Page 16 of Hunted Vengeance

But I miss him anyway.

Chapter Six

MERRICK

There isa knock on my office door, and I know it’s something serious because the men don’t knock unless the door is locked, and mine isn’t. Spinning in my chair, I turn my back to the door. I look out the window before I call out to whoever is on the other side of the door to go ahead and come on in.

The door opens and closes, but whoever has come in doesn’t announce himself. I don’t bother turning around, and a few moments later, a throat is cleared across the room. With a heavy sigh, I finally spin my chair around and lift my gaze to see Vaughn across from me.

“What?” I demand.

He leans back against the back of the sofa and crosses his ankle over his knee. He flexes his foot a few times, shaking it as he watches me in silence. Arching a brow, I strum my fingers against my wooden desktop and wait for him to speak.

Finally, he does. “The wedding is a go. It seems there will be a church service with a huge reception afterward.”

When he doesn’t continue, I wait for the rest, but he doesn’t say anything else. “Is there more that goes with that information?” I ask.

“Do with it what you will, Merrick,” he says.

“You’re telling me because you want me to do something with it.”

He shakes his head. “You can do whatever the fuck you want,” he says as he stands to his feet.

He’s telling me because he wants me to do something. I’ve known Vaughn for so many years that I can tell exactly what the fuck he was thinking when he told me that information. He wanted me to react. I didn’t, and now he’s pissed about it.

“Do you know who she’s marrying yet?”

Vaughn shakes his head. “All I have is the date, place, and time.”

“I guess that’s all I need,” I say, but I don’t know what else to add to that.

Thankfully, Vaughn doesn’t ask me for anything else. I watch as he walks up to my desk before he reaches into his back pocket. He takes out a piece of paper and places it in front of me.

“Vaughn,” I call out as he turns from me and heads toward the door. He stops and turns his head, looking over his shoulder at me.

“Thank you,” I mutter.

He dips his chin. His eyes hold mine for a long, silent moment before he releases it. Wordlessly, he twists the knob of my office door and slips out. Looking down at the piece of paper, I curl my lip as my eyes scan Vaughn’s handwriting on it.

It’s everything he said it was. Church, date, and time—nothing else.

Powering on my computer, I search for the Colette Bellucci wedding and the date. I don’t know what I’m hoping to find, maybe a wedding registry or something. This is almost laughable because I can’t imagine she’d have one for her contracted wedding, considering the fact her future husband fuckingboughther.

And she doesn’t. There is zero trace of her on the internet. No social media, not even a white pages phone number or listing. She doesn’t exist, at least not digitally. Frowning, I lean back and stare at the computer.

We were married. Paperwork was filed with the state of New York. It wasn’t just some church wedding. It was legally binding. So why is there no digital footprint of her? Reaching for my cell, I hold it in my hand and stare at the screen for a long moment. I’m not ready to make the call yet.

I have never been so goddamn conflicted in my life. I usually know what I want and the way I want it, but with Colette and this situation, it’s been uncertain. A gray area that I can’t quite navigate.

Leaning back in my chair, I look at the ceiling and let out a heavy exhale. I don’t know what the fuck to do. Inside, I want to go to her. Scoop her up and bring her home. This is her home, too.

At least, I wish it were.

I’m not sure she ever really got comfortable here. Not that I went out of my way to make her feel that way. I gave her absolutely nothing, and she was far too shy to give me anything. I let her go when I should have fought for her. But when I had the opportunity to fight, I didn’t.

I don’t deserve her.

Looking down at my phone, I send Boden a text asking him to come to my office. I know that he’s here today mainly because he’s always here. He enjoys monitoring shit behind the computer and research. It’s a good project for him.

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