Page 91 of Papers Don't Lie

I don’t wait for him to repeat himself. I just whirl on my toes and walk to the private room, shutting the door closed behind me before sliding down on the floor with stubborn tears rushing down my cheeks.

What I lived was real. What I lived was real. What I lived was real. What I lived was real.

FIFTY

KAI

It’s been two days since I’ve closed my eyes. It’s nothing new to me, but if I thought not sleeping in her presence was bad, her absence burns a lot hotter.

Purple is constantly lying on his side of the bed whenever I come to check up on him. I don’t know how he does it, with the blueberry smell buried deep inside the sheets. He doesn't wiggle his tail anymore, and he doesn't bark. He simply stares at me with his glistening eyes, begging me to bring his mother back home.

“She’ll come back,” I tell him, saying the words out loud giving me an ounce of confidence that she actually will.

My eyes keep closing shut as I wait in my office for Alister, an old friend who owes me, but I refuse to sleep. I don’t get to rest until Esmeray is home.

As my father told me countless times, when you do something, you also have to support the consequences, and if my actions brought this upon me, then I’m going to pay until I give my last breath. Until then, I won’t give up unless Esmeray tells me in the face that it was her choice to leave.

For now, for the sake of finding her instead of looking for the reason she left, I’ll believe it was never her choice.

A knock opens my door, and I didn’t even realize I’ve fallen asleep until I have to raise my head to meet Alister. I blink a few times, welcoming the man dressed in a police uniform into my office, clearing my throat before standing up to my feet to shake hands.

“Thank you for coming,” I say, feeling how all the need for sleep is disappearing.

He nods, taking a seat on the chair in front of me before he takes out his laptop and puts it on my desk. Alister arranges his blond hair, which is already perfectly styled, and I try to keep myself from making a remark. He’s here to help me, after all.

“The public information shows he has a hundred and twenty properties, but I’m pretty sure he has a few more, just in case he needs to disappear,” I explain the reason I called him over. “I need you to tell me how many he has on top of that and where they are. “

Alister sighs, glancing at me from under his eyebrows. “I’m risking a lot by doing this, Graves.”

I agree with a bob of my head. “I risked a lot for you too, Alister. Remember, this guy has my wife, and I’ll do anything to get her back, no matter if it’s with your help or not.

After we finished high school, Alister’s dream was to become a policeman, but his father’s past was in the way of that, so I did what I did and got rid of the records, helping him to start fresh and get a real chance. As cocky as it sounds, he is where he is because of me, and not because of deleting those records. I did far more for him than he knows.

“On it," he murmurs, taking out his glasses from his bag before typing on his keyboard. “It’s going to take a while, so make yourself comfortable.”

Well, fuck me.

My eyes squint at him. “Don’t test my fucking patience." I grit my teeth, leaning down on my elbows on the desk. “I don’thave time to lose, and if you don’t have everything ready in five minutes, I’ll make sure you were never an officer.”

He gulps, his eyes rounding on me before he nods and starts typing rapidly. This all could’ve have been easier if Dalton would’ve fucking answered my calls or if he would’ve been in New York. He’s nowhere to be found, and I have no doubt he told Carter about my interest in him.

Fucking idiot.

There’s no way in heaven and hell that I’ll be comfortable while my wife is out there with the most psychopathic man I’ve gotten to know. He’d better not touch her or I’m going to change my plan of playing legal and drop him in God knows what pit. I’m the type of man who sits strongly on the rightful side, but when it comes to people or things I love, I’ll gladly pass over the line my dad carefully drew years ago.

Nothing is more important than her.

Because I don’t know what to do to not fall asleep, I fish out my phone and text her for the hundredth time today.

I’ll find you wherever you are and I will not rest until you’re back.

You have no reason to believe me, but I’ll never touch you again.

I just want you back home.

My heart poundsin my chest when I see the three bubbles jumping on the screen, and I decide to not call her this time, in case she’s next to him. I don’t want her to lock her phone again. I want everything she’s willing to give.

I glance at Alister, who’s buried deep in work, and move my leg up and down in wait for her reply. For five minutes, I just stare at the bubbles, hope growing in my chest, but her text never comes.

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