Page 117 of The Sadist and the Brat

She sent the text when she got into Sam’s truck, as promised, and knew Jack would get it when he checked his phone. Though since his phone was in his toy bag and turned off per play party rules, it might take a while for him to do that. But she didn’t mention that to Sam.

He took her home, where she turned down his offer to walk her upstairs. She knew as soon as he left he was going right back to the party to talk to Jack, so she didn’t have much time. She went straight to her closet and dragged out a suitcase and began throwing clothes into it at random. He’d come looking for her, when Sam told him what they’d overheard, and she didn’t intend to be here when he did.

The suitcase filled, she swapped out the thin T-shirt dress for jeans and a loose sweater that hid the lights better—she didn’t have time to take them off. A check of the time told her Sam was probably back at the party now, or would be shortly, so she dragged the suitcase to the living room. She had her makeup bag in her purse, so she bypassed the bathroom and grabbed her portable massage table.

Within twenty minutes, she was loaded up and pulling out and, right on cue, her phone rang.

She didn’t have to look at the screen to know it was Jack—she’d assigned him his own ringtone, a sharp wolf whistle that never failed to get her attention. Hearing it now made her want to throw her phone out of the window. Instead, she silenced the call, sending it to voicemail, and half a minute later her phone pinged with a new message.

She knew she shouldn’t, but when she stopped at a red light, she hit the button to listen to it.

“Sadie, it’s Jack. Sam told me he took you home, and he told me why. I’m on my way. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“But I won’t be,” she sang softly. She turned off her phone, then shoved it to the bottom of her bag—and jammed her thumb on the bottle of anise extract she had yet to get rid of. Cursing and shaking her hand, sitting at the red light with her thumb throbbing and her heart breaking, she had a terrible, wonderful idea.

* * * *

Jack left Sadie’s apartment building, his phone to his ear. “Sam.”

“Jack. Did you talk to her?”

“She’s not here.” Climbing into his car, he switched to hands-free mode, hit the ignition, and pulled into traffic. “Did she say anything to you about going someplace else?”

“No, probably because she knew I’d tell you.” Sam cursed under his breath. “I shouldn’t have taken her home.”

Jack thought the same, but he bit the words back. “She’d have left anyway, and she was safe with you. Do you know where she’d go?”

“Normally I’d say to Olivia or Rebecca, but they’re both here.”

Jack drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, his foot holding the gas pedal almost to the floor and tried to think.

“Hold on a second, I’m getting a text. It’s her.”

“Where is she?” Jack demanded.

“Hang on, I’m still reading. It says,I’m safe. I’m not going to tell you where, because you’ll just tell Jack—”

“Hell,” Jack muttered.

“—and I don’t want to talk to him. But you should tell him to check his apartment. I left him a present.”

Jack gunned the engine and flipped the car in a U-turn, ignoring the honks from the cars he’d just cut off. “Dammit, I didn’t even think of my place. Did she say anything else?”

“I love you, traitor, but that was probably for me.”

“Yeah,” Jack agreed, and hoped he hadn’t ruined any chance he had of hearing those words directed at him—minus the traitor. “Call me if you hear anything else, and bring the others up to speed, will you?”

“Will do. Jack? I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Sam,” he said.It’s mine.“I’ll talk to you later.”

He disconnected the call, then concentrated on getting to his apartment as fast as possible.

At first glance, his apartment looked the same as it had when he’d left it. The doorman had confirmed that Sadie had indeed been by, though she’d stayed less than twenty minutes. By his calculations, she’d been leaving his place about the same time he’d been arriving at hers.

He glanced around the living room, saw nothing amiss, and headed for the stairs. His bedroom was neat and tidy, as was the bath, but he noticed the pair of fuzzy socks she’d left on his dresser were gone, as was the packet of makeup wipes and the bottle of moisturizer she kept on his bathroom counter.

Though his heart sank to see the empty spaces, he didn’t think that’s what she’d meant when she said she’d left him a present. Sadie just wasn’t that subtle.

---