Page 3 of Black Mark's Heart

Rebecca stood in the doorway. "Did you sleep at all?" I shook my head. "Is she still missing?" I nodded. "Are you worried she may have gotten herself into trouble somewhere?"

"Mora is not that sort of girl," I muttered. That's when I remembered listening to her and Jasper have sex. God, that had been hot, and infuriating, and worrying all at the same time. I stood up. "If she hasn't come home by tonight, I will make a few calls."

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Rebecca asked.

"There is nothing that can be done, Bex," I mourned. "I cannot be with her. The best thing I can do is get completely out of her life now."

"Dare, this is ridiculous! You love her, she loves you. Find a way to make it work," Rebecca implored.

"I can't," I yelled. "Everything I have, everything I have done to support you, Dad, and many others. They will take it all away if I cross this line. They could still ruin me for what I have already done."

"Who are they?" Rebecca demanded. I sobered and scrubbed my face. "Oh, Darius, what did you do?"

I shook my head. "It is not what you think, Bex. They are good people who do good things for kids who come from nothing. There are a few strict rules, and Mora is the worst one I could break." I stalked out of the kitchen and back to my room.

Rebecca knocked on the door an hour later. "Dare, I'm heading home. The kids want to say goodbye." Dragging myself from my sleepless stupor, I bid my sister and her children farewell, and then I pulled on my coat and went for a long walk.

After dinner, I called Warren again. "Any news?"

"I have emailed you a summary of today. We need to discuss a replacement personal assistant. I am drowning in work here having to deal with Simon and A.K. We have no less than twenty-three events booked for next month alone. I want to have job interviews in the next two weeks," Warren marched through what he wanted to say.

"I meant about Mora. Has she turned up?"

"No," Warren answered defiantly. "Can I organize these interviews?"

I groaned in annoyance. "Where the hell is she? It is not like she had that many friends."

"You told her to get out of your life. She's given you everything else you have ever wanted from her. Maybe she gave you this too," Warren's voice was thick with anger. He took a breath. "No matter how it happened, it has been twenty-four hours. Mora is gone and you got what you asked for. I will organize the recruitment agency. Goodnight," Warren hung up.

Yes, it hurt to even consider Mora might be hurt or worse. Warren pointing out that I asked for this was not what I needed to hear. Opening the address book on my phone, I dialed an unnamed number.

"Nahum Management. How can I assist you?" The receptionist answered professionally.

"Put Tracey on, Rhonda," I ordered.

"Just a minute, Master," Rhonda responded before placing me on hold. She knew my voice, knew I was the boss and that if I said jump, she responded. Tracey had all my staff there well trained.

"Dare? Aren't you on your honeymoon?" Tracey answered the phone, worried.

"It didn't happen."

"What? You called the wedding off?"

"No, we got married, and then I found out who her father was and it was over before it started," I mourned. While Tracey was not aware of the brotherhood, she knew that I answered to a few more powerful people.

"Are you okay?"

"I am not phoning for me. Mora is missing."

"Missing how?" I heard Tracey sit up straight.

"I told her to get out of my life. She ran out of there with no coat, no phone, and no purse, and has not been heard from again," I explained, a stone sitting in my stomach.

"You haven't heard from her, or no one has heard from her?" Tracey asked. Tracey was all about specifics. Part of her job required it.

"No one. Not any of my people, and no one in her circle."

Tracey blew out a breath. "Jesus, Dare. What did you do to her?"

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