Page 56 of The Billionaire's Secret Desire
I give him Charli’s description, the make and model of her van, and Ghost. I explain there's a slim chance she might be in Pelican Point or she might be somewhere else. I don’t know. All I know is that she left, and I need to find her before the distance between us becomes permanent.
Jose lets out a slow breath, the kind that carries the weight of everything he wants to say but doesn’t. "All right," he says, his voice steady. "I’ll put out a BOLO on the van. Make and model, plates, general description. If she’s parked anywhere public—gas stations, diners, scenic pull-offs—one of my guys might catch it. That’s the best I can do without a formal reason to escalate. But I’ll keep my eyes open, Sawyer. I promise you that."
"That’s more than enough. Thank you, Jose. I mean it—I don’t say this lightly, but I owe you. Big time. For picking up the phone, for not asking questions, for having my back without hesitation. You’ve always been solid, and I won’t forget this."
"I hope you find her, man. From how you’re acting, this one sounds like she’s worth it. And I hope you fix this—because if anyone can, it's you."
"I hope so. I need to," I tell him and then hang up and drop onto the edge of the bed, running a hand down my face. The silence in the house is deafening. It swallows me whole.
She took my dog.
She took her van.
She took my damn heart.
And now, I have to find her and figure out how the hell to earn it back.
It’s just past three when my phone rings again, slicing through the silence like a spark in dry grass.
I jolt from where I’ve been pacing the length of the living room on the hardwood, a half-drunk cup of coffee abandoned on the counter an hour ago. My nerves are frayed raw, thoughts looping like a broken reel. I've been running through every scenario—where she could be, if she’s safe, if she’s scared, if she’s crying. And more than anything else, whether I pushed her away by not seeing it coming. Not protecting what we had from my evil ex. My reflection in the dark window stares back at me—drawn, restless, wrecked.
When the screen lights up with Jose Delgado’s name, I nearly fumble the phone getting to it. Hope spikes so fast and sharp in my chest it’s almost painful as adrenaline floods my system like a jolt of electricity.
“Did you find her?” The words explode out of me before he even has a chance to say hello. My voice cracks, laced with a desperate edge I can’t hide—too raw, too hopeful, too damn close to breaking. I sound like a man clinging to the last thread of a lifeline, praying it doesn’t snap.
“We got a ping on the BOLO,” he says, calm and to the point. “One of my guys spotted a van matching Charli’s outside a place called The Rusty Anchor, just off Route One in Pelican Point.”
My heart stumbles in my chest. That’s something. That’s her. It has to be. “Is she there? Did you see her?”
“Can’t say for sure,” he replies. “The van’s parked out back, near the dumpster like someone wanted to stay out of sight. No movement. No lights. We didn’t approach—figured you’d want to handle it yourself. But it’s her plate. Her van.”
Relief barrels into me like a freight train, nearly knocking the breath out of my lungs. I start pacing, my steps uneven across the hardwood floor, heart jack hammering against my ribs. If she’s there… if she sees me... there’s a very real chance she bolts.
And if she’s not there? If I pull up to that parking lot and it’s empty, no van, no Charli, then I have no backup plan. None. And that kind of helplessness is terrifying. My hands twitch at my sides, useless with energy and no clear place to put it. I run them through my hair, then across my jaw, then start pacing again. I don’t know how to fix this. I just know I have to try.
“Jose,” I say, my voice thick. “Thank you. You do not know what this means to me.”
“Don't mention it. Are you heading over there?”
“Yes.” I’m already on my feet, grabbing keys and throwing on my jacket.
There’s a pause before he says, “No guarantees she’s still there, man. But at least now you’ve got a direction. And if she means what I think she does to you… don’t waste the shot.”
“She means everything to me. I won’t. And thank you again,” I say one more time for good measure, the words not big enough for what he’s just given me... another shot.
“Make it count.”
I hang up, my heart pounding so hard it echoes in my ears, and I stand there for a second, the weight of what’s ahead pressing into my chest like a boulder. Then I move—fast. Jacket over my shoulder, keys in my hand, lungs tight with nerves.I head out into the night with nothing but adrenaline and a prayer. Toward her. Toward the woman I let walk away.
Maybe I’m chasing a ghost. Maybe I’m already too late. But if there’s even the slimmest chance I can look her in the eye and tell her the truth—tell her she’s everything—then I’m going to fight like hell for it. Because losing her once is unbearable. Losing her forever? That’s not something I can live with.
The parking lot of The Rusty Anchor is cloaked in silence when I pull in, the neon sign above the bar flickering like it’s too tired to keep pretending everything’s fine. There’s only one vehicle parked in the back corner—a battered white van that makes my breath catch the second I see it. It’s hers. I’d know it anywhere.
The paint is dull and chipped. The passenger mirror still cracked like it was the day I met her. A crooked bumper sticker hangs on by one stubborn corner, and a familiar blanket peeks out from the back window, lit dimly by the glow of the streetlamp. My chest tightens at the sight—it’s like seeing a ghost I’ve been chasing in my dreams finally take shape.
I sit in my car for a moment, palms sweaty on the steering wheel, willing my heart to calm down. It doesn’t. If anything, it hammers harder, because now that I’m here, I realize just how much this moment matters. One wrong move, one wrong word, and I could lose her for good.
I step out into the cool night air, my boots crunching on gravel. I move slowly, careful not to startle her, every step toward that van like crossing a minefield. When I reach the side, I spot the outline of her curled on the mattress in the back, with Ghost snuggled up against her, snoring lightly. The sight nearly undoes me.
