We entered the warm house and made our way into the kitchen. The half-full cup of coffee I left on the counter had gone cold. I turned the coffee machine on, watching Nadia tie the robe tighter.
“Ty called a couple of days ago and again last night,” I began, watching her every move, trying to read her mind. “Adrian checked out of rehab, and since yesterday, he’s nowhere to be found.”
Nadia stared at me, her eyes no longer glowing. She swallowed hard, and bit on her cheek.
“You think he’s coming here.”
“I’m sure he is, baby doll. He’s not getting to you, I promise.”
She slid off the stool and came closer, pressing herself to my body.
“I thought he could make it work this time.”
This time and too many times before. Adrian was a lost cause; he was self-destructive. I gripped her shoulders and pushed her away to look into her eyes.
“Adrian’s not your responsibility, Nadia. You can’t keep trying to help him. He obviously doesn’t want help. He sure doesn’t deserve it, either. Let him make his own decisions.”
She pressed her lips to mine for a short, affectionate kiss, then wriggled a little until my hold on her loosened. She grabbed her phone from the counter, tapping on the screen before she pressed it to her ear.
“Hey, Ty. Can I put you on speaker? Thomas is here with me.”
She tapped on the screen again, then placed the phone on the breakfast bar.
“Hey, Ty,” I said, handing Nadia a cup of coffee.
“Hey, man. How’s it going?” he asked, sounding tired.
“Not bad, although I would be better if I knew where Adrian was right about now.”
Nadia brushed her hair away from her face with trembling hands. It was killing me to know that Adrian’s actions still affected her so much.
“Why did he bail on rehab?” she asked. “Is he using again?”
“No, he’s clean for now. He told me a bit about the therapy there, and to be honest I can’t blame him for bailing. I’m surprised the place is still operational. I’m sure the shit they do there is illegal.”
“What do you mean?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I cut in, not letting him explain.
Nadia didn’t need the details; she didn’t need to worry about Adrian any more than she already was.
“Better tell me if he mentioned coming to see Nadia. How long has he been missing now?”
“About eighteen hours. He didn’t say anything about flying over to see Nadia, but where else could he go? Unless he’s out getting high, I think it’s safe to assume he’s on his way to London.”
Nadia shuddered when Ty mentioned drugs. I stood behind her, pulling her back to my chest. She exhaled a shaky breath, and her hands stopped trembling. I saw her calm down at the touch of my body a hundred times before, but it never ceased to amaze me that I didn’t have to do or say anything to help her control her emotions.
“Don’t worry, okay?” Nadia said. “I’ll let you know if he shows up.”
Ty scoffed. “It’s not him I worry about, girl. It’s you.”
“No need,” she said, covering my palm with hers. “Thomas is here.”
I kissed the top of her head. “Adrian’s not getting to Nadia, Ty. That I can promise.”
“Good. Try not to kill the idiot when he arrives.”
I promise nothing.