Page 43 of Pure Seduction (Chamberlin Brothers 1)

“Noah?”

I scanned the room, but the curtains were still drawn and I couldn’t see him anywhere, so I rolled over and flicked the light on. His cleared-off nightstand caught my attention in an instant, and as the silence in the room became increasingly louder, my heart began to thump a little harder.

“Noah?” I called out again, and when all that met me was absolutely nothing, the hair on the back of my neck rose. “Noah?”

Trying not to think the worst, I racked my brain for a logical reason he wouldn’t be here. But nothing made any sense. His wallet, phone, and clothes were gone. The only thing I could see was his varsity jacket, which I’d thrown over one of the chairs after dancing in it the night before. It was like he’d up and vanished. Never even been here. But my body told me otherwise.

This was not like him. There was no way Noah would just up and leave me here. It was nine o’clock in the morning and he was my way home. So where was he?

Stop it. Stop thinking the worst. But how was I supposed to do that when nothing else made any sense?

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I all but jumped out of my skin as the alarm cycled around a second time. I reached over to hit it again, and wasn’t at all shocked to hear the plastic crack. My pulse was racing now, my hands shaking, as every possible scenario—all bad—flashed before my eyes.

I quickly threw the covers off and grabbed one of the robes we’d thrown across the end of the bed, then I made a beeline for the bathroom just to double-check.

Empty. Shit.

I ran back to my bag and pulled my cell free.

Maybe he’d called?

Maybe he’d left a text?

But when I swiped at the screen and no notifications appeared, I started to really panic.

I closed my eyes, counted back from ten, and willed myself not to cry.

What was going on? I didn’t understand. Had I been drugged? Had something happened to Noah? He wasn’t the kind of guy who’d sleep with a girl and then leave her to wake up in a hotel room alone.

That wasn’t him. So that could only mean…what? I hit his number and waited. And waited. And waited. When the call finally went to voicemail, I ended it and tried again. Sinking down on the end of the bed, I could feel my head starting to spin and brought my hands up to my face. I was starting to overheat and my hands were all clammy.

I took in several breaths, trying to calm myself, but it was no use. There was absolutely no good reason as to why Noah was gone. Not one. But then the phone finally connected and I shot to my feet. “Hello? Noah?”

“Is this Laurel?” The gruff voice at the other end was definitely not Noah’s, and I was so shocked to hear it that I couldn’t seem to find my words to answer. “I’m going to take your silence as a yes. My name’s Harry. I’m Noah’s father.”

Oh shit, the whole town, including me, knew of—or about—Harry Chamberlin. He was tough, cutthroat, and one hundred percent business. According to Noah, he spared little time for his kids, and any effort he did expend on them was usually to tell them what disappointments they were.

The fact that he was answering Noah’s phone automatically made me think that something bad must’ve happened. But before I could ask, he was talking again.

“I’m going to say this once and hopefully that’ll be enough for you to understand, because after this, the number you’ve been calling will be disconnected. Noah is gone.”

Gone? What did he mean?

“He was recently accepted at one of the finest universities abroad, and is currently on a plane halfway across the ocean. So, this little high school romance of yours? It’s over. It’s time for Noah to live in the real world now, Miss Anderson. I suggest you do the same. Don’t call this number again.”

As the phone went dead, I reached for the wall to steady myself, but it was no use. My knees began to shake, and the next thing I knew, they collapsed out from under me. I fell to the floor, dejected and in shock, then reached for Noah’s jacket and drew it to me. Unable to move, I curled up in the darkness all alone, and as tears ran down my cheeks, I buried my face inside it.

This couldn’t be real. Noah hadn’t said anything about going overseas. He’d talked about going to L.A. and studying at USC with me. Harry had to be lying.

But as my heart began to break, I knew the truth.

Noah was gone, and the best night of my life had actually turned out to be the very worst.

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