“They’re so dense. They open the gates all the time for delivery drivers and cars. Then they open up all the doors and windows, and I walk right in. This house is so big. You know I slept right in the next room for days, and you never even knew.”
My pulse quickens, and I pull the covers up as a wall between us.
“I’ve been watching you for months. I know all about you.”
I’m saying a silent prayer, begging Jackson to come look for me. Where is he?
“What did I ever do to you?”
“You had a perfectly reasonable man, and then you had to go after what was rightfully mine.”
“What do you mean? I didn’t go after anyone.”
She begins to pace. “I called, and you didn’t ever give my fiancé my messages. You didn’t think I was good enough for him.”
Fiancé? “That’s not true. I always give Mr. Graham all of his messages. I can prove it to you. I keep a phone log, and he makes the decision whether to call people back.”
“You’re lying!” she yells. “Then your little boyfriend breaks up with you. You can’t even keep that man, so instead, you decide to go after what’s mine.”
She continues to pace, and I’m struggling to follow.
“I wanted to stake my territory with him, so you knew what I meant to him. We went to the bar where you like to hang out with your little friend. He sees you all upset, and he goes to you.” She’s stopped pacing and points her finger at me. “You knew he’d come running, and that’s exactly what he did. You cast a spell with your vagina, and he dropped me right then.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Mr. Graham bought Gabby and me a drink. I work for him.” I’m trying to remember our conversation that night, or even determine which night she means, but I can’t.
She goes back to pacing and is pulling on the sleeve of her coverup. “Right. I saw how you smiled at my man when he came running up to you. I’d had it. I wasn’t going to let you steal him away. I was going to make him realize what a whore you are, so he’d come back to me.”
“You sent the box with Bobby Sanders’ jersey?”
“You bet your ass. I didn’t want you shitting all over my relationship—you could shit all over your own.”
I need to think rationally, because she’s not being reasonable.
She pulls a gun from her waistband and points it at me. Immediately I think of all the things I didn’t tell Jackson—like how much I love him. I should have worked harder to help him understand why I’m scared to go all-in with him. I close my eyes and wait for her to fire.
“You two were all over the newspapers. I should have gone with my love to Cecelia Lancaster’s funeral—not you!”
She’s crazy. I have to defuse her anger. “He doesn’t love me,” I sob.
“No! Because he loves me.”
I say another silent prayer for a rescuer.
“Come on, we’re leaving.” She waves the gun at me and pulls the covers back. “Get out of the bed. You. Are. Coming. With. Me.”
I know that if I go with her, I’m in trouble. But if I don’t, I’m also in trouble. Because I’m slow to figure out my plan, she slaps me with the gun. After that I can’t tell if I’m standing or sitting, and it takes me a minute to figure out what’s going on over the ringing in my ears.
I begin to stand, but I trip. Valerie’s holding my arm so tightly I’m sure she’s going to break it, and I can’t see out of my left eye because of the blood from where she hit me.
She guides me through the empty house, and I’m shocked and worried about how well she knows her way. She walks me through the garage and out the side door. I know the cameras don’t typically pick her up because she’s walking out the door and not in. I stumble and fall to the ground outside the door, and I look up at the camera, so I know it sees me.
She almost rips my arm out of the socket as she pulls me into the bushes. I feel the mud between my toes. “Where are you taking me?”
“Not to worry. Once my love realizes I’m ready to carry his children and take care of him, maybe I’ll release you into the ocean, and you can swim back to the mainland.”
The hair on the back of my neck is standing on end. I need to send a signal of some sort. I know Jackson and Brian will come looking for me. We’ve cleared the oleander between the two estates, and we’re in front of the next-door neighbors’ garage. I fall again on the driveway, and with a bloody finger, I paint an arrow toward the neighbors’ front door. Between my muddy footprints and the arrow, I hope they’ll know where to look for me.
Valerie grabs me by the hair and pulls me back to my feet. “Don’t you fucking dare even think about it. If you want your precious Jackson to live, you will do what I say without this nonsense.”
She pulls me by the hair into the house next door and down a set of stairs. Valerie continues to rant, and when she hits me again, everything goes black.
Chapter 38
Jackson
I reach for the bottle of bourbon and pour myself four fingers—a quadruple. I’d prefer ice, but that would require walking to the kitchen, and right now, I just want to feel numb. How does that woman make me so angry and so happy at the same time? I just wish she could see that my love is real, and I don’t have eyes for anyone else. I’ll do whatever it takes to make this work, if only I can get her to see it my way.
I take a deep pull on the glass just as the library door opens with a bang and slams against the wall.
I jump and spill my drink. “Fuck!”
“Sorry,” Brian says. “The alarm on the side of the house just went off. Where’s Corrine?”
I sit up straight. “We had a fight. She hasn’t wanted anything to do with me since this afternoon. I assume she’s gone to bed.”
Brian looks like he’s ready to tell me off, but instead, he goes running. I start to follow him, and I can hear him yelling her name repeatedly. He runs to the room where I think she is, but she doesn’t appear.
“Corrine!” he yells again. He looks down at the floor, and his speed increases.
It suddenly dawns on me—she should be responding to Brian. If it was me calling, I’d guess she was ignoring me, but she wouldn’t do that to Brian.
I hear him on a radio. “Check the feed. Corrine is missing, and she’s bleeding.”
“Bleeding? Missing? What do you mean?” My slight buzz from the bourbon is gone.
“She isn’t upstairs, and I can’t find her downstairs.” He points to brown spots on the dark wood floors.
Brian’s radio pops. “Brian, you’re going to want to see this.”
I follow him to the security office, and they have Corrine on the screen. She has a dark streak on her face.
Brian turns to me. “You may not want to see this.”
“What the fuck!” An arm comes out of the bushes and pulls her in.
“How did this motherfucker get on my property?” I rage.
It’s four seconds max, and we replay it and replay it. Brian runs out the door, grabbing a pair of night-vision goggles. He suddenly appears on the screen, but we can’t tell where he came from. We watch him and someone else go diving into the bush.
I can’t watch this any longer. I grab another pair of goggles and follow him out the door.
Fitting through the bushes is tight. The oleanders are large with thick stalks, but they’re also dense. Brian spots a footprint. But the trail just stops, and he thinks maybe they got into a car. We look inside the neighbors’ glass front door, and the house is black.
Corrine is nowhere to be seen.
I scream in frustration. “No!”
****
Less than fifteen minutes later, the police come racing up the driveway with lights flashing, but no sirens. An officer gets out of the car. “What’s going on?”
Brian explains who we are and the situation.
“Why weren’t you with your girlfriend?” one of the officers asks.
“We had a disagreement.”
“Did you hit her?” the other officer asks.
The idea of striking Corrine in anger makes my blood run cold. But I did spank her during sex, and it was angry sex. Fuck!
“Absolutely not,” I tell them.
My heart races. I begin to make a deal with Corrine in my mind. Whatever she wants—I just need her back.
You can rent Gabby’s old apartment, just come back to me.
Take whatever job you want, as long as you stay with me.
I need you.
I can’t live without you.
The tears hit, and I’m beside myself.
Please come back to me, Corrine.
I’ll give you all the time you need, just please come back to me.
I’m numb. I’ve never been scared for anyone like I am for Corrine right now. Has her stalker come all the way from the mainland?
The police are hesitant to do anything. But they manage to get everyone who lives on the property together and interview the staff.
“What is the relationship between Corrine and Jackson?”
“Is he abusive to her?”
“Would he hurt her?”
“Has she ever run away before?”
I’m furious that they’re focusing on me. We have proof in the feed that she was grabbed, but they don’t think it’s compelling enough. It could be a friend of hers.
We explain the footprints, and they knock on the front door of the house next door.
That’s it. Nothing else.
Leilani gives me a comforting hug. “Corrine loves you. She’s going to be fine.”
I nod. I want to believe Leilani’s right and it isn’t an empty platitude.
Time is clicking by, and the police are not in any hurry.
Don’t they understand? Corrine is missing, and we don’t know where she is or who took her. They’ve watched the video, and yet they’re acting like she ran away because of our argument.
As the minutes tick by, Leilani passes out coffee and snacks. “I don’t know what to do,” she says.
“This is perfect.” I give her my best smile. I can see she’s as worried as I am.
Eventually, the police leave. They’ve accomplished nothing and tell us if Corrine doesn’t appear in forty-eight hours, they’ll see what else they can do.
Forty-eight hours? I saw the cut above her eye. She’s in danger, and I don’t have forty-eight hours of patience.
Chapter 39
Jackson
Early Saturday morning, Brian announces Jim’s arrival on the property. We’ve been standing, pacing, and milling around for hours while teams scoured the estate and found nothing. The sun is at the horizon, trying to bring in a new day, but I need it to stay where it is so we have more time to find Corrine. I need her to be safe and in my arms.
“Jim flew in?” I ask as Brian passes.
He nods. “I called him as soon as you alerted me, and he left late last night for the airport.”
How can it already have been more than eight hours since this ordeal began? We’ve gotten nowhere.
The SUV comes racing up the driveway, and Jim and Kate jump out before it even comes to a complete stop.
“What do you know?” Jim demands.
“Nothing,” I tell him. “We had an argument, and the police think Corrine just ran away.”
“That’s not like her,” Kate says.
“I know. Corrine had been hit with something, and her eye was a swollen, bloody mess, but they think I hit her.” Turning to Jim, I ask, “Have you seen the video?”
He nods. “I saw the blood, and the hand that pulls her through the bushes.”
“What do we do?”
“Give me a minute,” he says.
Jim talks to Brian and the security team. As they work out a plan, Kate goes over to spend time with Melinda and the boys—trying to keep them occupied and not interested in the investigation.
A little while later, Leilani makes her pineapple pancakes for everyone. They’re an immediate hit. I’d love them, too, if I wasn’t worried about Corrine.
While Jim is eating his pancakes, he asks Leilani about the house next door.
“Have you ever met the people who own the house?”
She nods. “They’ve owned it for a while. They don’t come very often—maybe once a year or so. They live in Japan. He’s an executive for an automaker.”
“How do you get a hold of them if you need to?”
“We don’t. They have a landscaping service that keeps up with the yard, and once a month, a cleaning crew comes in, but it may not even be that often.”
“Do you know the landscaping company? They may know how to reach them.”
She thinks for a moment. “I think it’s Grass, Flowers, and Fauna, but I could be wrong.”
He nods. “It’s worth a try.”
Jim gives one of his team members a look, and he disappears down the hall.
I reach for the carafe of coffee, but Leilani stops me. “I know you’re tired, Mr. Graham. Corrine would want you well rested when she returns. Maybe you should go for a nap.”
I couldn’t sleep if I tried, but I must look dead on my feet since everyone is shooing me away.
Jim walks with me to the master bedroom.
“I need her back,” I tell him, though I know I’m babbling. “I want to tell her she can rent her friend’s apartment, and if it’s that important that she doesn’t come back to Soleil Energy, I’ll make it work. I get it, but just come back.”
“We’re going to get this figured out,” he assures me. “Get some rest.”
We walk into my room, and Jim looks around before he leaves me. I lie down on the bed and stare at the ceiling.
Who could have taken her? I search my mind for someone who could be behind this. I wonder again if Bobby Sanders’ girlfriend would fly all the way here. That seems awfully extreme.
I huff in frustration. Damn it!
She’s hurt, and she needs help. Why does no one see that? Corrine didn’t leave me. She told me she wants to be with me. She just doesn’t want to work or live with me. And anyway, that wasn’t her arm that pulled her into the bushes.
How could she have just disappeared? The gate to the house next door requires an opener. Could someone from their gardening or housekeeping service have taken her?
My heart races. I’ve never felt so helpless.
I close my eyes.
Even skipping the physical, Corrine is perfect, but she doesn’t see it.
I think back to how funny she is. She had me going from the very beginning with that story about selling bull sperm, and there was no looking back after that. She’s fucking hilarious.
I’ve never seen anyone as focused as she is. Despite dating a professional football player, she was in the office day in and day out, and her professional life never faltered.
She’s fearless. When that fire alarm went off, she got the panicked applicant down the stairs and didn’t think twice about making sure they both got out of the building.
Then there’s her absolute lack of interest in my bank accounts. She’s always treated both the company and my personal money with the utmost respect—not like so many who think I’m an open checkbook.
I need her not just in my bed, but in my life—no matter what. And I’ll take it at whatever speed she wants to go. Just be okay. Please come back to me.
Chapter 40
Corrine
Slowly, the world comes into focus. My arms are zip-tied behind me and connected to some sort of pillar. I have a ball-gag in my mouth that’s secured behind my head. I’m lying on a cold marble floor, and it’s freezing, and there isn’t a sliver of light coming from anywhere. It comes back to me in pieces… Valerie brought me into the neighbors’ house and hit me.
I yell, but I don’t think anyone can hear me. The room is sealed tight. I fight back tears and breathe deeply, in through my nose, to calm myself.
I pull on the restraints, trying with all my might to break them, but
they only cut into my wrists. The pole I’m wrapped around is smooth metal and adds to the coldness.
I’m in an awkward position, and I try to adjust, but it only puts pressure on the restraints. My foot is tucked under my leg, and it tingles from lack of blood flow.
I can feel myself hyperventilating. Hold it together!
I think of all the good things I’ve done to help myself. I made sure I looked into the camera, and I’m sure they saw her pull me into the bushes. I made sure I made muddy footprints toward the house. I drew an arrow pointing at the front door. I know Jackson will find me.
My head is killing me, and my eye is almost swollen shut. I can’t believe she hit me.
God, I’m thirsty. What I wouldn’t give for a gallon of water.
Where is Jackson? What about Brian? Or Ben? Or the rest of the team?
Jackson. I’ve been so stubborn, holding on to my heart and worrying he’ll be like all the other men in my life who’ve stomped on it. I need him, and he needs me. I can keep Gabby’s apartment if I’m really that nervous, but he’s done everything he can to make me feel comfortable. He’s recognized my professional work, and despite my baggage, he loves me.
He told me he loves me. I love him too, but I never told him. I didn’t want to believe him. I didn’t want to give him my heart, but the truth is, he already has it. I can feel hot tears on my cheeks. I need him.
I close my eyes, and after a moment, I imagine I hear a voice.
“Corrine?”
I open my eyes, and it’s my mother. “Mommy?”
“You’re going to be fine, baby.”
“I miss you so much.”
“I miss you, too. I think Jackson is a fine man.”
“He’s good for me.”
“Don’t let my relationship with your dad hold you back, sweetheart. We both love you so much and want the best for you, and I think Jackson is perfect for you.”
“Mommy, I’m so sorry about everything.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for, but you need to be strong right now. They’re going to figure out where you are. Don’t go to sleep. They’re close and going to be here before too long. Jackson is so worried about you. Be strong, sweetheart. I love you.”
Royally Flushed: Tech Billionaires Page 30
