Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 137(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 137(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “I’d have been cleaning up a fucking disaster.”
“Absolutely.”
Justice watched me in silence for a minute, and since I wasn’t really in the mood to chat, I let him lead and relaxed back in my chair, already forgetting all about the kid who was about to be dismissed.
“What’s going on with you, Aiden?”
My brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve been in a funk for a few months now.”
I contemplated my options and ultimately decided it couldn’t hurt to lay everything out for Justice and get his opinion.
“I met her. The woman who was meant for me.”
Justice brought his ankle up to rest on his knee and steepled his fingers, observing me intensely. “I’d say congratulations, but considering your burly mood lately, I take it something went awry?”
“And how,” I grunted. “I dropped by the house the first night the kids were staying there, but no one was home. I checked the security, intending to leave after that, but it was a gorgeous night and I’d been stressed at work, so I decided to take a walk on the beach.”
He listened quietly while I explained how I’d fallen head over heels in only one night.
“It’s been three months with no sign of her, and I’m losing my mind.”
“You’re sure she wasn’t with my daughter?”
I nodded and ran a hand down my face. “When I talked to Eva the next morning, she said no one was missing except your other daughter.”
“Ah, yes. Blair mentioned that to me.”
“I’m honestly not sure what to do next,” I admitted with a sigh, dropping my head back.
“I thought you were a fuck of a lot smarter than this, Aiden,” Justice drawled.
My head popped up in surprise. “Pardon?”
His expression was smug and pitying at the same time. “You probably could have saved yourself two months and thirty-seven days of torture if you’d called me first. Or thought of it yourself and just called Jonah without my suggestion.”
Jonah Carrington was one of Justice’s best friends and also happened to be the best hacker and cyber-security specialist in the world. He owned an international, multibillion-dollar security company. Although he was grooming his oldest son to take over, he was still involved with the business, as long as it didn’t take him away from his family too much.
I had considered calling Jonah for a split second, but that was like asking a world-class chef to make you a plain hot dog. “I assumed it was too small a job for him. He has much bigger fish to fry.”
Justice ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair and gave me a look that told me he thought I was an idiot. I didn’t disagree. The simple fact that I never asked Bianca for her last name was proof of that.
“Jonah doesn't do many jobs these days unless it's for a friend or Tucker asks for help. I guarantee that if you’d asked, he would have jumped on it and you’d be married and cooking a kid by now.”
I fucking wish.
“Okay. Thanks, I’ll call him this afternoon.”
Justice nodded and stood, prompting me to do the same. “Let me know what happens,” he requested with a grin as he shook my hand.
“Will do.”
I left K-Corp with more hope than I’d felt in months. To avoid background noise, I waited until I reached my office. Then I told my secretary to hold my calls and basically put out the do not disturb alert.
Sitting behind my desk, I called the man who just might be able to save my sanity.
Jonah answered on the second ring, but instead of greeting me, he quipped, “Justice tells me you’ve been brooding like a fucking idiot when you could have called me three months ago.”
Rolling my eyes, I grumbled, “Yeah, yeah. You guys gossip more than little old church ladies.”
Jonah just laughed. Unamused, I got down to business. “My friend Ashby looked into her for me, but he couldn’t find a trace of her in the Hamptons.”
“I know Ashby Gage. He’s good. I even offered him a job when he left the force, but he was determined to get out of the city. When he did, he lost access to a lot of resources. If he couldn’t find her out there, it’s probably because she lives elsewhere. But if she has a house in the Hamptons, there’s a high chance she lives here in Manhattan.”
“Well, shit.” I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of that.
“Trust me, no man thinks clearly when it comes to their woman,” he replied.
After I finished going through the whole story again, Jonah was silent so long that it became awkward. Considering how he and his wife started, I didn’t think it was because he was judging me. Hell, Jonah had fallen for Penelope before she’d even turned eighteen. The day she did, he moved her in and knocked her up.