Page 106 of Cruel Honor

“Sorry. Can’t give out that information.”

“Ok. Understood.” I pause for one moment then grab his shirt and jerk him across the counter. He squeaks. “Just tell me what room number. She has brown hair. Petite. She was just in here getting a new room for the night. Tell me which one it is.”

“Uh … she didn’t buy a room. I told her the cost, and then she left.”

I let the man go, and he slumps back against his chair with a huff. “She didn’t buy a room for the night?”

“No.”

“So, then where the fuck is she?”

“I don’t know.”

“Great. Thanks for the help.”

“You’re welcome.”

Clearly, this man has never heard of sarcasm before. I sigh and leave the front office. It’s dark out in the parking lot. The streetlamp isn’t working, masking everything into darkness.

If Evie isn’t in a room at the motel, then where is she?

I check the car, but she isn’t in there. Ok. Don’t fucking panic. Maybe she went for a walk.

I walk to the sidewalk and look up and down it, searching for her. She couldn’t be far. It’s only been minutes since she left.

But I don’t see her, and if I move in one direction and she’s in the other direction, I’ll miss her completely.

Why the fuck would Evie leave? She knows how dangerous it is.

Except that’s the point. Evie’s smart. She doesn’t play games or mess around with her safety. She wouldn’t just go for a walk when she knows Abram is out looking for us.

Which means something terrible happened. Which means I need to save her again.

Assuming I can, that is.

No. I can’t even entertain the idea. Evie is safe. She has to be. I’ll find her and bring her back and spank her ass for good measure. And then I’ll kiss her like a dying man, marking my claim onto her.

But first, I have to find her.

I rush back into the motel room. “Evie’s gone,” I announce.

Katya’s eyes practically bug out of her head. “What?!” Maria gasps and sinks deeper into the bed.

“Did Abram take her?” Maxim asks.

“I have no fucking clue,” I admit, and I hate that I have to say it. I hate that she was taken right out from under my nose. “But if it was Abram, then we need to make a trade. Get word to him. Tell him we have his daughter, and that if he wants Maria back, he’ll give me Evie in return.”

“We’re not going to kill him?”

“Oh, we’re going to kill him. Nothing will stop me from doing that.”

ABRAM

I return home to the sight of my bodyguards dead.

All fucking dead.

I know instantly who did it.

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