Page 162 of Love Me

I miss you.

I wait for her reply, but she must be in class. I shake the unease away, blaming it on seeing my father. He always makes me jittery, questioning if he knows what I have done or plan to do behind his back.

Two of the company’s board of directors come to my office and I spend hours listening to them. I offer my input, suggesting changing our approach. We would earn more if we funnel money into struggling companies and revise the business strategy. The companies could adapt to the ever-changing market than sell the parts until there’s nothing left. One of them says, “I like your way of thinking.”

What he doesn’t say is I have a totally different approach than my father. Felix likes to take businesses apart, to be the lion of the jungle. But I am not into conquering the world. I want to make a difference.

After a long day, I get in the car and check my phone for the hundredth time. Why isn’t she answering? I call Celine but it keeps ringing, sending me to voicemail. I tug at my tie, suddenly queasy, and call Abi next.

“Give me Celine.”

“Yes, hello to you too.”

“Abi, check her room to see if she forgot her phone.”

She must sense my unease because she complies.

Maybe Celine got her period and is in pain, but I need to know.

“Her phone is on her nightstand.”

Celine wouldn’t leave her phone though. The last time she did that, she wanted a few days off. Worry has me speeding toward the college, searching for her in her class. When I open the door, panic seizes me.

Every head turns, but she’s not here either.

“Mister Astor, this is not your class.”

“I apologize.”

I shut the door behind me and rush back to my car. Something is not right.

When I get to the house, everyone’s car is there, except hers.

My pulse thunders in my ears. I palm the hood and bend over, trying to get a grip on my erratic thoughts. Nothing happened. Stop being a paranoid idiot.

Inside, they are all around the kitchen table staring at the map of the tunnels, laboratory and its surroundings.

“Good, you’re here. Sit,” Blake says,

“Where is Celine?” They look at me as if I’ve lost my damn mind. “Where the fuck is she?” With each passing second I don’t know where my wife is, my sanity threatens to break.

Blake answers. “They got her.”

Everything in me revs up. I march over to him and back him into the fridge.

“How do you know that?”

The conviction of someone who thinks he has done the right thing blares in his eyes.

“This was the only way.”

I punch him. My fucking best friend and brother. The betrayal tears at my composure. Nothing will ever be the same.

Hunter shoots up from the chair. It scrapes and lands with a thud behind him. Abi’s hand flies to her mouth. Mia blinks at him, and Bailey fidgets with her fingers.

“Blake, what did you do?”

Dane steps inside the kitchen and halts, taking in the scene.

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