A. Zavarelli - Stutter (Bleeding Hearts Book 2)

by Unknown

  We had a housewarming dinner and invited Matt, Nicole, and Norma. Since leaving rehab, she’d moved into our old apartment, and seemed to be spending a lot of time with Ted. It was very odd, considering he was nothing like Frankie, but I guess that was a good thing.

  Matt and Nicole’s relationship had obviously progressed just fine, considering how she couldn’t keep her hands off him. She still found time to book in shopping dates and arrange times to decorate the nursery which I obliged her. We also planned to continue our weekly meetings for Sophia’s Shoes in the city until the baby came.

  Everything seemed to be going according to plan, and true to Ryland’s word, he’d cut back his hours at work. But as soon as everyone left that night, he dropped a bomb on me.

  “I have to go back to Chicago tomorrow,” he said.

  I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms. “No.”

  “Brighton.” He sighed. “It really is just business this time. I swear.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “Come here.” He patted his lap.

  I frowned and walked towards him slowly, and once I was within reach he tugged me onto his lap. Taking out his phone, he pulled up some emails along with a schedule.

  “I have a meeting with Robert Burton,” he said. “About the shareholders of my company. It’s important, and I can’t put it off any longer, otherwise I wouldn’t go.”

  “Robert Burton, as in…”

  “Alex’s father.” Ryland nodded.

  “What does he have to do with your shareholders?” I asked, remembering how Matt said the Burton family was involved in some bad business dealings.

  Ryland’s expression clearly told me he didn’t want me involved in this. It only made me more determined.

  “It’s complicated, Brighton. He’s trying to strong arm some of my shareholders. He’s using underhanded business tactics, and I won’t stand for it.”

  “But he’s dangerous,” I protested. “Matt told me some of the things he’d been involved with.”

  “Don’t worry.” Ryland gave me a soft kiss on the lips. “I’ve got it handled, baby girl.”

  I didn’t like that he was dealing with the Burtons one bit. It scared the hell out of me, but this was his company. I knew he wouldn’t just let whatever they were doing slide.

  “Promise me you’ll be careful,” I pleaded.

  “Always.” He gave me a reassuring smile.

  “And you’re going to take Mick with you.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “Mick stays with you. That’s his job.”

  “I can have Matt and Nicole come stay while you’re gone,” I said. “I’d much rather he was with you.”

  “Not gonna’ happen,” he smirked. “You don’t need to worry about me, Brighton. I can take care of myself, okay?”

  I frowned but nodded. There was no point in arguing with him when he was like this. He was stubborn as hell.

  “And while we’re on the topic.” He reached into his filing cabinet and pulled out a folder. “I need your signature on a few things.”

  “Okay.” I glanced at the paperwork in confusion before I realized what it was. If I wasn’t worried before, now I was terrified.

  “Life insurance?” I squeaked.

  “I just want to have everything in order,” he explained. “It’s just a precaution.”

  I shook my head and crossed my arms. “I don’t want to sign these,” I protested. “That makes it seem like it could really happen.”

  Ryland reached up and trailed his fingers along my jaw. “Baby girl, this is important,” he said softly. “If anything ever happens to me…”

  “Which it won’t,” I cut in.

  “It won’t,” he assured me, “but if it did, I need to know that you and the baby will have everything you need, okay? Everything in my will has already been arranged, and this is the last step. Consider it something to help me sleep at night.”

  I still didn’t feel comfortable with it, but I decided to indulge him just so I didn’t have to think about it anymore. I scrawled my signature across the documents quickly and then shoved them away.

  “One more thing.” He pulled a piece of paper from his desk with a picture of an SUV. He’d been looking at them forever trying to decide on the safest one to buy. “This is the one I want to get. Okay?”

  I didn’t want to tell him he was scaring me. It felt like he was wrapping everything up. Like he really thought something might happen to him.

  “We’ll get it together,” I said. “When you come back from your trip.”

  He nodded.

  “Promise me,” I demanded. “Promise me that this is all just a precaution like you say, Ryland.”

  “Come on, baby.” He pulled me up and wrapped his arms around me. “Let’s go to bed. Before I have to leave tomorrow.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Brighton

  There was a churning feeling in my gut that I hadn’t been able to rid all morning. Ryland had been gone for six hours and I hadn’t heard from him. Not even a text.

  It wasn’t like him.

  There was something about this business trip that had me biting my nails, and it wasn’t just Robert and Alex Burton. I didn’t have a good feeling about any of this, and I wasn’t sure what to do about it.

  I paced anxiously across the back porch, cell phone clutched in my hand as I waited for Ryland to respond to one of my many worried texts. He didn’t leave me hanging like this. Ever. I knew something was wrong.

  My cell phone rang, and my heart swelled with relief. But then I saw that it was Nicole.

  “Hello?” I answered.

  “Brighton, have you seen the news?”

  My hand trembled as I walked into the house and looked for the remote. “What news?”

  “Turn on Channel 7,” she said.

  I flipped through the channels and saw a photo of Ryland and Alex Burton plastered across the screen, along with a scrolling headline beneath.

  Alex Burton and Ryland Bennett strike business partnership

  What does this mean for the future of technology?

  Rivals unite as one…

  “No,” I whispered. “That isn’t right. Ryland would never make a deal with him.”

  “That’s the same thing I thought,” Nicole murmured. “Something weird is going on.”

  “I haven’t heard from him since he left this morning,” I croaked. “I’m really scared, Nicole.”

  “I’m sure he’s just in flight, Brighton,” Nicole tried to reassure me. “He probably wanted to get back home to you as soon as possible.”

  I accepted her words because I needed to believe them. But in my gut, I knew it wasn’t true. Ryland always texted me before his flight.

  “Hey, look,” Nicole said. “Why don’t I grab some cupcakes and come over so we can work on the nursery until he gets home?”

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  I didn’t want to admit how much I needed her there. My nerves were completely shot, and I was grateful for the distraction.

  “I’ll be there in an hour,” she said. “Just sit down and relax until I get there.”

  Five o’ clock came and went. Then six, and seven, and nine. It was now eleven at night, and there was still no word from Ryland. Nicole and I had worked on the nursery and gorged on cupcakes and takeout. But I couldn’t hold back my fears any longer.

  “I have to call the police,” I said. “There’s something wrong, Nicole. I can feel it.”

  She bit her lip and nodded. “I think you’re right, Brighton. Maybe they can track his phone or something.”

  The police arrived an hour later. The officer that showed up didn’t seem all that invested in Ryland’s whereabouts and even went as far to suggest he was probably just drunk in a bar somewhere.

  I told him that wasn’t Ryland. That he never did anything like this. I told him about his meeting with Robert Burton and Alex’s threat from the charity gala months before. The officer jotted everything d
own in his notepad and explained the procedures. It hadn’t been long enough to officially declare him missing, but given who he was and the previous threat, they were going to look into it.

  And then they just left me there. Alone and without my husband.

  ***

  Three days had come and gone.

  I was going out of my fucking mind. I couldn’t stop crying, and I couldn’t keep anything down. Matt, Nicole, Norma, and Ted all kept silent vigil in the living room, waiting for any shred of news.

  Ryland had officially been declared missing. The police hadn’t told me anything, but they’d come and torn the house apart searching for clues. I’d been questioned a thousand times, things I didn’t even know. And I hated myself for not knowing more about Ryland’s company. Why didn’t I know these things? I should have known these things. I was supposed to be helping him, and I couldn’t even answer their questions.

  I’d sent Mick to look for him, and he didn’t protest. He said Ryland could be pissed whenever he came back, but right now, he was his top priority. I was grateful and spent every waking second thinking of something else I could do. Something else that I’d missed.

  I even tried to contact Alex Burton. I left him several hate filled messages, but he wouldn’t return my calls. All of the light that filled my life was suddenly turning bleak. My heart grew weak in my chest, and I felt like I wouldn’t be able to go on. I couldn’t lose him. There was just no way. We were meant to be together. It couldn’t end this way.

  There was a knock at the door, and Norma got up to answer it while Nicole tried to get me to drink some water. Another detective came into the room, one I didn’t recognize.

  “Brighton Bennett?” he asked.

  “That’s me.” I stood up on shaky legs. “Do you have any news?”

  “I’m going to need you to come with me,” he said.

  Matt was at my side a moment later, glaring at the man and his tone of voice. “What’s this about?” he demanded.

  “We have some questions for Mrs. Bennett,” the detective answered.

  “You’ve already asked her questions,” Matt said. “Repeatedly. She doesn’t need to go anywhere. This is her home, and as you can see, she’s very pregnant.”

  The detective didn’t seem to care. “She doesn’t have a choice at this point.”

  “It’s okay, Matt,” I said. “I want to help. I’ll do whatever they ask.”

  “I’m coming with you,” he stated.

  Nicole gave me a quick hug and smoothed down my hair. “I’ll stay by the phone in case anyone calls,” she said. “I’ll let you know if I hear anything at all, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  I followed the detective out the door and into his car, grateful to have Matt by my side. Whatever was going on, I had a feeling it didn’t bode well for me.

  ***

  “I told you he was in Chicago,” I said for the fifth time.

  “That is what you said,” the detective agreed, leaning across the table to watch me carefully. “But that wasn’t true, Mrs. Bennett.”

  “What are you talking about?” I hissed. “He had a business trip to Chicago that day. With Robert Burton. How many fucking times do I have to say it?”

  I was losing my patience, but I didn’t care. They were wasting their time asking me these stupid questions over and over instead of looking for Ryland. I was beginning to hate them all.

  “Ryland scheduled a flight that morning, but he never took it,” the detective answered in a neutral tone. “His driver dropped him off in front of his building, and that was the last time he was seen.”

  Bile rose up in my throat as I clutched my arms around myself, shaking my head. “No, that’s not right,” I rasped. “You have to be mistaken. He went straight from our house. And then all that stuff was on the news, so I know he met with Alex Burton.”

  “That meeting with Alex Burton took place two weeks ago,” the detective answered again.

  I wanted to believe that he was lying to me. That he just misunderstood what was happening. But I could tell by his eyes he wasn’t. Which only meant one thing. Ryland had been backed into a corner by Alex Burton. But how? And why didn’t he say anything to me?

  “I understand that you also signed off on a sizable life insurance policy on your husband the night before he went missing.”

  I stared at him in shock as his words sunk in.

  “Oh my God.” Disgust rolled through me. “You think I… you seriously think…”

  I couldn’t even get the words out. They were too vile. Too horrible.

  “I would never…” I shook my head adamantly, the tears flowing freely. “I love him so much. I just want him back. He’s everything to me. Please…” I sobbed. “You just have to get him back for me.”

  The detective watched me have a complete mental breakdown as if it was some sort of a test before he nodded in conclusion.

  “I know this is very upsetting, Mrs. Bennett,” he said in a gentle tone. “But you have to understand how it looks. You’re telling us he was threatened by Alex Burton, and yet he willingly entered into a business partnership with him two weeks ago. And then you just so happen to sign off on a life insurance policy the night before he goes missing. You have to understand how that looks.”

  “How it looks is that Alex is setting this up,” I yelled. “And while you’re in here accusing me of things I would never do, my husband could be in danger…”

  We didn’t get any further, because the next moment, there was a knock on the door of the room I was being held in.

  “Mrs. Bennett.” A sharply dressed woman with shrewd eyes stepped into the room. “I don’t want you to say another word.”

  “Who are you?” I asked as the detective gave a frustrated sigh.

  “My name is Edith Rickard, and I’m your newly appointed attorney.”

  I blinked in confusion. “Do I need an attorney?”

  The detective folded his hands across the table and shrugged. “That’s up to you, Mrs. Bennett. But in the interest of helping your husband…”

  “Don’t you play that card,” Edith barked. “You’ve been badgering my client. Correction…” Her eyes trailed over my body. “My very pregnant and obviously distraught client for two hours straight when she is clearly the victim in this case. Now, do you have anything to charge her with?”

  “No,” the detective replied flatly.

  “Very well, then come with me, Mrs. Bennett. We’re done here.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Brighton

  I smoothed my fingers over the necklace Ryland bought me for our wedding, remembering his words.

  Keep it close to your heart, and we’ll always be in sync.

  I had to hold back a sob as I wondered if his heart still beat. I couldn’t feel it. I couldn’t feel him. Where was he?

  Edith had been working nonstop, pouring over everything on Ryland’s computer, looking for clues as to what could have happened. She told me she suspected that Alex Burton was blackmailing him somehow. That it didn’t make any sense for Ryland to partner with him when his company was doing so well otherwise. But we needed proof, and that was going to take time.

  I left it in her hands and did what little I could. It wasn’t much. It wasn’t enough. But it was all I could do to focus on each task as though they were the most important thing in the world. As though they would each bring me one step closer to having Ryland home.

  The house was still filled with people, but I’d never felt more alone.

  Mick texted me updates, but so far there hadn’t been anything of use. He’d gone to Chicago, but now that I knew Ryland never made it to Chicago, it seemed pointless for him to be there. I told him to come back this morning, and we would figure out where to go from here.

  Then my phone chimed, and my chest tightened when I saw the name.

  Brayden.

  He’d been ignoring me for weeks, and it was odd for him to be contacting me now. I glanced around the
room and realized I didn’t want to read this in a room full of people, so I stepped out onto the back porch while they planned out more search efforts.

  I swiped the screen and scrolled to my messages.

  I need you to meet me.

  It’s about Ryland.

  My heart skipped as I pressed send on Brayden’s name. But it just rang out. I tried him twice more before I gave up and started tapping out a text. Before I could even send it, another one came through. With an address and a time, and nothing more.

  I stared at the phone in confusion. This meant Brayden was in San Francisco, but why? The horrifying realization that he might have had something to do with Ryland’s disappearance haunted me. I tried to call him again, but he didn’t answer.

  Another text came through a moment later.

  Don’t bring anyone with you or tell them where you’re going.

  He’s in danger.

  Frustration and relief both warred inside of me. If he was in danger, it meant that he was still alive. That there was still time. But I didn’t understand why Brayden would be helping him if that’s even what this was. Or why he wasn’t answering his phone.

  I glanced over my shoulder and looked through the window at all of our friends gathered around the sofa, working hard to try to find Ryland. It was stupid for me to go alone to this address. I texted Brayden back.

  I can’t come alone.

  A reply came through almost immediately.

  You have to. Or else he’s dead.

  Just trust me.

  Panic engulfed me. I didn’t want to believe those words. And could I even trust Brayden at this point? I had no idea. But this was my only ray of hope. Every other lead we had was dead. And I couldn’t just ignore it.

  The time on my phone told me I had an hour to get to the address on my screen. It wasn’t a lot of time, considering I was on Belvedere Island, but I would have to make it work. The only problem was sneaking out of the house without anyone noticing. There was no way they would let me go anywhere with the shape I’d been in over the last few days.