Miles away on Springs Isle, the plane touched down without a hitch. Hunter joined the flow of passengers exiting the aircraft, greeted by the warm, salty sea air. Yet the gentle breeze couldn't shake the strange chill settling deep in his core.
Automatically, he grabbed his phone and saw a slew of missed calls from his parents. Anxiety clawed at him. What had Natalie told them that stirred such concern? He suspected it had something to do with Layla, and a flicker of irritation crossed his mind.
His fingers danced across the screen, launching w******p. Natalie's chat lingered there with no fresh messages, only the remnants of a conversation from two weeks earlier. Their exchanges had dwindled to a few brief notes, often rerouted through John. The phone felt like ice in his hand.
A tight
