Still nothing. I take my cell out of my pocket. She must be in the shower. Before I can dial her number, one of the hotel maids steps out of the elevator. She smiles at me. 揋ood evening, Mr. Ryan.?
Everyone in this place seems to know my name. 揈vening. Could you let me in here??I nod toward the door. 揑 forgot my key.?
揙f course, Sir,?she says as she walks over and swipes her card.
揟hank you.?I smile at her and she giggles before I step inside the room.
揓essie!?I shout again as I look around the suite and head to the bedroom. I walk inside and she抯 not there either. The bathroom door is open and I don抰 hear her in there, but I go in and check anyway. Where the fuck is she? My heart starts to race a little but I tell myself that there抯 a reasonable explanation. She has gone to the spa downstairs. To the pool, like she said she would. Or maybe to the restaurant or the store.
My cell is still in my hand so I dial her number. A second later, her current ringtone, Like I Can, plays loudly in the bathroom and my racing pulse starts to thunder. She would never have gone out without her cell.
I run back into the bathroom and see her phone sitting there, flashing and vibrating while Sam Smith sings at the top of his voice. I end the call and put my cell back into my pocket before picking hers up. She has a missed call from me and one from Conor half an hour ago. I grip it tightly in my hand and walk back out into the suite.
揓essie!?I shout louder now. I mean, she抯 so small she could have fallen asleep under a table or something, right?
揓essie. Where the fuck are you, sweetheart??I shout again as I search every inch of the room even though I already know she抯 not here. So many emotions flood my senses that I don抰 know which one to deal with. Suddenly, I am reminded of that day in New York when we came home to find she抎 gone, leaving only a brief note to explain her absence.
I scan the room again, ashamed for even thinking it, but there is no note. My heart sinks as I realize that抯 worse. Because if she didn抰 leave of her own accord, then someone fucking took her.
Using the phone in the room, I call down to the front desk.
揋ood evening, Mr. Ryan,?the desk clerk answers.
揌ave you seen Mrs. Ryan today??I ask, not bothering with formalities as I don抰 have the time.
揘o, Sir,?she says, 揵ut I抳e only been on shift for a few hours.?
揅an you check the spa for me? Or the restaurant? Basically, every single place in this hotel. I need to know if she抯 here,?I snap, unable to contain my anxiety.
揙f course. Hold on for one moment.?
I sit on the sofa with the phone against my ear and my head in my hand, waiting for her to get back to me and tell me that Jessie is down there somewhere. Because that抯 still a possibility, right?
The wait feels like forever until she finally comes back to me. 揑抦 sorry, Mr. Ryan, but Mrs. Ryan isn抰 in the hotel.?
揧ou抮e sure??
揂s you抮e one of our exclusive guests, I contacted security and they have checked everywhere. She isn抰 here. I also checked with my colleague on the desk who抯 been on shift all day and he hasn抰 seen her leave.?
揧ou have CCTV though??
揙f course.?
揟ell your security manager I want to see him at my suite right now,?I snap.
揙f course, Sir.?
I put the phone down and take out my cell again. I dial Conor抯 number as I keep searching the room for clues that will lead me to some plausible explanation for her absence. There抯 a half empty cup of tea on the table near the window next to the easy chair. Jessie never leaves a cup of tea. She says it抯 rude to not finish a drink someone has gone to so much effort to make, even if the effort was only hers. I feel the side of the cup. It抯 cold.
揌ey, bro??Conor answers.
揌ey. You spoke to Jessie today??I ask as I try to keep my voice as calm as possible.
揘o. I called her before but she didn抰 answer, so I assumed you two were busy.?He chuckles softly and when I don抰 laugh too, he stops. 揝omething wrong??
揌ave the twins spoken to her??
揧eah, why??
揂re they there, Con??
揧eah.?I hear an edge creeping into his voice. 揑抣l put you on speaker.?
揥hat抯 up??Mikey asks and the hope and happiness in his voice almost crushes me as I realize I am about to bring their world crashing down around them all.
揥hen did you speak to Jessie??
揂bout three hours ago.?
揌ow was she??
Mikey starts to laugh and Liam answers instead. 揝he was good, bro.?
揝he was more than good by the time we were done with her,?Mikey adds.
I swallow the ball of emotion that is lodged in my throat. 揇id she say anything about what she had planned for the rest of the day??
揝he said she was going to have a shower then hang about the room waiting for you to come back. She was pumped about her plan to convince you to let her drive the Sian,?Liam says but the tone of his voice has changed now.
揥hy, Shane??Conor interrupts. 揥hat抯 going on? Why aren抰 you asking Jessie this??
I close my eyes, screwing them tightly shut as I try to find the words. But there is only one way to tell them and to break their hearts. 揑 came back to the room and she抯 not here.?
揗aybe she just went out for something??Mikey says but I hear the panic in his voice.
揌er cell is here. Her purse is here,?I say as I notice it on the floor. Not that Jessie ever takes her purse anywhere. 揈verything is here. Her coat. Her things.?I swallow.
揊uck!?Mikey hisses.
揧ou know she didn抰 walk out on us though, right??Conor asks.
揧eah.?
揟he Wolf??Liam says and I hear the panic in his voice.
揗aybe,?I finally admit my greatest fear out loud.
揊uck, Shane!?Conor snaps and I feel the guilt weighing heavily on me. He was right. She would have been safer with them. He doesn抰 push it any further though.
揥e抣l be on the next flight,?Mikey says.
揧eah,?Liam adds.
I let out a long breath. They have all sworn they would never set foot in Ireland again, but I can抰 do this without them. I am more grateful for them now than I have ever been.
揥e抣l see you in the morning, bro,?Conor says. 揃ut keep us updated, yeah??
揑 will. I抦 meeting with the head of security in a few minutes. We抣l go through the security feeds. See if there抯 anything.?
揧ou got anyone else there who can help you out??Conor asks.
揚ol is here,?I say as I抦 suddenly grateful for my uncle too. 揑抣l ask him to help. I don抰 trust anyone else right now.?
揑t might be that cunt O扖onnor who抯 taken her??Conor suggests.
揑抣l be looking into him, don抰 worry,?I snarl. He was one of the first people who came to my mind too.
揥e抳e got some flights to organize,?Liam chips in. 揥e抣l see you soon, bro.?
揑抣l make sure there is a car with everything you need waiting at the airport. See you tomorrow,?I say and end the call just as there is a knock at the door of the hotel room.
Chapter 19
Shane
I open the door to a tall man with dark hair, a goatee and an anxious expression on his face.
揗r. Ryan, my name is Marvin George. I抦 the director of security here at the hotel.?
揅ome on in,?I say to him as I hold the door open.
I note the laptop he is carrying under his arm and he opens it up as soon as he sits down. 揑 had one of my security guards check the floor as soon as you reported Mrs. Ryan missing,?he says and his Adam抯 apple bobs in his throat.
揂nd??I snap.
揑f you look at the time stamps,?he taps a few keys on the keyboard and an image of the empty hallway outside fills the screen, 搕here has been an hour of footage wiped from our systems. From every single camera.?