Page 115 of The Devil's Pawn

I shake my head. “I don’t know.” I rise up on tiptoes and kiss his cheek. “You’re in the wrong, Alexander, and until you acknowledge that, I’m not sure where we go from here.”

Slinging my holdall over my shoulder, I make my way down the stairs to the large entrance hall. I’m in the middle of searching Google for local cab firms whenSaskia appears. She takes one look at my face, glances at my bag, then returns her gaze to me.

“Where are you going?”

“To California. For a while, at least.” It doesn’t escape my notice that I don’t say ‘home.’

“Why? Is this because of what happened yesterday? I wanted to come and see you, but Alexander banned us, and when my brother is that insistent on something, it’s best to listen.”

“It’s not about yesterday.” Not directly, at least, although Will taking me, and Alexander finding me so fast were the catalysts to everything that came afterward. Despite my threats, though, I’ve no intention of sharing my marital woes with her or any members of Alexander’s family. Our problems are for us to deal with. Alone.

She clasps my upper arms, giving me a comforting squeeze. “Is there anything I can do?”

I grimace. “I don’t suppose you could give me a ride to the airport?”

“I’ll do better than that.” She plucks her cell out of her pocket and puts it to her ear. “It’s Saskia. Ready the jet. We’ll be there in an hour.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine

ALEXANDER

I give Imogen a week to lick her wounds, but when she shows no signs of returning to Oakleigh, or answering any of my texts or phone calls, I fear that if I leave it much longer, she’ll never return. Which is why I’m sitting on my plane at seven o’clock on a Sunday morning, waiting for air traffic control to clear us for take-off.

Even the thought of Imogen making our estrangement permanent makes me nauseous. My bed is cold without her, and my chest constantly aches. It’s been the longest week of my life, and nothing has soothed me. Not throwing myself into my work, taking out another mark, or visiting Lilian and trying to figure out how to handle this situation. Even exhausting myself in the gym or galloping over the fields hasn’t helped me sleep.

It’s her I need, and only her.

I eventually told my father we fell out over the tracker, although I kept the contraceptive issue to myself. I’m not ready to see the disappointment on his face, and I’m not sure if I ever will be. He understood my reasoning for putting atracker in her, though. He, more than anyone, knows the terrible things that can happen if we’re left unprotected.

The whole truth is out there now, though. If I can win back my wife’s affections, then I’ll know she’s coming back for me and accepts our childless status.

If she can’t accept that, then I will let her go. It was what I planned all along, anyway, even if the thought of losing her is like having my abdomen sliced open and my intestines scooped out.

But to lose her over my lies… I won’t accept that. I wish I’d done things differently, but I can’t go back in time. I stand by my decision to put a tracker in her, especially after what happened with Edgerton, but I should have talked to her earlier. I should have told her about Annabel and my fears of those closest to me being abducted. If I had, maybe the outcome would’ve been different… although Imogen has a stubborn streak a mile long. She’d have likely argued her case, but she wouldn’t have won, and in the end, she’d have seen sense, especially given the added context of Annabel’s kidnap and murder.

The plane rises into the air, and I settle down to work, but I can’t concentrate. To win Imogen back, I need to do more than turn up unannounced and beg her to come home. I already pleaded with her not to leave me, and she did. I’ll have to show her our marriage is worth something, that we have a life worth fighting for.

I just don’t know how.

My flight lands thirty minutes ahead of schedule, and at eleven o’clock in the morning, California time, I’m in my armored car on the way to a secure location that Donovan’s made available for me. I put in a call to him on the way to the house.

As much as it pained me to tell him Imogen was headed back to California for a spell, he surprised me by not rubbing my nose in it. He’d have found out sooner or later, anyway. Better for it to come from me. Plus, he’s been helpful setting up security and keeping watch over her since she landed back in California a week ago.

“I’m here. Any problems?”

“She’s been out three times. Once with her friend Emma, once with her mother. I had them monitored the entire time.”

“You said three.”

He chuckles. “Yeah. The third time was to visit several doctors within a twenty-mile radius of her house. I gotta say, man, your woman has persistence in spades.”

I should have known she’d seek medical assistance to have the tracker removed. Guessing that would be her move was another reason I called Donovan and told him what was happening. That way he could make sure there wasn’t a single doctor who’d dare remove it.

“Okay, thanks. I appreciate it.”

“That must’ve hurt.” Another chuckle.

“Fuck off.”

---