Caught by Emma Louise
Chapter Thirty
"You wanna talk about what has you here acting like a moody asshole tonight?"
"Nope," I answer my brother, then take another long drink from the bottle I've been working my way through for the past hour.
"Didn't think so." He stands, slaps me on the shoulder, and turns to leave. "I have shit to do. Come find me if you need me." The door slams behind him, leaving me alone in his office. That is typical of the relationship we have. We don't talk about much, definitely not women problems, but he has my back if I need him to. I should’ve gone home hours ago, but I'm having a hard time getting Darcey's broken expression out of my mind.
Christ, the shit she's had to deal with, and I had to go and push her like I did? No wonder she hates me. My phone lights up, and I see Crew's name on the screen. He’s probably calling with more good news that doesn’t even matter anymore. Serena signed the papers, his plan worked, and I’m officially getting divorced, but it’s pointless now. I did it all for her. The woman who will likely not want anything to do with me ever again.
Hitting ignore for what feels like the tenth time, I scroll to the last message Darcey sent to me.
Can we talk?
My fingers hover over the screen, ready to type out a long, begging apology. To tell her that I’m sorry for dragging her darkest secrets out of her. But I don't. Instead, I tip the bottle to my lips, letting the alcohol burn a path down my throat. Then I turn the phone off so I can wallow in peace.
When did all of this get so fucked up? After all the shit I put up with in the last few years, I thought I might be on to something good. Looks like the joke’s on me because instead of being where I want to be right now, at home with Darcey, getting Cass into bed and reading her a ridiculous story about princesses, I'm here in the back room of a biker bar, on my own getting drunker than I have been in years. The reminder of Cass, the kid who has me absolutely wrapped around her pretty little finger is like a kick in the teeth. I've probably lost her too, and that thought is enough to have me pulling another long drink from the bottle I'm holding in a death grip to my chest.
I drink it down until I end up coughing away the harsh burn of booze. The room tilts slightly as I drop the bottle to the desk. I should probably go sleep this shit off, but I've gotten used to sleeping with her beside me. Even if she creeps out of bed early in the morning before Cass wakes up, she still goes to sleep with me every night. I'm not sure how to go back to sleeping without her tucked in close to my chest. How do I go back to living with the void that was my life before them?
I'm done.Her words echo in my head. The bleak expression on her face is all I see.
The door opens, and I expect to see Jake come back in, but instead it's a blonde who looks a little familiar that steps inside. I've seen her around here before, hanging off one of the brothers most likely.
"Jake isn't here," I grunt, hoping she'll take the hint and fuck off. I'm not in the mood to speak to anyone tonight.
"I know," she answers in a sickly sweet voice as she steps in front of my chair. Leaning down, she puts her hands on my jean-covered thighs. My body locks at the unwanted contact. "I wasn't looking for Jake," she purrs as she kneels on the floor at my feet, not moving her hands. I should tell her to get the fuck up and get the fuck out, and I have no idea why I don't say anything. She isn't the one I want. She's pretty enough, and a few months ago I wouldn't have thought twice about letting her blow me, right here in my brother’s office, a room full of people a few feet away. But that was then.
Before Darcey. Before she ruined me for anyone else.
I love her. Fuck. I love her, and I've left her alone to deal with the fallout of our blow up yesterday. I'm such a fucking asshole. The blonde reaches for the buttons on my jeans, but I finally snap out of the stupor I've been in and grab her hands before they can make contact. I'm about to push her away when a flash of dark hair at the door catches my attention.
My stomach drops to my fucking boots. I recognize that hair, even as drunk as I am. I know that was Darcey. The blonde gives a startled gasp as she falls backward when I push up out of the seat. I'm on my feet trying to chase after Darcey, but my feet won’t cooperate the way I need them to. I crash into the table, and it takes everything I have to stay upright as it slides across the floor. Pushing myself forward, I make it to the bar just in time to see the door slamming closed behind her.
Ignoring the calls from the guys inside, I run harder and finally make it outside just in time to see the side door of a big black truck slide closed. My eyes flick to the car next to the truck. Darcey's piece of shit car is there, the door wide open, and there's no sight of her. The truck is already moving before the door is even fully closed, the tires squealing in the deserted parking lot as they speed away.
I'm chasing them on foot, but there's no way I can catch them. Darcey is gone before I can do a thing to save her.
* * *
“Tell me you have something." My fists smash down on the glass table in the meeting room at Elite, and the leftover coffee that one of the guys made me drink earlier wobbles precariously. The air is electric as everyone turns to watch Gavin as he walks in.
She's been gone for four agonizing hours.
Four fucking hours, and nobody has a fucking clue where she could be or who has her. Four long as fuck hours that have me about to rip this city apart to find whoever it is that has her.
"It isn't him. The fucker is definitely dead," Gavin announces, dropping some papers on the table that I don't bother to look at. We've spent hours pouring over every piece of information that we could find on Darcey. People from her past, anyone that might have a reason to harm her.
"It has to be him. Who else would take her?" I drag my shaking hands through my hair; none of this makes sense to me. "You're sure you searched properly this time?" I watch as Gavin grits his teeth before answering. He's pissed that I'm questioning him, but I do not give a fuck. He knows I'm pissed that he was supposed to look into Darcey when she started working here, and he didn't find out any of this shit. He and Crew both assured me they knew everything there was to know about her. In reality, none of us had a clue who she really is. None of us had so much as an idea of the complete bullshit she had to deal with because they didn’t do their damn jobs.
"Whoever gave her the new identity did a damn good job. I wouldn't have found it without digging. And there was no reason to dig."
"You're sure he's dead?" I cling to the one thing that makes even a little bit of sense.
"He's dead. She packed up and left town as soon as the cops told her it was good to do so. She watched them put him in the ground, then she was gone. Didn't take a penny of what he left behind."
"Her dad? Did you look into him? She said he was—"
"Dead. He died three years ago. Heart attack," Crew cuts me off.
"Fuck!" I roar, rage pumping the blood in my veins hard. "I need to be out there. I need to find her. I need to do something." Ripping my hands through my hair, I pace back and forth around the room, feeling like a caged animal.
"You can't be out there in this state." Crew blocks me from leaving the room. "Your blood is 80% alcohol right now. Let Felix and Jake do their thing. You need to be here. I've called in some help, and you need to be here to talk them through what's going on."
"What?" I snap. “Who the fuck have you called?”
"I hear someone is in need of help?" a cocky voice sounds from the doorway.
"Dixon. Good to see you, man." Crew offers the newcomer a hand to shake. Mark Dixon strides into the room, closely followed by Jackson Cole and Liam Delaney. The security business is small, especially in a place like Virginia. Even if we weren’t all ex-military, we would all know each other just from bidding on the same work occasionally. Luckily for me, I've worked with these guys before and despite us being in direct competition for some smaller local contracts, we get along well. They've been in the game a lot longer than we have, and they do a lot of work overseas while we're focused on jobs that are here on home soil, for now at least.
All that matters right now is that the team from Cole Security is here, and they're the best at what they do—finding people and extracting them from shitty situations.
"We'll get your girl back." Jackson doesn't bother with pleasantries, getting right down to business.
"In one piece?" I ask the only question that matters to me.
"Yes," Mark answers with absolute certainty, zero trace of humor in his voice now.
"Let's do this then."