I shook my head. I wasn’t ready to talk to him. “Where do I go give blood?” I asked him. That was the only thing I needed to know right now. The man had basically abandoned me while living right there in the same house as me, but I wasn’t about to let him die if I could do something to help him. I’d lived my whole life thinking I had no family. When all along . . . I could have had one. If he’d wanted me.
KRIT
Two weeks. That’s how long it had been since I’d walked through life numb. Two weeks since I’d woken up with Blythe in my arms. Two weeks since she’d left me. I was hollow. The void I had once had was nothing compared to being hollow inside. I called her daily and left her a voicemail. Every night I sent her a text message. I kept hoping eventually she’d give in and call me. Let me know where she was and if she was all right.
I had gone to the church she worked at, demanding to know where Linc had taken her, but they’d called the cops and had me escorted out while I was yelling at them and threatening to kill Linc. Rock had had to come pick me up at the police station. I wasn’t allowed within a hundred yards of the church parking lot.
Now all I could do was wait. Trisha had said Blythe loved me. She had never told me she loved me. But I held onto the hope that I loved her enough for both of us. That she would miss me and come back.
Jackdown now had a new bass player, and Green was the lead singer. They said it was temporary until I could come back. But if Blythe didn’t come back to me, I knew it was permanent. I wouldn’t be able to get back on that stage again and sing.
Britt still hadn’t gone to the doctor to get me any proof. Trisha had called today and asked if I’d heard anything from Britt. When I told her no, she’d said she was going to take care of that. Which meant Trisha was gonna take Britt to the doctor whether she wanted to go or not.
Someone knocked on my door, and I turned to look at it from where I sat on the sofa. It was unlocked. If it was someone I knew, they’d just open it. When they only knocked again, I got up. Blythe was the only thing running through my head. She wouldn’t just open the door. She’d knock.
I took three long strides and jerked the door open. Linc Keenan didn’t have much time before my fist was firmly planted in his face and I was shoving him back against the wall, my hand at his neck. I was gonna pummel him. He took her from me. He took my Blythe from me.
“Dumbass! I told you not to come here. That I’d tell him you wanted to talk to him. What part of ‘he’s a crazy-ass motherfucker who wants to kill you’ don’t you understand?” Green’s voice stopped me, and I tightened my hold on Linc’s throat.
“He is here to tell you where Blythe is,” Green said to me. “If you kill him, then you won’t ever know. And you’ll end up in jail. Again,” Green said as he stared pointedly at me.
I eased my hold and turned my focus to Linc. “Where is she?”
He was holding up both of his hands in surrender “Cahn breev,” he choked out.
I dropped my hand from his throat. “Where is she?” I asked again.
He rubbed his neck. “I’m gonna tell you where she is, but first I need to explain the situation.”
I had my hand back at his throat instantly. “Where is she?” I roared, and Green was behind me, pulling me back, but I wasn’t moving.
“For the love of God, tell him where she is!” Green yelled.
Linc was scratching at my hands, and I noticed he was a little blue. I dropped my hand again, and he bent over and gasped for air. I gave him five seconds then asked again.
“Where is she?”
“Token, South Carolina. Hospital with her dad, uh, Pastor Williams. He had a heart attack two weeks ago. I took her there.” He gasped again and then looked up at me. “He needed blood. He’s got a rare type, and it’s a small hospital. She has the same type. But she never knew he was her dad. She does now, and he’s in the hospital. She’s been there ever since. But”—he rubbed at his throat—“I think she needs you.”
She needed me. I turned from him and walked into the apartment. I grabbed my keys then looked down at them. I needed a car. It would be faster. I had to get to her. She needed me.
“Take my car,” Green said, shoving his keys into my hand. “I’ll find out the specifics and text them to you. Go.”
I didn’t look back. I took off running.
Chapter Twenty-Three
BLYTHE
I stared at my phone. I hadn’t turned it on since I left Sea Breeze. I was scared to. What if Krit had left me messages? What if he hadn’t? What if he was going to doctor’s appointments with Britt now? What if he had realized he missed his old life? I just couldn’t face any of that.
“You look better,” Malcolm said. He wasn’t Pastor Williams anymore, but he also wasn’t Dad. I didn’t know if he would ever be Dad. That seemed like a word reserved for someone who protected you and cared for you. Malcolm had done neither.
I glanced up at him. He was less pale today. He’d been out of the ICU for three days now. “I went to the house like you suggested and took a shower. Got some sleep. Washed my clothes,” I replied.
“Good. You were looking exhausted. Sorry Linc left you.”
I wasn’t. I had wanted him to go. He’d stayed, but I hadn’t talked to him much. Then three nights after Malcolm’s surgery, I’d overheard him on the phone with a girl. His fiancé. Who lived in Mississippi and who he’d been engaged to for a year. All the phone calls he had needed to take made sense now. I had known he was tense and dealing with someone, but I had never had any idea he had a fiancé.