“East,” I start.
He turns with a deadly look. “I didn’t do it for you. I did it for her.”
My throat tightens. “I know.”
“If Dad knew about…” He trails off, warily glancing at the twins, who hadn’t said a word during the entire exchange. “It would distract him.”
“You think the PI will find Ella?” Sawyer asks.
“Yes,” I answer with conviction I don’t feel.
“If she uses her mom’s ID, we can definitely find her,” East assures our younger brother. “If she figures out how to get a fake ID…” His shoulders slump in defeat. “I don’t know.”
“She can’t hide forever,” Seb says helpfully.
Yeah, she can. She’s the most resourceful person I’ve ever known. If Ella wants to stay hidden, then she will.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I eagerly grab it, but it’s not the person I want to hear from. Bile coats my throat when I see Brooke’s name.
A little birdie told me your princess is missing.
“Ella?” East says hopefully.
“Brooke.” Her name burns my tongue.
“What does she want?”
“Nothing,” I mutter, just as another message pops up.
Callum must be beside himself. Poor man. He needs someone to comfort him.
I grit my teeth. She ain’t subtle, that’s for sure.
In our mad search for Ella, I haven’t allowed myself to think about Brooke’s pregnancy and the deal I struck with her last night. Now I can’t ignore it, because the messages keep coming.
You have a job to do, Reed.
You made a promise.
Answer me, you little prick!
You want some baby mama drama? Is that it?
Jesus. I don’t need this right now. I choke down my rage and force myself to respond. Relax, bitch. I’ll go talk to him.
“What does she want?” Easton repeats angrily.
“Nothing,” I say again. Then I leave him and the twins in the living room and drag myself to my father’s study.
I don’t want to do this. I really, really don’t want to do this.
I knock on the door.
“What is it, Reed?”
“How did you know it’s me?” I ask as I push the door open.
“Because with Gideon gone, you’re the leader of your merry band of brothers.” Dad throws back his tumbler full of Scotch while reaching for a refill. And I wonder why I can’t get East off the bottle.
I heave a breath. “I think you should call Brooke.”
Dad halts in the middle of stoppering the Scotch.
Yeah, you heard me, old man. And trust me, I’m as shocked as you are.
When he doesn’t respond, I force myself to push forward. “When you bring Ella back, we’re gonna need help. We need someone to provide a buffer.” I gag on my next words. “A woman’s touch, I guess. Ella was tight with her mom. Maybe if Brooke had been around more before, Ella wouldn’t have left.”
My father frowns at me. “I thought you hated Brooke.”
“How many times do you want me to say I’m a dumbass?” I stretch a painful smile across my face.
He remains unconvinced. “She wants a ring and I’m not ready for that.”
Thank God. I guess the booze hasn’t erased all his good judgment.
“You don’t have to marry her. Just…” I lick my lips. This is effing hard, but I press on because I made this deal. I can’t have Brooke telling people that demon spawn is mine. “Just know it’s cool if you bring her back. I get it. We need people to care about. Who care about us.”
That much is true, at least. Ella’s love made me believe that I could be a better person.
“That’s generous of you,” Dad says dryly. “And hell, maybe you’re right.” He fingers the full glass. “We’ll find her, Reed.”
“I hope so.”
He gives me a tight smile and I back out of the room. As the door is closing, I hear him pick up the phone and say, “Brooke, it’s Callum. Got a minute?”
I quickly send her a text.
It’s done. Don’t tell him about the baby. It’ll just distract him.
She sends me back a thumbs-up emoji. The thin metal casing bites into my fingers as I clench my phone, fighting back the urge to throw it at the wall.
4
“Reed.” Valerie Carrington catches up to me on the back lawn, her chin-length hair blowing around in the crisp October wind. “Wait.”
I reluctantly stop, turning to find a pair of dark eyes blazing up at me. Val is pixie-sized, but she’s a commanding force. We could use someone with her bulldozer approach on our O-line.
“I’m late for practice,” I mutter.
“I don’t care.” She crosses her arms. “You need to stop playing games with me. If you don’t tell me what’s going on with Ella, I swear to God I’m calling the police.”
It’s been two days since Ella took off and we still have no word from the PI. Dad’s been forcing us to go to school as if everything is normal. He told the headmaster that Ella is home sick, which is the same thing I tell Val now. “She’s home sick.”
“Bull. Shit.”