Love's Redemption (Chris and Maddie)

Chapter 296

Why would Conrad call me this late at night?

I was still questioning the odd timing when Brandon said, "Oh, he sent you a text, too."

I blinked as he handed me the phone. I was still drained and admittedly out of it. Noticing this, he pointed out helpfully, "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

I was in the middle of deciding when the phone went silent after the call was automatically declined. I took the phone and scrolled through the messages, the ones I had left unread since morning. "Maddie, can we meet?"

"There's something I need to tell you, but I don't know I should."

"Text me back when you get this."

Conrad followed up with two texts in the afternoon.

"I'm still waiting for your text, Maddie."

"Are you busy, Maddie?"

I could feel his anxiousness through these messages and that he had been waiting for me to reply. If there was something he needed to tell me and he wasn't sure if he should, chances were he didn't know wha In the years since I had known Conrad, he had protected and watched over me like an older brother. He wouldn't tell me anything if he thought he could handle it himself. I wondered what had happened for him

hesitation, I returned his call. He picked up almost instantly. "Maddie, where are you?" "Conrad,

was about to repeat my question when he asked,

how weak I sounded over the phone, but I was more anxious to know what he had to say. "I'm fine, Conrad. What did you want to tell

meet?"

impossibility for now. Just as I

"What business could be so important that

the phone, hoping to muffle her words before Conrad caught them. However, it was too late. He asked frantically, "Are you sick?

from him any longer, so I said, "I

him what he

set my phone aside, only to find Lisa already pulling

Carline, last I checked, you were a

Chapter 296

217

snapped at

my heartbeat for a long moment. She then straightened up and kept

that, she shot me a dirty look and retorted, "Also, just because I'm

this to keep me from worrying. This was typical of Lisa, who was often brash on the

around hers and asked