Page 90 of Dark Bonds

I saw fucking red. It was bad enough that Cindi had stirred up shit at the restaurant, but I had to work damn hard to win back Leah’s trust. In the span of two minutes, Cindi completely fucked that up.

“That bitch stole a key to my room. She stripped off her clothes, cuffed herself to my bed, and fucked herself with one of Leah’s dildos. I just dumped her ass outside. She’s done here. Permanently.”

“You need to go after her, Jason. You two only just fixed things from the last time.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” I growled.

“Watch your mouth, man. I’ll only tell you once,” warned Seb, his voice deeper than I’d ever heard it.

“Shit, Raven. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I have to go.”

I ran to my car, jumped in, and peeled out of the parking lot. Traffic was a bitch, as it always is on Halloween. I decided to take a shortcut in the hopes of avoiding some of it. Unfortunately, that completely backfired. Instead of the twenty-five minutes it should have taken me to get there, it took just under an hour. Between that and the time wasted at the club, she had a big head start. Last time she packed a bag and holed up in a hotel.

I cursed when I got to her place and found the driveway empty and all the lights off. I hadn’t gotten there fast enough. I tore away from the house and headed toward the hotel she stayed at the last time. They refused to tell me anything and I couldn’t really blame them. I probably looked fucking crazed. I drove through the entire parking lot, checking for her car but didn’t find it. She wasn’t the type to just drive around to clear her head, so I was stumped.

Jason: Raven, she’s not at home. It took me almost an hour to even get there. The house is dark and her car is gone.

Raven: Maybe she took off to the hotel again.

Jason: Nope, I checked already. They wouldn’t tell me if she’d booked a room, but her car wasn’t there.

Raven: You probably looked like a fucking lunatic. I mean, a panicked skeleton who’s the size of a fucking house demanding they break their own rules? You probably scared the shit out of them.

Jason: Raven, please. You can make fun of me after I find her, I promise.

Raven: Sorry, I got sidetracked. There’s only one other place I can think of. My advice is that you empty your bladder, buy a coffee, and fill your tank. You’re going to need it.

Jason: How far could I possibly be going?

Raven: Her uncle left her a hunting cabin when he passed a few years ago. She doesn’t use it a lot, but when she needs to escape life... like, really escape it… she’ll go there.

Jason: Raven. Please just tell me so I can get on the road.

Raven: You’re driving to Vermont, Jason. I’ll text you the info. She and I spent a week there last summer. The last hour or so of the trip is fairly rugged, so please be careful.

Jason: Give me a minute, please.

Raven: Of course.

I quickly searched for a flight to Vermont. If I could find something that flew out fairly quickly, I could grab a rental car on that end and maybe even beat her there. I was happy to find there was a non-stop flight that was leaving LaGuardia in three hours. If I could get a ticket, I would have enough time to pop home to remove the makeup and pack a bag. Including the time to get to the cabin, I would be there in about five hours from now. It was probably not the best idea for me to be driving right now, anyway. There were exactly five seats left on the flight. They were all shitty ones, but I wasn’t flying for pleasure. I whipped out my credit card and booked the flight.

Jason: Okay, I’m going to fly out. I managed to get a last-minute seat on a flight in three hours. I’m going to pop home, get this fucking Halloween shit off, and pack a bag. I’ll rent a car when I land and then it’s only a half hour to get to the cabin.

Raven: Damn, you work fast. You might even beat her there. She would have to stop a couple of times and she would have taken the makeup off first, too. Travel safe.

Jason: I will. Thanks, Raven. I’ll let you know when I get there. Please don’t tell her I’m coming. I don’t want her to end up somewhere different.

Raven: No worries. I won’t say a word. Bring our girl home, Jason. We all need her. You’ll be able to drive back together.

Jason: I’m not leaving there without her. I’ll talk to you soon.

Raven: Okay, Jason. I’ll let Sasha and the guys know what’s going on so they can make any scheduling changes. Seb will talk to your manager at the restaurant. You just worry about getting to Leah.

Jason: You’re the best.

Raven: I know LOL.

I rolled my eyes and then rushed home, skipping any so-called shortcuts. An hour later, I was checking in at the airport, hoping against all hopes that I could appeal to her good sense. When I finally boarded, exhaustion had hit me like a Mack truck. Knowing there was nothing I could do until I was there, I napped for the hour and a half it took me to get there.

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