揥hat??I frown at him. 揑 chose this hotel because it was a safe place for my wife to stay, and you抮e telling me someone hacked into your security feed and erased it??I shout at him, even though I know no matter how good your security is, there will always be someone who can hack it. Someone like Jessie.
揑抦 sorry, Sir. We are doing everything we can to discover how this happened, but厰
揃ut nothing!?I snarl at him. 揇o you have anything at all that might help me find her??
揘ot yet, but I can assure you I have all of my staff making enquiries.?
揈nquiries??I run my hands through my hair. 揑抦 going to need more than fucking enquiries, Marvin!?
揑 will do everything in my power to assist you, Sir,?he says as he stands and picks up his laptop.
I nod at him. 揝ee if anyone saw or heard anything suspicious today. No matter how small or insignificant it may seem, I want to know about it.?
揙f course,?he says with a nod. 揑抣l leave you to it.?
I watch him walk out of the door and pick up my cell again and dial Paul抯 number. It takes him a while to answer and when he does he is out of breath.
揌ey, kid,?he answers.
揚aul, I need your help.?
揥hy??
揗y girl. Jessie. She抯 disappeared. Someone抯 taken her.?
揧ou sure she didn抰 just go out shopping or something? You know what women are like.?
揘o, Paul. She is gone. Now are you going to help me find her or not??
He takes a few moments to answer me. 揙f course. You think it was that prick O扖onnor??
揗aybe,?I say, hoping that it is him, because I know where to find him. But if she has been taken by the Wolf, I am worried we might never get her back. 揅an you meet me at my hotel??
揝ure. I抣l be there as soon as I can.?
My heart is in my throat as I close the door to our suite. What if she comes back and I抦 not here? I shake my head and walk to the elevator. I抦 going to speak to the desk clerk again while I wait for Paul. Someone must have seen her leaving here today. Maybe Erin even saw something? It抯 a long shot but I am already clutching at straws here.
A few moments later, I stand outside Erin抯 room and wait for her to open the door. I doubt she will have any useful information but then right now I don抰 know what抯 useful.
The door opens a few seconds later. 揝hane??She looks at me in surprise as she fastens her earring. 揑 was just getting ready for dinner. Come on in.?
I follow her inside and close the door.
揧ou fancy a drink??she asks with a smile.
揘o,?I shake my head. 揌ave you see Jessie today??
揘o. I抳e been working all day. Should I have??
揘o, but she抯 gone missing,?I say the words and even though I know they抮e true, they don抰 seem real.
Erin stares at me and I swear I see a smirk flicker over her lips.
揇id you just fucking grin at me??I snarl.
She sighs dramatically. 揙h come on, Shane, it抯 not like she hasn抰 walked out on you before.?
I cross the room to her in one stride. I have never laid a finger on this woman in anger. Not even when I found out she had been lying to me for years. Not even when she accused my brothers of ruining our engagement. I grab her throat and she blinks up at me in shock as I push her back against the wall.
揝he did not walk out,?I hiss as I squeeze her throat harder. 揝omebody fucking took her.?
揝hane! You抮e hurting me,?she whimpers.
揌urting you??I narrow my eyes at her. 揧ou抮e lucky I don抰 snap your fucking neck. I know you don抰 like her, but she is fucking everything to me. Everything! And you fucking smile when I tell you she抯 missing.?I release her from my grip, afraid that I might go too far if I don抰 let her go now.
Erin rubs at her throat and gasps for breath but I don抰 have an ounce of sympathy for her. She has made her dislike for Jessie clear from the outset.
揑抦 sorry,?she mumbles.
揌ave you seen anything suspicious at all??
揘o,?she says with a shake of her head.
I glare at her and then I walk out of her room, but she shouts to me before I reach the door. 揈verything? Really??she sniffs.
I turn on my heel and look at her. 揂nd then some.?
Chapter 20
Conor
I close the safe in Shane抯 office and walk down the hallway to my brothers?room to find them frantically packing. As soon as we got off the call with Shane, I started to look for flights while they made arrangements for the club and the businesses for the next few days. It was good we all had something practical to focus on because it prevented us from spinning out worrying about what the hell has happened to Jessie. Walking inside Liam and Mikey抯 bedroom, I toss their passports onto the bed.
揂lejandro抯 plane is at LAX and it will take at least six hours to get here and refuel.?
Liam frowns at me. 揟hat抯 too long.?
揑 know, so I got us on a flight that leaves in two hours. Better get your asses moving. The car will be downstairs in fifteen.?
揟hanks,?they reply in unison. I turn to go to my own room and throw a few things in a bag when Mikey抯 voice stops me.
揥e抣l find her, won抰 we, Con??
I swallow hard and keep heading for the door because I can抰 look at them and lie. 揙f course we fucking will.?
I slam the door behind me and take a deep breath as I press my forehead against the wall. My heart is hammering so hard in my ears that I can barely hear myself think. I feel so helpless being thousands of miles away from Jessie and Shane and powerlessness is a feeling I am unused to and one I do not fucking like. It brings up far too many bad memories for me. What if we don抰 get her back? What if the Wolf has already taken her somewhere we can never find her? What if someone else has her and she抯 already dead? What if she is out there in pain somewhere, wondering where we are?
Breathe in.
Out.
Don抰 lose it now, Conor. Not when everyone needs you so much.
The door opens and I snap my head up.
揧ou okay, bro??Liam looks at me, his eyes narrowed in concern.
揓ust taking a breath, kid,?I reply.
He puts a hand on my shoulder. 揥e抣l be there in a few hours and then we抣l get her back. I know we will.?
I nod in agreement even though I don抰 share his confidence. I will do everything I can to bring her back to us, but what if it抯 already too late?
Chapter 21
Jessie
My head throbs as I blink in the dim room.
My vision is blurred.
I am naked.
I shiver from the cold and instinctively pull my arms to my chest to warm myself, but I can抰 move. Cold metal cuffs bite into the skin on my wrists.
I pull harder but all I hear is the dull clinking of chains.
Where am I?
The Wolf!
He took me. I look around the room but my head is swimming and the fog in my brain is making it hard to think.
He walked into the hotel suite.
He had a key.
Shane gave it to him. That抯 what he said.
Bile rises in my throat.
Where is he now? The Wolf? Shane?
I close my eyes and try to shift the fog.
It抯 helping. I seem to be able to think more clearly with my eyes shut. The Wolf was in our hotel suite. He grabbed me and then I woke up here.
No. I woke earlier too. He was talking to me. Telling me how much he loved me. Talking to me about how his nephews had defiled me. He was disgusted in me. The dull ache in my abdomen reminds me what he did afterwards, though I think I passed out halfway through. He used a condom. I remember that. He said that I was unclean. Disgusting, evil prick! Like he needed protection from me!
I feel a wet sticky substance between my thighs and my cheeks burn with shame. He must have made me climax. Bile surges up again and this time I can抰 stop it. I retch, managing to turn my head to the side so I at least manage to puke on the bed and not myself.