Page 35 of The Deal

“Help! If she wasn’t feeling well, she should have called the fucking doctor.”

“She offered to do that, but Chloe refused.”

Of course, she did.That woman is a stubborn pain in my arse.

“Are you telling me she jumped from a two-storey window?”

“With the aid of a bedsheet tied to the bedpost, yes.”

A bedsheet.Who is she? Fucking MacGyver?

If it were any other situation, this would be laughable, but I’m too furious for that. There may, however, be a tiny portion of me that’s proud of her for pulling this off, but I’d never admit it out loud. She has guts; I’ll give her that.

“Have you scoured the entire estate? She could be injured.”

That thought has my stomach turning.

It would be her own stupid fault if she were, but in saying that, it’s the last thing I want.

“There is no sign of her anywhere.”

“How long has she been missing?”

He clears his throat before he answers. “Hours.”

“Hours?” I shout. “How many fucking hours?”

“Around two,” Marco replies, his voice tinged with fear. I can tell he’s nervous. Ever since I demoted him from personal security to house duties after the Ava incident, he’s been on edge, and I’m sure he’s worried his job might be on the line. “Carmella made her some soup this afternoon and took it up to her room … that’s when she found out she was missing. I checked all the cameras while the others searched the grounds. Our last sighting of her was when she was heading toward the rear of the estate.”

“Have you searched the surrounding streets?”

“I have two cars out there looking for her now.”

Fucking hell.“Keep me updated.”

“I will.”

I end the call, drop my phone onto the desk, snatch my suit jacket off the back of the chair, and punch my arms through the holes.

Exasperated, I storm from my office, calling, “Antonio.” When he falls into step beside me, I update him on our current predicament as we head towards the exit. “We are leaving. Chloe escaped.”

“What? How? That place is a fortress.”

“She tied a sheet to the bedpost and climbed out the fucking window.”

He throws back his head and cracks up, but when hesees the scowl I give him in return, he quickly schools himself.

“That one is a ball-buster, for sure.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Do you really think she’s worth it? There are plenty of other women out there.”

I’m starting to wonder about that myself, but I already know the answer is a resounding yes. There may be plenty of others, but they are nother.

I keep that to myself, though, giving him the partial truth. “I’m just trying to rectify some wrongs my father made many years ago.”

“How?”

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