Running To Him - Forbidden Hearts Series Book 6

46| She Was Gone

She was gone.

Sitting on the bed we shared, my eyes were glued to the empty spot on the mattress beside me. When I woke up this morning and reached beside me like I always did to pull her close, there was nothing but rumpled sheets and blankets.

But the heart shattering reality didn't quite hit me even then. Not until I got up and searched the entire warehouse only to come back to this room and see that her things that had been intermingled with mine were gone. That was the devastating blow that had my legs turning to jelly, causing me to fall back on the mattress.

I glanced down at my cell phone that I was still clutching way too tightly. As soon as I realized she was gone, I called Harper. I was hoping and praying that her best friend would have heard something, anything, about her whereabouts. That phone call went completely different than I had anticipated.

"Come on...answer, damn it." While Harper's phone continued to ring and ring, I paced back and forth in front of the bed. I tried Jamie's phone first. Straight to voicemail, of course. Now I was using the only other option I could think of. I didn't have any of her other friend's phone numbers. Just—

"Hello? Ollie?"

I had worked up a shit ton of panic when I realized Jamie had run off, and I was ready to let it all out when Harper answered my call. Just go full freak out, scared to death not knowing where she was or if she was alright. But Harper's tone was anything but casual. It was filled with knowledge and apologies.

"You already know, don't you?" My voice was rough. "Christ. Is she alright?"

Brief silence followed by, "Uh, yes, she's alright."

I couldn't help but frown at her response. Harper not only knew that Jamie was at least okay, but judging by the way she said that she knew more than she was letting on.

"Do you know where she is, Harper? Please tell me you know where she is."

I was prepared to beg Jamie's best friend for the information I needed to make this right. As soon as I realized she was missing, it wasn't that hard to put the puzzle pieces together. Jamie had to have overheard my boss when he came by yesterday morning. That had to be what it was. I couldn't think of any other reason she would take off like that. Not when we had been doing so well.

"Yes," she answered softly. "She's here at my place. She's staying with me and Jackson for a little while."

For the first time since I woke up, I felt like I could take my first full breath. The relief was unbelievably overwhelming. If Jamie went all incognito again and didn't tell anyone where she was, who knew if I would ever see her again.

"Thank God," I breathed into the phone. When I felt wetness on my cheeks I wiped it away quickly. "I was so worried she disappeared again."

"That's kinda what she was worried about, too."

My brows drew together in a deep frown. "What do you mean?"

"When she got here, the first thing she told me was that when you called looking for her to answer any of your questions truthfully. She said she wanted you to know that she was safe and didn't want you to worry."

"She said that?"

"Yeah. Believe me, I was surprised myself." Harper's voice dropped to an almost motherly tone. "Are you okay, Ollie?"

I ran my hand through my hair for the millionth time. "No, I'm not okay. I'm nowhere near okay." Even though I knew the answer to my next question, I asked it anyway. "Can I talk to her?"