Page 167 of Theirs to Possess: The Marriage Claim
The sight had drained every sharp edge, calmed the war I’d been ready to wage.
Acknowledging that Brennan had been right, I poured us each a whiskey and offered one of the glasses to him. “Good call.”
“There are times to push.” He shrugged. “And times not to.”
Once we finished our discussion, I walked down the hall to find my wife. But she wasn’t there, and neither was Calypso.
Without us noticing, she slipped out and locked herself in a guest room.
Furious, I snapped.“I’ll take this fucking door off its hinges if you don’t open up immediately.”
Her silence had been louder than my rage.
I turned to Brennan.“Get me a fucking tool to unlock this fucking door!”
Brennan clamped a hand on my shoulder, pulling me back.“Give her space, man. Just…let her be for tonight.”
Anger lit me up from the inside, blinding me to reason. It wasn’t until he balled his hand into a fist that I blinked and backed off.
Moments later in the sudden, deafening quiet, her soft cries reached me. And I was broken.
Then Brennan shoved me against the wall, voice like stone.“You break in, you’ll never get her back.”
Goddamn him. Goddamn her.
And goddamn me and my temper most of all.
Without knocking, Brennan walks into my office.
Expectantly I jerk up my head. “You’ve heard from her?”
Not responding, he paces to the window. His shirt is rumpled, and his sleeves are rolled up like he’s been in somebattle. Maybe he has. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d smacked the shit out of a punching bag in the building’s fitness center. Or put a hole in a wall like he’d done on our honeymoon.
His phone rings.
“Is it her?”
He snatches the device from his pocket and glances at it. From the way his jaw tightens, I know it’s not.
“Her driver.”
I scowl.
“West.” His tone is low and clipped. As he listens, his eyes darken. “She fuckingwhat?”
Blood chilling, I cut a glance to Brennan. “Put it on speaker.”
With a tight nod, he does what I said then returns to the call. “Repeat what you just said.”
“She’s gone, sir.”
Gone?The words hit like a blow to my chest. “The hell do you mean,gone?”
There’s a slight hesitation, as if the driver is swallowing his fear. “I—I’m sorry, sir. We stopped at the vet. For the cat. I was watching the exit, but she never came out. Mrs. Vale said not to worry if it took a while because the vet was working her in.” He exhales a shaky breath. “But after half an hour, I went inside, just to check.”
The silence hangs thick.
“She went out the back door.”
