“Amara?” Her voice was filled with tears, and I knew it was worse than I could have imagined.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered, unable to find my voice.
“Honey…i-it’s your dad.”
Chapter 10
Cash
I was just stepping out of the shower when my phone rang with the tone I’d assigned to Amara. Grinning, I wrapped the towel around my waist and grabbed my phone.
“How did the meeting go with the fire-breather?” I asked with a laugh.
“Cash…” she sobbed, and it felt like the bottom fell out of my world.
“Baby, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Fuck, what had Emmie said to her? I was already getting pissed at my manager when Amara started talking.
“M-My… My dad was in an accident at work,” she choked out. “They…” She sobbed again, and I jumped into action. I jerked the towel off and did a rough dry. I was already half dressed when she was able to speak again. “There was an explosion. He… His men… Oh God, Cash. He didn’t make it.”
“Where are you? Home?” I grabbed my shirt and keys and jogged out of my apartment toward the elevators. “Amara, where are you?” I repeated when she didn’t say anything. Her broken sobs were killing me, and all I could think about was how fast I could get to her.
“I’m at the coffee p-place by my apartment. I was here when Jane called. I just got off the ph-phone with her.”
“Baby, I’m on my way. I’ll be there in five minutes.” I jumped into my car and pulled my shirt over my head before starting it. “Stay on the phone with me. Talk to me.”
“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered. “They haven’t even found his body yet.”
“It’s going to be okay. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll take care of whatever needs handling.”
“Oh fuck. I need to go home and pack a bag. I need to find the first flight out to Tulsa.”
“Baby, stay where you are. I’m almost there. We’ll get there as soon as I c
an get it arranged. I swear to you, it’s going to be okay.” I was driving one-handed, weaving through traffic and getting the finger from pissed-off drivers.
“He can’t be dead,” she sobbed. “Oh God, he’s all I have left.”
“Baby.”
I heard someone speaking in the background, asking if Amara was all right. She only sobbed harder, and I pressed my foot down on the gas. Seeing the coffee shop, I did a quick U-turn in the middle of traffic and double-parked right in front of the place. I jumped out, deaf to the sound of angry horns honking. Rushing inside, I found a small group of people gathered around Amara’s table in the back of the shop.
Someone was offering her a napkin, but she didn’t even seem to realize there were concerned people trying to take care of her. I pushed through the crowd of people until I was crouching down in front of her.
I took the phone from her chilled fingers, and she seemed to snap out of her daze.
“Is she going to be okay?” someone asked.
“Yes,” I growled. “She’s my girlfriend. I’ll take care of her. She’s just gotten some bad news.”
“Cash?” Amara whispered, tears pouring down her beautiful face. “My dad is gone.”
“I’m so sorry, Dreamer.” I lifted her into my arms. Someone grabbed the papers that I hadn’t noticed on the table along with her phone and put them on her lap, and I nodded my thanks before carrying her out to my car.
Traffic was backed up and people were cursing me as they slowly drove around my parked car, but my focus was completely on Amara. I put her in the front passenger seat and buckled her in. She looked so lost and helpless. I brushed a quick kiss over her brow before going around and getting in behind the wheel.
Turning the car in the direction of LAX, I hit Riley’s name on my contact list. It rang a handful of times before she answered. “What’s up, douchebag?” she laughed.
“I’m on my way to the airport with Amara now. I don’t know when we’ll be back. I just wanted to let you know where she’s going to be.”