Page 86 of Challenge Me

It wasn’t until I got to the locker room that I remembered Remi had my keys. I called him for the second time, but he didn’t pick up. As I was about to do it again, Avery’s face appeared on the screen.

“Damnit.” I brought it to my ear and continued toward the parking lot. “Hey.”

“Amir, where is she?” Her voice was a higher pitch than normal, matching the frantic beat in my head.

“I’m figuring that out. I just saw the article a couple minutes ago.”

“Why isn’t she with you? How could you let him take her to a car show, of all things?”

“I didn’t let him. He took her to get food.”

“You said we could trust him.”

“I said I trust him, and you agreed. Let’s not start placing blame right now.”

“He wasn’t paying attention to her,” she snapped.

“And you never check your phone when you’re with her, right?” Taking a deep breath, I shoved open the door to go outside. “We don’t know what happened. Clara’s going to twist it in the worst way.”

“I don’t need you to blindly defend him right now. I need you to find our daughter.”

“You don’t have to tell me that.”

She said something, but I didn’t hear her because I saw the car pull into the lot. I started running and reached the parking spot just as he turned into it.

“They’re here.”

“I’m getting on a plane tonight,” Avery said.

“Why?”

“To bring Mal home.”

“Avery, just wait a goddamn minute.”

Mal got out of the car, and I was stunned into silence by the smile on her face. That, and the paint on it. It made her look like a character from Cars, complete with headlights over her eyebrows. There were earmuffs on her head that looked like tires. It was ridiculous, and I was so overcome by relief that I laughed.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

She hugged me around the waist and nodded. Remi also had a smile on his face, but it was difficult for me to enjoy it when I had a million questions.

“Everyone’s fine,” I told Avery.

“I’m coming to get her. Don’t let her leave your sight.”

“Don’t be rash. Let me figure out what happened first. I’ll give you a call back.”

“No, put me on the phone with her.”

“I can deal with this myself, Avery. Have some faith in me.”

“Right now, I don’t have any to give.”

“I’ll call you back,” I repeated firmly. Before she could argue, I ended the call and turned to Remi. “What the hell happened?”

“Swear,” Mal sing-songed in a voice entirely unlike her. Actually, it sounded a lot like Remi.

“What do you mean?” he asked.