Page 185 of Charming Deception

But when I hear her voice, I feel like I’ve dropped off a cliff.

“Jameson?”

Her voice sounds so small. She sniffles, and somehow I know, I fucking know she’s far away.

Fear creeps up my throat, threatening to strangle me.

“Megan?” I stop midstride, alarm spiking my adrenaline. “What’s wrong?” I hear a soft sob. “Where are you? Are you with Nicole or Rurik? I was just about to come pick you up.”

She sighs and says sadly, “I’m in Crooks Creek. I’m sorry. I had to leave.” She sobs again. “This was such a mistake.”

With her next words, the thudding dam in my chest fucking breaks under the weight of all my mistakes. “Troy called.”

Chapter 41

Jameson

The flight to the Winnipeg airport and the almost two-hour drive to Crooks Creek is fucking murder.

As in I spend most of the time talking myself down from murdering Troy Duchamp the moment I meet him.

It was a weirdly hard decision, getting on the plane. Every instinct I had told me to go after Megan, and fast. But I was torn.

What if she didn’t want me to? What if going after her just made it worse?

What if I broke her ex-boyfriend’s face and she hated me for it?

What if, in some small part of her, she was still in love with him?

I’m my panic, I’d called every one of my brothers, even Harlan, and gotten a roundup of the world’s worst advice.

Graysen: Tell her she needs to be back in two days. And stay away from cameras.

Damian: Just let her go, and see if she comes back.

Harlan: If she doesn’t stay put like she’s told, just tie her to the bed.

Yeah, thanks.

But then I called Cole and he nailed it.

Call me the second you know she’s okay, and if he’s not in a coma yet, I’ll come put him in one.

That sounded like a plan to me.

I know Troy has been calling Megan, messaging her, trying to reach her ever since she left him. Trying to guilt her into coming back to him. More so, ever since our love story hit the media.

I know everything there is to know about the piece of shit.

The day I first proposed to Megan, I’d ordered a complete background check on him. And I’d kept tabs on him ever since, because I knew he wasn’t done with her.

Narcissists don’t give up easily if they still think they can suck some more attention out of you.

It’s called narcissistic supply, and Megan was his for a decade.

He won’t give her up, unless he’s found someone else to fulfill his needs as well as she can.

Clearly, he hasn’t yet.

---