He told me he loved me. I think I knew it already, but hearing those words from him. I found my Harold.”

Her smile took up her whole face. “I know you have.”

“What about you? How’s Tyler?”

“Wonderful. He’s so attentive and sweet. I think I’ve found my Harold too. And the body on that man makes me want to sin. My only complaint is he is so good about what he eats, I feel guilty when I’m shoveling a pint of ice cream into my face. I’d love it if he’d grab the spoon from me and indulge.”

“You realize your only objection to your boyfriend is that he takes care of himself.”

She flashed me a cheeky smile.

“He’s still coming with you in a few days, right?”

“Yeah, he’s looking forward to spending more time with you. Changing the subject, have you heard from Dad or the step monster since his attempt to squeeze a baby shower out of you?”

I snarled, didn’t mean to, but couldn’t help it. “Nope. Not one word. I imagine Dolly’s pulling the injured party, the poor pregnant woman who isn’t asking for much from Dad’s selfish daughters. The really sad part, had she just asked me to my face I probably would have arranged it, but the way she went about it. No way.”

“What I don’t understand is how was the child conceived because I can’t imagine Dad taking the time out of work to plant the seed.”

“Oh my God, really Nat. You needed to put that image in my head.”

“Yeah. Do you suppose she has a credit card reader on her…” Nat looked down at my lady parts. “…you know, payment before entry, like an amusement park ride? Canned moans too, like the pre-recorded ones for sitcoms. Oh yeah, baby; faster, harder, ride me, cowboy. Oh. Oh. Oh.”

Putting my hands over my ears, I tried to hum the national anthem; I could still hear Nat imitating Dolly in orgasm. “I’m scarred, every time I use a credit card machine I’m going to think about Dolly’s…”

“Her what?”

“Flower.”

“Vagina.”

“I need wine to numb my brain to this conversation, unfortunately I have to get back to work.”

“It is so much fun teasing you.”

“You better enjoy it, since you do it often enough.”

She laughed out loud as she reached for the bill. “The perk of being the oldest and the one with the bigger brain.”

My shift was over and I had just stepped outside when my cell rang. I couldn’t help feeling disappointed seeing the unknown number because I had hoped it was Rafe. He’d been in my head all night, more particularly all the ways he intended to surprise me. My body throbbed at the thought; I had spent the night in a simmering state of arousal. Chocolate, cream, icing all took on new meaning when your body ached with a different kind of hunger. I was tempted to let the call go into voice mail—eager to get home so Rafe could do to me what he wanted—but found myself answering. Immediately a concerned voice came over the line.

“Avery? It’s Tyler.”

Exhaustion, and a lust-saturated brain, kept me from appreciating the oddity of Tyler calling me. “Hey, Tyler.”

“Is Nat with you?”

I had been walking to my car, but that question stopped me in my tracks. “No, she left hours ago.”

“She’s not home and she’s not answering her cell.”

Dread, sharp and vicious, moved through me because Nat, for as scattered as she pretended, never took a detour without telling someone where she was going.

Tyler asked, “What time did she leave you?”

“Around five.”

“She should have been back, even with hitting traffic.”

“Her visiting me wasn’t planned, maybe she needed to charge her car and…her cell died?” I didn’t even believe my own words; Nat was religious about keeping her phone charged because she often was on-call at the hospital. “I’m getting in my car now. I’ll backtrack. She likely took 9A.”

“Okay. You’re in Riverdale, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll call the police, maybe they can send out a patrol car or get on the line with the State police.”

“Good idea. She’s fine, Tyler. Likely pissed as hell at her forgetfulness, so you’ll want to have wine and ice cream at the ready.”

He laughed, easing a bit of the tension in my gut. “Keep in touch, Avery.”

“You too.”

My hands shook as I pulled from Clover’s parking lot, gripping the wheel I tried to calm down while wishing and hoping that I’d find Nat, in her car on the side of the road, yelling at herself for being so careless as to not charge her phone. I’d only gone a few miles on 9A, when I spotted her Tesla. Relief slammed into me as happy tears stung my eyes. Pulling over behind her, I hit the hazard lights and jumped from my car. She would not be living this down for a long time; I understood now why she loved ribbing me. It was a heady feeling. My smartass comment died on my lips because Nat wasn’t in her car, but her phone and purse were. Everything sort of spun at that moment as I desperately tried to understand what my shocked brain was seeing. Had she left her car to seek out help? But why not take her phone?

“Nat!” Moving around the car, I walked along the road calling to her and with each step I took, the larger the hole became in my chest. I didn’t know how much time passed when I returned to my car for my phone. There were several missed calls; I didn’t look at any of them. I called Tyler.

“Anything?”

“I found her car.”

“Oh, thank, God.”

“Tyler, she isn’t here, but her phone and purse are.”

Dead silence for a several long beats. “Call 911. I’m on my way.”

“Maybe you should stay there. We don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

“Her purse and phone are in the car?” His voice broke a bit and knowing the kind of man he was, it had my own fear escalating because he was scared.

“We will get her back.” I said as much for me as for him.

“Fucking yeah we will. I can’t sit here. I’m coming to you.”

I was glad for that. When we found Nat, she would want Tyler. “Do you have Rafe’s address?”

“Yeah. Call the cops. I’ll see you soon.” He said and disconnected the call; I dialed 911.

It had started to rain, my clothes were soaked to my skin and yet I stood on the side of the road watching the red and blue lights flashing, spinning around and around. Patriotic, police lights. I never noticed. The cops had asked me questions, standard questions like I’d heard on countless television shows. And I couldn’t help feel as if I were in the middle of one as the unbelievable unfolded in front of me. They were processing Nat’s car…Nat’s car was being processed. The lump in my throat ached, but I refused to give in to the tears that demanded release because I knew once I started, I wouldn’t be able to stop. There was damage to the bumpers on both the front and back of her car. The scenario the cops so callously painted was she’d been pinned, forced to stop and then taken from her car. They didn’t go into detail on how she was taken—sparing me the gruesome—but it didn’t take a genius to know she’d likely been held at gunpoint. Nat would never have unlocked her doors otherwise. And the idea of my sister having a gun aimed at her, my stomach squeezed, bile rose up my throat and I swallowed to keep it down.

Jax, the first cop to arrive on the scene, younger than his partner with kind brown eyes, held an umbrella over my head. He hadn’t left my side since the detectives showed up and took over. “I’ll take you home. My partner will drive your car.”

I didn’t object, couldn’t image getting behind the wheel. “What happens now?”

“We try to get a match on the fingerprints we lifted.”

“And if you can’t?”

“There are cameras along the road.” He said as he pointed to the small devices on the poles that lined the street. “We’ll check those out, see if we get lucky. They took her and…”

My stomach squeezed again. “What?”

“She’s not here.”

“You mean her bod—” My voice broke on a sob.

“I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be insensitive, but they want her, which means you’ll likely hear from them.”

“Ransom?”

“Most likely.” His voice turned even softer. “We’ll find her.”

And I knew he really meant it. Whether they did or didn’t, his words comforted. “Let’s get you home.”