Page 86 of Meant for You

I wasn’t. I never would be. How could he not know that?

The bell above the door jingled again, and I turned to find Cal standing there, dark-as-night eyes on me, and an expression on his face I couldn’t read.

Back when Dane had first vanished, Cal, Cassy, and Bull, had all kept Dane’s whereabouts a closely guarded secret at his request. Dane had been a troublemaker, had been troubled, especially after what had happened with me. They knew as well as I did that when it came to me, Dane took risks, would do anything, go to any lengths, if he thought he was protecting me. Which, I was sure, was why they’d agreed with him that the best thing he could do was let me go, at least at the beginning.

That wasn’t happening this time. I wouldn’t let him retreat.

“Tell me,” I said, voice as strong as I could make it. “Tell me where he is.”

Cal took two big strides and pulled me into his arms, giving me a bone-crushing hug.

“You’re back,” he growled out. “Thank fuck…you came back for him.”

He released me, and I stared up at Cal in shock. “You’re not angry with me?”

His brows lowered. “Why the fuck…would I be angry at you?”

“Because I sent him away, because of what happened.”

“You did the right thing, Eves…” He took a breath, and I knew he was trying to get his emotions in check with the way he was stumbling over his words. He was getting them straight in his head before he spoke again. “But, shit, he’s been a fucking mess since he came back from Rutherford.”

“He’s going to try and shut me out again, isn’t he?”

Cal’s jaw clenched. “Don’t know.” He rubbed a hand over his head. “He’s been avoiding my calls. But when he went back with Grifter, the way he was acting…” He shook his head. “It’s possible.”

“He’s in Black Stone?”

He dipped his chin.

That’s all I needed to hear. I turned to Trix. “You coming?”

“You know it,” she said, pulling her phone from the back pocket of her jeans. “Texting Lila now.”

I turned back to Cal. “Don’t tell him you’ve seen me.” I didn’t want him having any warning, in case I was right. He wasn’t getting away from me. Not this time.

Cal dipped his chin. “You’re the only one who can get through to him now. Bring him home.”

“I will,” I said, because failure wasn’t an option.

Dane said I was his. Well, he was mine, and I wasn’t letting him go.

* * *

We went to Bunker’s Tattoo and Piercing first, the parlor Dane had worked at with Grifter when he lived in Black Stone. Neither of them were there. The smiling Rambler who was there, who looked us up and down way too long, was all too happy to give us Grifter’s address.

Unfortunately, they weren’t there either.

“How are we going to find them?” I said, near out of my mind. I kept thinking of Dane taking off on his bike, leaving for good and never coming back.

That if I didn’t find him now, I would lose him forever.

“Do you have Riff’s number?” I said to Lila when the thought popped into my mind.

She winced. “I deleted it.”

“Hold on,” Trix said. She was driving, and she did a tight U-turn and pulled up outside a garage across the street behind two guys in Ramblers vests.

“You can’t just talk to them,” Lila said, sliding her glasses higher on her nose.