I’m crying so hardI can’t see the keys in my hand.
My fingers are shaking. The truck lock blurs in front of me. I jab the key at it once, twice, miss both times, and a sob rips out of me that sounds like it belongs to someone else.
“Lola!”
A voice cuts through the crowd. I turn, and Harper is running toward me, weaving between the gawking idiots with their phones still raised. “You’re in no state to drive, girl. Come with me.” She holds out her hand.
Violet looks at me. Completely lost. I nod, I don’t have the energy to explain. I grab Hunter’s hat from the ground, and we follow Harper around the back of the building to a silver sedan parked in the shadows.
We pile in, Harper turns on the engine, and I let out a breath that is burning in my lungs.
“Call Ace,” she says calmly. Almost like she’s used to this manic life.
I blink at her, pulling out my phone with trembling hands. “I—I don’t have his number.”
Harper nods and recites it from memory. Every digit. Without hesitation. I type it in and hit call.
“Do not mention me,” she says quietly.
Ace answers after two rings, breathing heavy. “Who is this?” he grunts.
“Lola.”
“Oh.” His voice changes completely. “Hi, Lola. What's up?”
“Hunter got arrested in Red Creek. He’s been taken away. He told me to call you, that you’d know what to do.” The words tumble out of me in a rush, tripping over each other.
“Fuck.” A pause. “Fuck.”
Something smashes in the background.
“Where are you? I need to come and get you first. He’d kill me if I left you there.”
I half laugh and half sob. The sound that comes out is barely human. “It’s okay. A friend is driving me home,” I say quietly, glancing at Harper, who can’t even look at me.
“Actually.” I sit up straighter. “I’m going to the station.”
Harper now looks at me. Violet leans forward from the back seat and smacks my arm.
“Uh. Shit. Okay.” Ace regroups fast. “I’ll sort out what I need to on my end. I’ll send Colten to the station to meet you. I’ll stay here with Wyatt. We gotta figure out where they’ve taken him and if we can get in.”
“Alright. Well, I’ll keep you in the loop. Thank you, Ace.”
“You sure you’re good, Lola-pop?”
I press my lips together. Holding back the tears. “Yes. And that nickname is atrocious. Try again.”
He chuckles. “I’m glad Hunter married you.”
We say our goodbyes and cut the call.
I glance at Harper. Her hands are tight on the wheel. Her jaw is set. And her eyes are glassed over in a way that has nothing to do with the road. She was listening to his voice. She looks like she’s holding on to the sound of him like a woman pressing a bruise just to feel it. And then it clicks. Every little comment Hunter has made about Ace. The way he said his brother would never get over his first love.
She’s the girl.
“Harper,” I whisper.
She turns to me and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand.