Page 108 of Heartless

“Sounds good.”

Holding hands, they walked out of the waiting room toward Eve’s private room. Gideon had told them she was unconscious, but Hawke knew Olivia wanted to see her friend even if she wasn’t awake.

Pushing the door open, he was surprised to see Liam standing in the middle of the room. The bed was empty.

“Where’s Eve?”

“That’s what I’m wondering.” He handed a piece of paper to Hawke. “I found this on the bed.”

I’m taking Eve away for a while. She’s in good hands and will have the best medical care. Will be in touch.

G

“Where would he have taken her?” Olivia asked.

“Beats the hell out of me,” Liam said. “He seemed worried earlier, but I thought that was normal, considering. But he said nothing about leaving. I stepped out to call Aubrey. Wasn’t gone more than ten minutes. When I got back, they were gone.”

“Did you try calling him?”

“Yeah. Went to voice mail. I left a message.” From the look on Liam’s face, it hadn’t been a polite one.

“Where would he take her?” Hawke asked. “And why?”

“Wherever he took her, she’ll be safe,” Olivia said. “Gideon would never let anything happen to her.”

Hawke couldn’t argue with that. Eve and Gideon had been together for as long as he could remember. If there was anyone who would look out for Eve’s best interests, it was Gideon.

“I agree.” He gave Liam a quick nod. “We’re out of here.”

Pulling Olivia with him, Hawke walked out of the room with three things on his mind—food, sleep, and kissing the beautiful woman beside him. Not necessarily in that order.

Whether that beautiful woman would be in agreement was another matter. He was going to do his best to convince her.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Bermuda

Olivia stretched her long limbs, luxuriating in the sheer loveliness of doing absolutely nothing. The sun beat down on her bikini-clad body. On the table beside her was a deliciously decadent piña colada, and if she raised her head, her view was an azure ocean stretching for miles. Foaming white waves curled gently toward the shore, beckoning her.

They had arrived on the private island three hours ago, and she was already feeling the tension seep from her body. Their original flight had been delayed for two days by a phone call from the attorney Iris had told her to expect.

After the call, she and Hawke had chosen to fly to London to meet with him immediately. They’d sat in the attorney’s office and stared wide-eyed and openmouthed as Lydell Stitwell had explained about an inheritance she could have never anticipated.

“Your grandmother Maggie was a very wealthy woman. You were her sole heir.”

“I don’t understand. My grandmother has been dead for over twenty years.”

“Yes, well…” He’d cleared his throat and glanced down at his papers, apparently unwilling to meet her eyes.

“Do you have her death certificate?”

“Um…yes. I believe so.” He’d shuffled through some pages and then pushed an official looking document toward her.

Her hands had been shaking so hard, Nic had had to hold the edge of the certificate so she could read it. For so many years she had wondered if Iris had been responsible for Gran’s death. Seeing the official cause of death was determined to be a stroke was only slightly helpful. While it was true that her grandmother had suffered two mini strokes while she had lived with Olivia and her parents, Olivia couldn’t help but believe that a broken heart had contributed to her death. Her beloved grandmother had deserved so much better.

“Why wasn’t I contacted before?” she’d asked.

“We were told that you couldn’t be found.” He’d smiled as if everything was now fine. “I’m pleased that we’re finally able to settle this matter with you.”

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