Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 163475 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 817(@200wpm)___ 654(@250wpm)___ 545(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163475 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 817(@200wpm)___ 654(@250wpm)___ 545(@300wpm)
“Don’t,” he murmurs.
“Okay,” I whisper.
He’s too sad, even for sex.
I kiss his forehead as I hold him close. “Go to sleep, Seb. Tomorrow’s a new day. It’s going to be okay.”
I wake with a strange sensation. It’s dawn, and the other side of the bed is empty.
I sit up instantly, my senses on high alert.
I make my way downstairs, where I can hear a muffled voice coming from Sebastian’s study. I creep down the hall to listen.
“Yes,” he says. “That’s right, the arrest warrant has been withdrawn.”
Helena.
My heart begins to beat hard. Why did he have that removed?
Nobody is looking for her.
“You know what to do,” he says calmly.
My eyes widen.
I push the door open in a rush, and he steps back, shocked to see me. He’s fully dressed in his suit, ready for work.
“What are you doing?” he asks sharply.
I stare at him, confused. “What are you doing?”
He marches down the hall. His overnight bag is packed by the front door.
“W-where are you going?” I stammer as I run after him.
“I have to go away for work for a few days.”
Panic surrounds me. “Where to?”
“Winchester.”
Gone is the upset man of last night. This man is cold and calculating.
Determined.
This doesn’t feel right. Something’s going on here.
“I’ll come,” I tell him.
“No, I don’t have time to wait for you to get ready. I have a breakfast meeting. I’ll call you as soon as I get there.” He kisses me softly and brushes the hair back from my face. “I love you.”
I stare at him, fear infiltrating my system.
“Seb.” I hold his hands in front of me. “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid,” I plead.
“I’m going.” He tries to pull away from me.
I hold his hands tighter in mine. “Sebastian.” My eyes search his. “What are going to do?”
“What needs to be done.”
My heartbeat thumps hard in my chest.
Helena’s in danger.
34
April
“W-what does that mean?” I stammer.
“Nothing. I’m going to work. You should, too.” He turns and heads out of the door.
“Seb.”
He turns back.
I open my mouth to say something, but I stop myself. I don’t want this to come out nastily. “Promise me that you won’t do anything… I.” I search for the right words. “Illegal.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Are we going to fight again?”
“No.” I shrug. “I’m just worried about you making a bad decision out of anger.”
“Like what?”
I widen my eyes. I don’t want to say it out loud.
He rolls his eyes. “If I did kill her, she had it coming.” He turns and walks down the steps.
What does that mean?
“That means no, right?” I call.
He gives a subtle shake of his head, and I have no idea if he’s disgusted in me for assuming that’s the plan, or if he’s impressed that I can foresee it.
“Promise me!” I call. “Seb, I mean it.”
He exhales heavily and gets into the back of the waiting car. I watch it drive away, while my mind goes into overdrive.
Right, the gig is up, bitch.
Today, I am busting your lying ass if it’s the last thing I do.
That’s if Sebastian doesn’t have you killed beforehand. And I kind of have to agree with him. You really do have it coming.
I smile and wave as Sebastian’s car pulls out and drives off, and then I run inside and call Jeremy.
“Hey, babe.”
“Oh, my fucking God, Jez. Everything is turning to shit. Can you meet me for breakfast? I need a crisis meeting.”
“Okay, usual place in forty minutes?”
“Yep, see you there.”
An hour later, Jeremy and I are eating breakfast, and I run my hands through my hair.
“This situation is spiraling out of control,” I say quietly. “We can’t find her. We have no confirmation if the baby is his or not, or if there even is a baby, and now he’s retracted the blackmailing charges against her when I know for certain that he is going out of his head with worry.”
“Why would he do that?” Jeremy asks. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t know. It’s fucking strange.”
“It is.” He thinks for a moment. “What does your gut tell you about all this?”
I exhale heavily. “That the baby isn’t his and this is just another attempt from Helena to get more money and upset him.”
“Okay, let’s go back. What are the facts? What makes her story seem plausible?”
“Well, on that night Sebastian called her, there was an eight-minute call from his phone to hers on his register. Then, when he woke up, he didn’t remember anything, but there was a bottle of champagne as well as two wine glasses on the table. And the bed sheets…”
“What about the bedsheets?”
“Sebastian said that, at the time, he thought it was just the smell of strong laundry powder.”
Jeremy rolls his eyes.
“Don’t.” I put my head into my hands. “I know how this sounds.”
“It sounds like he called her for a booty call.”