Page 131 of Mistaken Intention

“Oh, Christ…”

I rush out of the room, running down the stairs and straight out the door, closing it behind me. My sprint back to the main house takes no time at all, and I go around the back, finding Hunter sitting by the pool still. He looks up, frowning as I approach.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“It’s Josie. She’s gone.”

I pull out the note, handing it to him and he reads it, standing up as he does. He looks at me, handing it back, and shakes his head.

“I’ll tell Livia what’s going on, and I’ll drive you into the city.”

I nod my thanks, unable to speak, and sit down, waiting for him. It’s a struggle, but I try to stay calm. Getting mad with Josie won’t help. That’s what drove her away in the first place. I need to tread carefully if I’m gonna bring her home again… and that’s what I want, more than anything.

“You ready?” Hunter’s voice makes me jump and I look up. He’s standing beside me, a set of keys in his hand, and I get to my feet.

“Yeah. I’m sorry about this.”

He shakes his head. “It’s okay,” he says, leading me around the far side of the house, where there’s a double garage, with two cars parked in front of it… my Range Rover and his red Ferrari. We both head for the Range Rover, and he gets in behind the wheel. I’m not about to argue. If I thought I was fit enough to drive, I would.

“I take it we’re heading for her apartment?” I look over at him as he starts off down the driveway.

“We don’t have anywhere else to look.”

I twist in my seat to face him. “What if she’s not there?”

“We’ll worry about that if it happens.”

That doesn’t feel very reassuring. “Why does she keep doing this?”

“Maybe she doesn’t understand that arguments happen in relationships, and that you get over them.”

“But why wouldn’t she realize that? I told her she’s my family.”

He flips his head around, glancing at me as we get to the gate and it opens, letting us pass through onto the main road.

“You did?”

“Yeah. The last time she ran out, when we were at her apartment, I told her then she’s my family. I…” I stop talking, remembering what we both said back then. “Oh…”

“Oh, what?”

“I just remembered something.”

“Something from the past?”

“No. Something Josie said… or rather something she neglected to say. Again.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Another lie. When she ran out on me last time, and we caught up with her at her apartment, she told us about how she couldn’t have kids.”

“I remember. I was there. That wasn’t a lie.”

“I know. But do you recall I said there was no guarantee I could have kids… that we couldn’t be sure about it?”

He blushes. “Oh… yeah.”

“I noticed her looking at you when I said that.”

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