Dottie grins, her gaze flicking to me. “You obviously had an effect on her as well. She’s never brought a boy over to meet me.”
“Auntie,” I hiss, feeling nervous enough already. Chance laughs and pulls me closer as I fight back a smile.
“Well, it took a little convincing, but I finally won her over. She can be a little stubborn.”
Dottie barks out a surprised laugh. “You could say that.”
“See, Princess,” Chance says, glancing down at me with a wide grin on his face. “Everyone knows you’re the stubborn one in this relationship.”
“Mmhmm, Kettle.”
Chance laughs again and Dottie’s gaze flicks back and forth between the two of us. “You know, Chance, I have a feeling about you.”
“I hope it’s a good one, ma’am,” he drawls. Dottie nods.
“Call me Auntie or Dottie, everyone else does.”
He nods. “Okay, Dottie.”
“And I just have to say, thank you.”
“For what?” Chance asks, his brow furrowed. Dottie glances over at me, her smile softening.
“For bringing my girl back to life. I was so worried she’d never let anyone in again but even just sitting across from the two of you, I can tell how much she loves you.”
Chance peeks down at me and I glance up, leaning into his body as he looks back at Dottie. “You don’t have to thank me for that, Dottie. I’m pretty sure I got the better end of the deal here.”
* * * *
I wake to incessant ringing and groan as I roll over, burying my head in the pillow. Chance rolls over and I peel one eye open as he grabs his phone off the bedside table.
“Yeah?” he answers and my breath gets stuck in my throat. I know it’s only been twenty-four hours since I gave Rosie the phone but I’m praying it’s Ivy and we can finally do something to help her. We filled Dottie in on everything last night and after shedding a few tears, she thanked Chance profusely for everything he’s done for our family. I’m pretty sure she’s already planning our wedding. It strikes me that the thought doesn’t cause me any panic like it used to.
“Shit,” Chance hisses into the phone, sitting up and my gaze snaps over to him. Oh, God, what now? “When?”
When he sighs and rubs his hand over his face, my heart sinks. That’s not good. My mind races with the possibilities as fear grips my chest in a tight fist.
“Yeah, okay. Keep me updated.” He hangs up and tosses his phone to the table before turning to me. One look at his expression sends panic clawing at my throat.
Please tell me my sister is still okay…
“What is it?” I whisper, pressing a hand to the hollow of my neck as my heart thunders in my ears.
Tell me she’s okay…
“That was Streak.”
I nod, feeling a bit like a bobble head. “And?”
She has to be okay…
Blowing out a breath, he grabs my hand and pulls me into his lap. I straddle his legs as he wraps his arms around my waist. “Julian hired more security. Your sister now has three guards if she ever leaves the house.”
“Has she been leaving the house?” I ask, sucking in a breath for what feels like the first time in five minutes.
She’s okay.
He shakes his head. “Not as far as Streak can tell but he can’t keep her locked up there forever. A lot of people in this town know your mother and know the two of you. Folks will start asking questions if she disappears.”
“How does that help us? Even if she goes out, she has three guards watching her every move.”
Chance cups my cheek, directing my gaze to his and I sigh, his touch abating some of my panic. “I know it seems bad, baby, but in all his work to keep her prisoner, Julian made one mistake.”
“What?” I ask, too scared to hope.
“He hired only male guards for her. They can’t follow her everywhere.”
My eyes widen and I study him for a second. “A bathroom?”
“Yep.”
“And you think they won’t just storm in when she’s taking a long time? What are the odds that we could get there before they decided to haul her out?”
“It just depends,” he says and my fear starts creeping in again. This all seems impossible. “There could be a window in the bathroom that she could crawl out of or someone might help her get away. Your sister will figure it out.”
I shake my head. “How do you know? God, five weeks ago, I was having lunch with her and she was telling me how happy she was. So much has changed in such a short time.”
“I know,” he murmurs, his hand skating down my thigh in a comforting touch.
“Can’t we just call the police?” I ask, my voice hollow as I contemplate the almost insurmountable task in front of us. Julian has an endless amount of money and he could stop us no matter what we try to do. Plus, we still have no clue what’s really going on.
“We have, Sweets. We’ve talked to Rodriguez, a detective we work with, but until your sister is ready to leave, there’s nothing they can do. They aren’t going to drag her out of there just on our word.”
Sighing, I rub my temples. I can feel a headache coming on already. “But they could go there and she’ll tell them that she wants to leave.”
“Would she?” he asks, his gaze softening as he stares up at me. “With Julian staring at her, will she be able to tell the truth and get herself out? Asking for help and actually walking out the door are two very different things. I hate that these fuckers have so much power over their victims but until she’s gathered the courage to walk out the door, nothing we do will matter.”
A tear slips down my cheek and I swipe it away before wrapping my arms around my waist. “There has to be something more we can do. I can’t just leave her over there on her own.”
“You haven’t, sweetheart. Rosie gave her the phone and she knows help is here as soon as she’s ready to go. She knows you’re doing everything you can to save her.”
“Am I, though? Maybe I should just go over there and refuse to leave until he sends her out.”
He tenses, his gaze hardening. “You will not. I’m willing to do just about anything to get your sister back, Carly, but you will not put yourself in that kind of danger. It’s not an option.”
“Don’t think you can tell me what to do. If I want to go over there, I will,” I snap, meeting his glare and he slips his hand into my hair and pulls me forward until my forehead presses against his.
“I fucking love you and I wouldn’t survive losing you so please don’t fight me on this,” he whispers and the agony in his voice breaks me. I understand because I couldn’t lose him either. It would destroy me.
“This is torture,” I whisper, my voice cracking as more tears build in my eyes. His eyes soften again and he rubs his hands up and down my arms before leaning in and kissing my forehead.
“I know, babe, but you’ve just got to have a little faith right now.”
I wilt in his lap. “I can’t.”
“You can and when you can’t, I’ll help you. I’ve got you, Princess. Always.”