Page 105 of Must Have Been Love

She gives me an uneasy look. “She went that way,” she says, pointing at the stairs. “She was holding a woman’s hand.”

And I run.

* * *

HUDSON

I’m halfway through death by PowerPoint when my phone vibrates and I see Skyler’s name flash across my screen.

I have to reject the call, even though I’d much rather be verbally battling with her than listening to this interminable dross.

For good measure, I turn the thing off. I’ll call her when I get out of here. She’s done me a big favor by taking care of Ayda today and I owe her at least a huge bouquet of flowers and half a dozen orgasms.

Just as we’re getting to the part of the presentation I’m actually fucking interested in – the cash flow – there’s a knock at the door.

“Come in,” I bellow and Carleen, my assistant, pushes it open. She looks at me, ashen faced.

“What’s up?” I ask, checking my watch. This meeting is set to finish at two, when my car is scheduled to pick me up. I need to be at the helipad by half past if I want to make it back to Liberty for dinner.

And I really fucking do.

“Can I have a quick word?” Carleen asks, looking nervous.

“Can it wait?” I ask. “We’ll be done in what?” I glance at the deputy finance officer. “Half an hour.”

“No, it can’t.” Carleen shakes her head. “It’s your daughter.”

My blood freezes at her fear filled tone. Before the final syllable is out of her mouth I’m standing up, waving at the finance team to wait. I stride across the room and follow Carleen out of the office.

“What’s wrong with Ayda?” I ask. It has to be that fucking flu. It’s working its way through everybody and she’s bound to get it.

“I just got a call from your sister,” Carleen whispers, shifting her feet. “Ayda has disappeared. Nobody knows where she is.”

Panic pulls at my stomach. “What the hell does that mean?” I ask her. “Somebody has to know where she is. She’s probably gone for a walk or something? Give me that phone,” I say, seeing it off it’s cradle on Carleen’s desk.

“Autumn?”

“Hudson.” She starts to cry. “You need to come home. We can’t find her.”

It takes ten minutes for the driver to get to the office building to pick me up. Another twenty before I’m at the helipad waiting on the helicopter to take me back. I spend most of it on my phone, first to Autumn, then to the police, and then I call Skyler right as the helicopter is coming in to land.

“What the fuck happened?” I ask, fury rushing through me. “You were supposed to be taking care of her.” I should never have let this happen. Never.

“I know. I’m sorry.” Skyler lets out a sob. “She was here. I swear she was. Then she just disappeared.”

“You left her out on the deck alone?” I say, not able to keep the fury from my voice. “How could you do that?”

“I know.” She inhales raggedly. “It’s all my fault.”

“Don’t you cry on me,” I tell her. “Don’t you do that. Have the police scoured the water?”

Ayda can doggie paddle. I made sure of that as soon as we moved here. But her tiny body is no match for the tides around Liberty. The thought that she could be in the water… I take a deep breath, trying to push it away.

She’s so fucking tiny. She can’t talk. The thought of her being alone and hurt… Christ.

“The police are doing everything. They’re scouring the water, they’re questioning everybody who was at the bar. Two separate witnesses saw her go off with a woman,” Skyler says quickly.

“A woman? Who?” I don’t know if that’s worse or better than her being near the water.

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