Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
It’s been at least two hours since Chloe left, and I have no fucking clue where she’s gone.
“Do you have anything you want to say to me?” Bruce says once we’re alone on the sidewalk.
Everyone else, including Luke, has gone, so it’s only the two of us. “No. I’ve got to find Chloe.”
Pulling my cell out of my pocket, I see the battery is almost dead. Fuck. I meant to charge it earlier, but I forgot about the party and didn’t have time.
“What the hell were you thinking? That was half the board in there.” Bruce again tries to reason with me, but I don’t have time.
“Did you drive? I need a car.”
“Sawyer!” I look up to see Bruce’s face is red with fury and most likely embarrassment.
“Not now!” I snap back as aggressively as him. “The love of my life just ran out on me. I don’t give a fuck about the board or anything else except getting her back. Right now I need you to be my father-in-law instead of my boss and give me your fucking car keys.”
“Luke said you made a bet.” His voice is calmer now but there’s an edge to it.
“That’s why I need to talk to her.”
“So it’s true then?”
I grit my teeth so hard my jaw cracks. “The only person I’m discussing this with is my wife. If you won’t give me your keys you need to get the fuck out of my way because I don’t have time for this shit.”
Bruce reaches into his pocket and pulls out his keys. He hands them to me, but before letting go, he looks me straight in my eyes. “If you hurt her, I’ll make sure you regret it.”
“I’ve already hurt her.” The weight of it is heavy, and I can’t believe she found out like this. “Now I have to convince her that I’m worth forgiving.”
He nods and then lets go of his keys. I take off in a sprint to where he’s parked a few spaces down. It doesn’t hit me until I’m behind the wheel that he never once reprimanded me for punching Paul. Maybe Luke told him the whole story and he thought Paul deserved it. I’m not sorry I hit him, but I regret that I let him have that power.
My phone buzzes, and I see that I’ve only got one percent power remaining and Bruce doesn’t have anything to charge it with. The first thing I do is sent a text to Chloe to call me and then check her location.
“Fuck!” I roar when I see she’s turned it off right before my battery dies. Pulling away from the curb, I take off for our house, thinking that she’s got to be there. She wouldn’t just leave me. Right?
We’ve been through so much that I deserve a chance to plead my case. It was a stupid fucking bet, and I’ve regretted so many times that I didn’t tell her right away. The longer I waited, the harder it got to bring up, and then it felt like it didn’t matter.
I should have known that Paul was holding that in his back pocket. He feeds off information, and I knew he was a loose cannon waiting to explode. It’s my fault it got to this point, and I don’t know what I’m going to do if Chloe doesn’t forgive me.
The distance home isn’t far, but traffic is shit and I spend most of the drive honking the horn and yelling out the window. I’m aware that I’m probably asking for another incident with the police tonight, but if I can get to Chloe, everything will be okay. It has to be.
When I pull up outside our house, I park the car and race inside. But as soon as I step over the threshold I know she’s not here. Walking into the kitchen, I turn on the light and see she made us dessert. She probably did that before she left for the party and planned on us enjoying it when we got home. Home.
The reason I love coming home is because of how it feels with her in it. The reason I can’t stand being away from her is because I can feel her warmth when she’s near. Right now, these walls are cold without her light, and I know she’s gone.
My knees buckle, and I sink to the floor. What the fuck am I going to do?
Chapter Seven
CHLOE
I’m thankful for the credit card my mom gave me years ago when I first came to New York. It was for me to use while I was in school, but after I married Sawyer, I tried to give it back to her. She insisted I keep it just in case, and I’m glad I did.
Sawyer has always enjoyed taking care of me, and I loved it too. The way he did it made me feel special, but now I’m not sure how I feel. I’m second guessing so many things, and it’s not only the bet. Are there other things he manipulated me to do? His shiny new CEO job pops into my head, but I can’t go there right now.