Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 167759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 839(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 839(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
‘Fucking great,’ Rhett complains. ‘We’re adding breaking and entering to the list of your felonies today.’
‘Door was open. No breaking required. And no felonies to report today.’ Yet.
I stride deeper into the house, not giving a fuck that I’ve invaded someone’s home as need consumes me. A need to find him. A need to find her. A need to know what is going on.
Then he’s in front of me. Board shorts and a T-shirt, a towel in his hands.
‘What the fuck are you doing here? In my house?’ It’s almost as though the realisation that I am standing in his house seems to hit him as he speaks. ‘Get the fuck out!’
‘Sit down.’ The five points of my fingers at his chest, I push him into the chair that’s conveniently behind him. Convenient for him, at least.
‘Fuck you. Get the fuck out of my house.’ He’s immediately on his feet, squaring up to me.
‘I said sit down.’ I push him again, and Rhett chuckles from behind me. I see it the moment he realises I’m not alone.
‘Where is she?’ My voice sounds calm—too calm for these riotous feelings curling inside me. Curling. Twisting. Needing reassurance that she’s okay. Heading towards violence that she might not be.
‘Where’s who?’
‘Rose. I want to know where Rose is.’
‘She had the good sense to bail, did she?’ he crows. ‘Well, good for fucking her is all I have to say.’
‘I’ll give you one more chance to tell me where she is.’
‘Remy.’ Rhett’s tone is a warning, my fists already balled.
‘I don’t know where she is, and I wouldn’t tell you if I knew.’
‘Listen, pal.’ Rhett is suddenly between us. ‘We have other places we need to be. But the fact of the matter is, we just want to make sure Rose isn’t in danger.’ His tone turns conciliatory, his manner, too. ‘She’s gone missing and there was a lot of mess at the house. We think she might’ve been abducted.’
My veins flood with ice. I’m worried, yes. But I hadn’t considered the possibility, not truly, taking the blame squarely on my own shoulders. I fucked up, so she left. But now I see the danger. Now I see he might be right.
And if he is, Carson Hayes isn’t the man I’m looking for.
‘Well, I’m sorry for that,’ Carson answers. ‘She seems like a good person. But I’ve been in Turin all day; took a flight out early this morning. Knock yourself out, check the flight manifest if you don’t believe me. She wasn’t with me. And kidnap seems more your skillset.’
For a moment, I think he’s talking to Rhett—there’s no mistaking he’s military—as though he’s inclined to undertake such acts in a professional capacity.
A coldness settles around my shoulders when I realise he’s addressing me.
‘What the fuck is that supposed to mean?’
‘Acquiring companies by less than fair means. And by acquiring, I mean stealing. Blackmail. Threats. I can see kidnapping being added to the list real easy.’
‘What about rape?’ I say stepping into him, close enough to see his gaze flare. ‘What about sexual assault. Abuse of power. Are those on the great Carson Hayes’ list?’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Not what, who. Just ask your grandfather.’
And with that, I plant my fist squarely in his gut.
* * *
‘Got it.’ Outside, Rhett ends the very brief call he’s just received, staring at the phone in his hand a beat longer than is normal.
‘What you said in there? You think—’ I swallow and start again. ‘You think she hasn’t left? Left me, I mean? You think she might’ve been taken? Kidnapped?’
‘Remy, mate, we need to look at this from all angles. But, I dunno, it just seems too convenient that she’s seen all the stuff from the safe, then pissed off. I reckon she’d be more likely to wait and speak to you about it. She might then run you over in her car, but at least you’d know.’
‘So who, Rhett? Where?’ Blood burns in my veins. ‘I need answers, and I pay you to get them.’
‘And we’re getting there,’ he asserts, not accepting the barb. ‘But, do you wanna tell me what that was all about?’ He lifts his thumb in the direction of the Hayes’ town house.
‘You know how I got my hands on Hayes Construction.’ I press my palms to my thighs and bend at the waist as I try to control my breathing. My heart hammers in my chest, my head feeling like it might burst at any minute.
‘Blackmail,’ Rhett’s asserts. He knows. He was party to it. ‘But that in there? That was personal. I saw the way you looked at him. I heard the way you wanted it to be him.’
I huff out a desultory laugh. ‘What is it you said? The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree?’
‘Stop speaking in fucking riddles.’