Iâm groggy as my eyes peel open. I feel around the silk sheets, looking for Jewel, but when I realize sheâs not there, I sit up in bed with a pounding headache. I groan as I search the room. âJewels?â I call out, but itâs deathly quiet. Why the fuck is my head hurting?
My gaze stops on the shiny ring on my bedside table, and my eyes widen. âJewels?!â I demand, flinging the sheets off. Iâm naked, and I can remember being with her last night, but not much past that. I rub my head and grab my favorite Rolex. Five in the morning? What the fuck? âJewels?!â I shout again. I search every room, dread sinking in.
I lick my dry lips as I grab my phone and call Ford. He answers on the first ring. âBoss, youâre finally calling.â
âSheâs gone.â I breathe heavily. And the moment I say it out loud, fury, rage, and sadistic determination kick in.
âWhââ
âJewel. Sheâs gone. I need everyone in action to find her. The moment you have her location, send it to me. Iâll call Will now.â
âEli, wait. Is it possible she was given the green light for the hit on you? Shouldnât we be coming to you to make sure she doesnât follow through?â
My jaw tics. I understand his concern, but right now, Iâm anything but rational. âYou have your orders,â I bark, then I hang up.
There is every possible chance that Jewel might have gotten the final order, and she might kill me, but Iâll be fucked if Iâm willing to die at the hands of anyone but my soon-to-be wife. I knew it. I knew sheâd run. And I have no doubt thatâs exactly what sheâs done. But Iâm floundering; a part of me is terrorized by the idea I might not reach her in time.
And even if she does make the hit on me, at least itâll put me out of this fucking intense sense of fear Iâve never before felt in my life.
Iâve never met a woman so infuriating that I just want to strangle the life out of her and, at the same time, make sure no one could ever hurt her. And I know full well that she can protect herself; she proved that time and time again. I donât think sheâs had anyone other than herself to protect her in a very long time.
Yes, she has Craig, and Iâm not denying heâs a special part of her life. He looked after her when she had no one else, but now she has me to depend on, and I donât know how to prove that to her.
So she fucking drugs me and runs away like a coward. I know she sees this as just a contract. And, yes, thatâs exactly what it started off as. But I kept pushing myself closer and closer to her until all I could breathe was her.
I dial one more number before calling Will.
Dutton doesnât answer, so I call again. On the third try, he answers. âMy nose is fine, in case youâre wondering.â
âSheâs gone,â I say, defeated, and itâs the first time Iâve let the noticeable change in my voice show. As the fog of whatever she drugged me with clears, Iâm facing a startling reality that someone else might get to her first. Or maybe Iâm deluded in thinking I could really make her stay. To make her mine.
Duttonâs quiet for a moment, and I consider maybe I really fucked up. I know Iâd acted on impulse, hitting him, but weâd come to that point multiple times in the past. But was this time different? Was I wrong to call him for help?
âHave you already called Hawke and Ford?â he asks, and I can hear heâs moving. I take his cue, dressing myself, the sense of urgency crippling me. But itâs his voice that steadies me as we begin to place everything into motion.
âYes, and Iâm about to contact Will.â I tighten my belt.
âLet me work on my end and see what I can find. Weâll find her.â He hangs up, and I let out a shaky breath because I hear what he didnât say. Weâll find her⦠dead or alive. But thereâs the possibility we wonât find her at all. Because my woman, if nothing else, is cunning and used to running through the shadows.
And I refuse to believe that I was the only one in the quicksand of whatever this is weâve fallen into.
If I die because of that delusion, then so be it.
I grab the engagement ring before I storm out of the apartment, willing to rain hell on New York if only to smoke her out.