**Elena**
“Elena. Where are you?” a voice called into my ear. Deep and familiar.
“Nick? Hello… is that you?” I answered, my chest tightening up. Every word I spoke tumbled out faster than I could catch them. “Why are you calling me with a different number? What happened? Is everything okay?”
I didn’t give him a moment to speak. My hands were trembling, and my eyes kept scanning my surroundings as if something might jump out at me.
“Calm down, Elena,” Nick’s voice finally cut in. “I’m perfectly fine. My phone died, so I had to use my office line.”
That slowed me for a heartbeat, but my mind leapt straight to the next worry.
“What happened? Is there a problem?”
And then it hit me all at once. Dad.
“Is there anything wrong with my dad, Nick?” My voice cracked despite my best effort to
