Page 72 of Bloom: Part 2

“I can’t.”

“We’ll see about that.”

22

LOGAN

When I parked my car, Bloom’s motorcycle was no longer in the garage. Even though I knew this meant he’d gone for a ride, I ran inside the house, calling his name. “Bloom!”

Where is he?

I raced up the stairs and flung open the bedroom door. The night had dragged on longer than I’d anticipated, every second with Livingston piling on more complications. All I’d wanted was to update him that my father had found me, so I needed new identities for me and Bloom immediately. The wedding was going to happen in less than a week, without a doubt, even if I had to hold a gun to the judge’s head for them to perform the ceremony.

I wasn’t leaving Smoky Vale without my other half.

My heart dropped. The bed was empty, sheets cold and rumpled, like he’d been gone for a while. Anxiety crawled up my spine, the silence in the house suddenly feeling thick and suffocating.

“Bloom?” I called into the stillness. No response. My gaze landed on the bedside table, where his phone usually sat, butit wasn’t there. A bad feeling settled in my gut as I dialed his number. It went straight to voice mail. I tried again, cursing under my breath as I paced the length of the room.

“Pick up, damn it.”

Had he woken up, found me gone, then left to search for me? Maybe he’d gone back to the clubhouse. After my talk with Joel, I’d been more than a little short with him, but I’d needed a moment to process my thoughts. I’d heard the insecurities in the questions he asked me when we made love in the kitchen. Why hadn’t I spent more time to reassure him that I still loved him? That what I was going through had nothing to do with him but the family I didn’t want him ever to have to face.

I ran a hand through my hair. Why couldn’t he have waited until I got home? I called again. Voice mail.

As I grabbed my car keys, the doorbell rang. Relief surged through me, and I rushed to the door and yanked it open.

“Crowe?” My heart sank, frustration mingling with the rising dread. “What are you doing here?”

Crowe shoved his hands into his pockets, his expression unreadable. “You tell me, Doc. I got a text from Bloom tonight. Said you were cheating on him.”

My stomach twisted. “He… what? I would never cheat on him.”

“That’s what I said, but when he gets stuck on a notion, he doesn’t let it go. Where’s he?”

“I don’t know.” I frowned. “Why would he think I was cheating on him?”

“Said he followed you to some hotel on the edge of town. Told me he was ‘taking care of things himself.’” Crowe’s jaw tightened, his eyes darkening. “When he didn’t answer my calls, I figured I’d better come here and see what the hell is going on before he guts you like a fish.”

“Oh god.” I ran a hand over my face. Bloom had followed me to Inconnu, which meant he’d seen me with the marshal and concluded I was cheating on him. I couldn’t blame him. The hotel wasn’t exactly the best spot for meeting up, but it gave us the anonymity we’d both wanted.

“Listen, Crowe, we need to find him.”

“So, were you cheating on him or what?”

“No, I wasn’t cheating. For god’s sake, we’d just had sex!”

He scowled. “I don’t need to hear all that. He certainly thinks you did, so where the hell did he go?”

“I don’t know. I came straight here after the hotel—”

“Wait, so you really were at a hotel with some other dude?”

“Don’t make it sound sleazy. It was business related.”

“I hear prostitution is a lucrative business.”

“Will you give it a rest? This man and I have nothing going on, and we need to find Bloom. If he didn’t follow me home, he might have followed that man, and if he has the wrong idea about us…”

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