As soon as she opened her door, the thrill of her cellphone greeted her. The only person who'd be calling was Juliette, to see what Cade had learned from Irene. Cade wasn't in the mood to share, so she ignored the phone. She would have to call Juliette back later.
She hopped in the shower and immersed herself in the warm water, soothing all her aching muscles until she was nicely pruned, and she couldn't get the thoughts out of her mind. When the gush of the shower silenced, her phone rang again.
Cade huffed out a sigh, cursing Juliette for not getting a clue. With a towel wrapped around her body, she went to the dresser and snatched up her phone. Shocked to see the sixteen missed calls from various numbers, Cade scrolled through the listing. Quite a few were from Juliette, some from the Mackinley offices, and others were from a blocked ID. Ten voicemail messages also awaited her. The first few were between Juliette and Mac, both asking her to call them back immediately. On to the seventh message, and Cade's heart pumped heavily in her chest when she realized who had been the caller. Jax.
"Cade, I'm sorry to be calling now … I need your help." The words were punctuated with heavy sighs, but before he continued, Jax paused for a good minute. Cade held onto the phone, to the point where she almost felt like she was crushing it. "Harley's missing." Before he ended the call, Cade thought she heard a sob.
She didn't bother listening to the other messages. While she dialled Jax's personal number, she dressed in whatever she could grab.
He picked up on the first ring. "Cadence."
"Jax, what's going on? What do you mean Harley's missing?"
To say his voice was panicked was an understatement. Cade could hear the tremble in his voice, clearer than anything around her. "We don't know where she is."
"Where's Penny? Wasn't she supposed to be looking after her?"
On top of the anxiety, Jax was pissed off. "She was, but she thought Harley just crossed the hallway to my suite. Cade, I wouldn't ask you this if I didn't think it was important. We need you." He paused to take a deep breath in. "I need you. Harley needs you. You were the only person who was able to connect with her."
"I'll book a flight right away."
"Wait. Pack your bags and I'll call you back. I'll have Tina make the arrangements."
Cade didn't bother arguing. She wasn't sure how long it would take her to find the next available flight to LA, and on top of that, she wasn't too sure if her meagre bank account would cover the cost. But she would do anything for Harley, and if she was being honest, for Jax too.
It took exactly ten minutes for Jax to call her back, just to tell her that a driver would be coming in a few minutes to pick her up. On their second call, Cade heard the added noise in the background. She wasn't sure where Jax was. He could be at the suite. He could be at a police station. All she could tell was that a lot of people were there to help or sort out what had happened to Harley.
"I'll see you soon," was her promise to Jax. As she ended the call, Cade repeated the words for Harley, wherever she was.
Chapter Eighteen
Nerves hit her like a battering ram. Nothing was going right. The throbbing in her head pounded at her like a jackhammer. All she wanted to do was figure out what happened that morning.
Where was Harley?
Cade poked her head out of the car even though the tinted window hadn't rolled down completely. The bumper-to-bumper traffic stretched down the street. She checked her phone again. They'd been stuck in traffic for a half hour. She'd called Jax to let him know she had arrived, then asked if there was any news from Harley.
"Nothing yet," Jax had replied. He sounded glum. Worried as all heck.
Cade pulled herself forward to chat up the driver, "How far is the hotel from here?"
He pointed a finger. "Four blocks that-a-way."
With determination and gratefulness that she had put on her running shoes instead of her loafers, Cade grabbed the handle of the car door, checked the blind spot, and stepped out.
"I'll run from here. See you there!" she shouted through the opened window, then started off in a run.
This was when time spent at the gym came in handy. She was fit. She was a runner. She was positive she'd reach the hotel faster than the stalled car.
When she got off the elevator, the hallway was abuzz. Uniformed cops, suited up detectives, and a few recognizable faces from Mac Security milled about the hallway. She was readily stopped by one of the police officers.