Page 91 of Ace of Spades
Rafe and I both remain silent as his truck pulls away, dust forming a cloud behind him as we watch him disappear out through the ranch gates.
“You’re not listening to me! We need to be focused on how to get her back,” I argue, slamming my hands down on the cherrywood desk, the same one that I had fucked Hailey on just two weeks ago.
“We are,” Chance tells me. “But there’s nothing we can realistically do, Weston.”
“It’s been two days,” I seethe. “Two fucking days!”
I’d been losing my mind over the last forty-eight hours, calling everyone in the damn area to see if they’d heard from Hailey. I’d driven past the Sorrels estate a few times as well, confirming that William hadn’t been bluffing about the security measures. I was at my wits' end, I needed to find a way to get to her. There wasn’t a single part of me that actually believed that Hailey would leave without even as much as a goodbye.
I dig through the desk until I find the pack of cigarettes that I know Mike hides in here, holding one between my teeth as Ilight it. I’m not a huge smoker—haven’t even touched one in months—but right now, I need something to take the edge off.
“Okay, and then what are we supposed to do? Call the cops and report a kidnapping? He’s her father, Wes, and there’s nothing on the record about her even ever having officially lived here. They’ve got the kind of lawyers that only big money can buy. They would find a way to spin it on us,” Beau chimes in.
I chuck my hat across the office, feeling like my blood is on fire as I rake my hand through my hair and try not to rip it out. I take another drag of the cigarette, walking over to stand by the open window. Debbie and Rhonda would kill me for smoking inside, but it was the last thing on my mind right now.
“For all we know, she stayed with her dad voluntarily,” Beau states. “I know it’s not what you want to hear, but it’s something we have to consider—that she left of her own volition.”
“Not possible,” I argue, leaving no room for question in my tone. “She wouldn’t leave her horses behind, she wouldn’t leave us, or Poncho, or—” a ball lodges in my throat.
Me. She wouldn’t leave me.
The three of them fall silent.
“She just wouldn't, okay?” I finish, my anger dissipating.
Chance pushes off of the windowsill, coming to stand around the table.
“You’re right,” he says, his tone solemn. “She wouldn’t.”
“What do you want to do?” Rafe asks, his eyes lifting to meet mine.
“Get her back,” I state, no hesitation in my tone.
“Then let’s get her back.”
“Beau?” I ask, turning to face my friend as he stands from the desk.
He thinks about it for a moment, pacing around the room.
“We could try calling a welfare check? If we tell them we have reason to believe that she might be in danger, they would be required to go check it out. Unless her dad has something on her, it would at least give her the chance to talk to somebody and hopefully get help.”
“Fine,” I say, putting out the cigarette on my boot. “But I’m waiting outside those damn gates to talk to the cops myself when they show up. They need to know exactly what’s going on.”
“Let’s do it,” Chance agrees, the three of them following behind me as I walk out to the main portion of the lodge.
“Where are you guys going?” Rhonda calls from the kitchen.
“To get Hailey back.”
“Really?” Dakota exclaims, her eyes lighting up for the first time in days. “Can I come?”
“No,” I tell her. “I promise we’ll be back, okay?”
“Wes,” Chance calls, and I turn to find him looking out through the front of the lodge, the massive floor-to-ceiling windows giving us a clear view of an unknown truck pulling down the driveway.
“Stay here,” I tell Kota, shooting a glance over at Rhonda and Debbie to extend the command to them.
The guys and I walk out to the front porch, Beau hanging back as Chance, Rafe, and I take the few steps down to the gravel below.
