You've Got Fail(68)

“She also said for you to sit tight while she does damage control.” He shook his head. “But that’s what we’re not going to do.”

“Right.” The toast and Gatorade were making a dent in my hangover, my mind clearing enough to register the pain of losing Scarlet. “I have to get her back.”

“That’s the spirit.” He clapped his hands. “Now go get cleaned up, and we’ll head over to her place.”

My phone rang again. “Shit, there can’t be more bad news.” I leaned over and saw Scarlet’s name pop up. I itched for her, needed to hear her voice no matter what she’d done.

“Go ahead, man.”

I snatched the phone and answered it. “Scarlet.”

“Willis.” Her voice was thin, trembling. “Pauly took Hannah.”

“What?”

“He came by the apartment while I was out getting lunch and took her.”

“We should call the police—”

“No!” Her voice rose. “We can’t. He might hurt her. I think I know where she is. Will you help me get her back? I’m sorry, but I don’t have anyone else.”

“I’m coming over.” I rose and dashed into my bedroom. “Stay put.”

“Okay. Please hurry…and thank you.” The phone went silent as I pulled on a fresh t-shirt.

“Sounds like we’re the cavalry,” Jason called from the living room.

Another knock on my front door sounded as I grabbed my glasses. “Who’s that?”

“Hey.” Elias’s voice. “What are you doing here?”

“I figured he needed hangover remedy.”

Elias laughed. “You got the drunk texts, too?”

“So many drunk texts.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that many,” I yelled from the bedroom.

“It was a lot,” Elias called back. “What’s going on?”

“Rescue mission. Pauly took Hannah. We’re going to rescue her.”

“Someone took Hannah?” Elias’s voice dropped, anger coloring his words. “I’ll kill that fucker.”

“This Pauly guy is dangerous. You don’t have to come. Neither of you.” I finished dressing and pulled on my shoes, hopping back into the living room. I didn’t question my need to get to her, to do whatever I could to help her. It was some sort of innate link, an unbreakable tie that led me back to Scarlet despite her subterfuge.

“Danger?” Jason stretched. “Hell yeah I’m coming.”

“Me too.” Elias mean-mugged.

“No, I mean really dangerous. Like ‘The Sopranos’ kind of danger.”

“That was a good show.” Jason followed me out the front door and into the elevator. “You think Tony got popped at the end?”

“Whoa! Spoiler warning next time.” I held up a hand. “I haven’t watched all the seasons yet.”

“That show ended years ago.” Elias scoffed. “Any time limit for spoilers has long since expired.”

I secretly agreed, but grumbled all the way down.

The taxi ride seemed to take years, each red light taunting me. The string that tied me to her stretched tighter with each passing moment, demanding that I move faster, try harder. If I could have run to her, I would have.

When we finally reached her apartment, I jumped from the cab and rushed up the stairs. “Scarlet!” I banged on her door. It swung open with ease, and I found Scarlet standing just inside, a kitchen knife in her hand. She dropped it onto the counter when she saw me and rushed into my arms. Nothing had ever felt so right. All the drama, the worry, the fear dropped away, and there was just the two of us.

I held her close. “Everything’s going to be all right.”

“I’m so sorry.” Her tears made my own eyes water.

“Shh, it’s okay.” I stroked her hair. “I promise we’ll figure this out.”

She shook, sobs breaking up her speech. “I fucked up with you, then Pauly came to collect, and I wasn’t able to protect Hannah.”

“He won’t hurt her. He needs her for his card games, right?”

She nodded against me. “Yeah.”

“We’ll find her.”

“I’ll tell Pauly I’ll work for him. Or make another deal. Something. But I won’t sacrifice Hannah.” Her voice grew stronger. “I won’t.”

“No one’s working for Pauly.” I wasn’t sure how I was going to solve the problem, but I was completely sure that, after today, neither Scarlet nor her sister would have anything to do with that lowlife.

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey.” I pulled her chin up and looked into her red-rimmed eyes. “No more apologies. That’s over. Done. I forgive you.”

“But I was going to—”

“Doesn’t matter. I don’t care what you did.” I wiped her tears away. “I love you, Scarlet.”

Her eyes widened. “Daphne. My name’s Daphne.”

I smiled so hard I worried my face might crack. “Daphne.” I tasted her name, teasing the edges of it with my tongue. “I like it. Daphne.”

“It’s me.” She shrugged. “And I love you, too.”