Escaped Artist (Untamed #3) by Victoria Green, Jinsey Reese

“Yeah.”
    “Alright then,” I said with a shrug. “I personally find your war on gingers baffling and hairist as shit, but at least we aren’t going to have any trouble on our hands. Save for your poor girl’s bruised ego.”
    “She’s not MY girl.” He growled the words as his fingers impulsively drifted to the little wren on his chest.
    Interesting. “You know, if you have such a stick up your ass about redheads, maybe you shouldn’t have let me add so much auburn to your wren tattoo. All those dark red feathers—”
    “Shut it, Dare.” His grip tightened around his coffee cup. “You may be blood, but do not go there.”
    VERY interesting.
    Before either of us could say anything more, my phone buzzed, the caller ID lighting up with Rex’s number.
    Today was turning out to be full of surprises. “If you’re calling to ask about Jasmine for the third time this week, she’s safe and sound,” I said as I picked up. “And still very married.”
    “Dare…” Rex’s voice caused a chill to run down my spine.
    There were only three reasons he would sound like that. Two of those were currently partying in Vienna. The other—my mom—I hadn’t talked to for a week. Shit.
    “What is it? What happened?”
    “Your mom’s counselor called.” I could hear him sigh. “She’s been skipping her meetings.”
    I ran a hand through my hair, at a loss for words. “Why?” was all I could manage. “Why now?” She had been doing SO well lately. She’d earned her one year sobriety chip just last month.
    “Something has her spooked,” he said.
    Spooked? Shit . That could only mean—
    Dash leaned in and mouthed, What’s wrong?
    I shook my head, worry taking hold, and turned on the speaker so Dash could hear.
    “Rex?” I said. “What happened?”
    “She got a call from Rykers.”
    All the air rushed out of my lungs. Dash white-knuckled the edge of the counter.
    “When?” we both asked in unison. As if that REALLY mattered.
    He had found her number. He had found her.
    FUCK.
    Rex didn’t speak for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he said, “Two weeks ago. He said he was coming for her, that he was being released soon. She pleaded with me not to tell you, but I can’t keep it from you now that she’s missing meetings.” Another few heartbeats of silence followed. “I’m sorry, Dare. This is my fault. I should be taking better care of her while you kids are away.”
    I shook my head. “Rex, it’s enough that you flew to L.A. to be with her this summer so Dalia and Dax could travel and I could be here. The last thing you should be doing is blaming yourself. She’s not your responsibility. She’s mine.”
    And so was my father and his threat.
    Dash bent down to the speaker and asked the one question I wasn’t brave enough to ask. “Is Celia using again?”
    “From what I can tell she’s clean,” Rex said, and I breathed a small sigh of relief. “I’m keeping a close eye on her and I’ll drag her to those goddamn meetings if I have to. She’s safe, Dare. I swear. I just thought you should know why she hasn’t been herself lately. She’s so afraid to tell you about Daren’s call.”
    That name. That fucking name still haunted me to this day.
    “Maybe I should come back,” I said.
    “No!” There was a sharp edge in Rex’s voice. “You need to live YOUR life. For once . Your mom will be fine.”
    “Rex—”
    “No, Dare. Listen to me. You stay where you are. If you show up here all of a sudden, that’s just going to spook her more.”
    I nodded, torn. For the moment, he was probably right. If she was already scared, it could send her over the edge, and I really didn’t want to be the cause of her falling off the wagon again.
    “Okay,” I said. “I’ll stay. But you call me the minute you hear anything at all. Promise me that, Rex.”
    “Of course. If anything changes, I’ll call.”
    As soon as Rex hung up, Dash began pacing the room.
    “I’ll call my mom and see if