Page 277 of Ashes of Sin and Stardust

Chapter 59

At first, I didn’teven realize she was gone.

Time got away from me. I planned to tie her up and tease her during my conference call, but then she’d gone off for her atrocious concoction of French fries and mayonnaise. I got off my call a little after five and grabbed a glass of water before my last call of the day. I had a meeting with a potential dungeon master in Miami who wanted to participate and support The Weston House in some way, and maybe plan a fundraising event. I’d hoped Alice would be around so I could introduce her as well.

That’s when I realized she wasn’t back yet.

She probably got distracted,I thought.Her borderline shows up most when she’s stressed, and her ADHD shows up most when she’s relaxed.She’d been wonderfully behaved all week, coasting on endorphins and the memory of our scene, but the silly girl couldn’t stay on track when having a conversation, and she never closed cabinet doors or turned off lights.

What a strange little goblin princess. I smiled as I thought about her. I sent her a quick text:Those must be some good French fries if they take two hours to eat and make.

I put my earphones on and closed the office door, getting on the call with Meryn. An hour later, after an excellent conversation and some preliminary ideas thrown around, we ended the call and I hauled myself out of my chair, wondering what trouble she’d managed to get herself into.

The living room was empty. So was her bedroom, though it looked like a tornado had gone through it. The bathroom door was open, but she wasn’t in there either.

I looked outside the kitchen window. Her car was still gone.

A hot, itching feeling crept up the back of my neck.

No, I’m sure she’s fine. Just distracted, and probably eating ice cream when she shouldn’t be. Maybe she went to The Lounge.

I texted Alice again:Where are you? Please check in.

Then I texted Noah and Jack:Is Alice at The Lounge?

Jack replied immediately.Nope. Asked Sanaii, she’s not downstairs either.

I tried to tell myself she was fine...

Only now my hands were starting to sweat. Because there had been a day almost ten years ago, where a little bird had flown the coop, and I almost hadn’t gotten her back.

I can’t lose her. Oh God, I cannot lose her.

Woodrow may have found her. Or she may have gone back to him for some reason. I wasn’t sure what that reason might be, but it wasn’t uncommon for people to return to their abusers. I debated getting into my car and at least driving by his house to see if her car was there.

I tried to remember our last conversation. She’d looked excited to get her fries. She didn’t seem upset.

What if someone found out she’s mine, and they took her to get to me?

I shut that thought down. Lindsay and Michael and their team had eradicated most of the traffickers who worked out of this area. The local drug cartel and the Mafia both liked Alice, for some fucked up reason that I didn’t want the details on. Years ago, someone stealing my girl would have been a concern, but not anymore.

Then again, I hadn’t had a submissive in a long time.

What if I never see her again? What if, like Savannah, she disappears into nowhere? What if she gets kidnapped? What if she runs? Starts her whole life over from scratch?She’d done that before. She was fully capable.

Maybe she was at The Underground. I texted a few people I knew there. No luck. I reached out to Becca. Still no luck.

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