Page 64 of The Potter

“Sure,” Astor agrees, lifting a finger as he walks away, heading toward the bar.

When’s he’s out of sight, I take a deep breath and exhale slowly.

If I were a rude, antisocial surgeon, where would I go?

The bar? Astor is checking there.

The plane? No. It’s likely sitting on an airstrip or wherever planes park and wait for people to fly them.

He could have taken a car…

If that’s the case, the possibilities are endless, and I’d be more likely to find my missing sock from last week than I would Vance. But I need to do something. If I sit here, I’ll just worry and feel guilty about not being able to get on a private jet alone—a dream most anyone would love to experience.

But I’m not most people.

I have demons, and clearly, Dr. Potter does, too.

And everyone knows when you live with demons, you need a demon slayer in your back pocket. Mine is Oscar and on planes, Vance. And Vance’s demon slayer is… likely bourbon. But that’s unhealthy, so today, his demon slayer will be me, whether he likes it or not.

Forming somewhat of a plan, I head to the back of the resort, where the rooms are. I don’t expect Vance to be here because he never makes anything simple, but I’m going to check anyway. You never know, people can surprise you.

But after doing a thorough sweep of the floor and lying to the cleaning lady that my boss needed his phone from his room, I came up empty. Vance wasn’t in his room or the hallways. Not that I really expected him to be in any of those places, but still, I was disappointed. Even as I walked back to the bars and winery.

Maybe Astor found him and they’re enjoying a heart-to-heart? Who am I kidding? Vance doesn’t do heart-to-hearts. He does snarky and rude. It’s more likely Astor is grinning as Vance berates him for coming to his aid as if he were some toddler who wandered too far away.

But when I check a couple of the popular bars within the resort, I find them empty of any Potter brothers. I try calling Astor with no luck. It looks like now, both surgeons have put me on do not disturb.

Which irks me for all of a few seconds.

Astor is my boss. He doesn’t report to me, therefore, he isn’t required to answer his cell, even though I think it’s tacky he doesn’t. Vance, well, I expect such things from him. Vance doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to. Especially when it comes to me.

But all those reasons don’t keep me from calling their phones another dozen times before Astor finally picks up. “Yeah?” he answers, his voice breathy.

“Astor?” Pausing for a moment, I listen for anything that sounds suspicious. “Are you okay?”

“Mhmm…”

Some things you just know, and I know without a doubt that I’ve disturbed Astor mid-pork session.

Rage flows through me when I hear something like a groan. “I’m taking it you didn’t find Vance?”

A grunting sound is followed up by a mumbled shush, which could only be Astor trying to quiet his after-conference meal.

“Never mind,” I snap. “Enjoy. I’ll find your brother myself.”

His chuckle is the only thing that keeps me from screaming when he says, “Attagirl, Hal. Teamwork makes the dream work.”

Yeah, I hang up on the bastard. He might be used to his brother disappearing, looking like someone ripped out his soul, but I’m not. Vance wouldn’t be here without me, which, I realize, Astor wouldn’t know. As he shouldn’t since it only shows that I’m not a very good secretary.

Storming out of the bar, I head outside. I doubt he’ll be in the vineyards or even lounging in one of the cozy rockers on the terrace, but it’s worth a shot.

So far, Vance is a damn ghost. A very rude and angry ghost.

A ghost that I never find.

Not in the vineyard and not on the terrace.

It’s dark by the time I finally give up. Wherever Vance is, it’s a good hiding place. He was probably amazing at hide-and-seek when he was a kid.

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