Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
And no amount of begging and pleading for my forgiveness will save her from my wrath.
Even as the idea of punishment rolls around my head, I can't ignore the gnawing in my gut that something else is wrong. Elyse is smart. She wouldn’t leave, and I can’t make myself believe otherwise. If my hunch is correct, I’ll do everything in my fucking power to get Ely back and destroy the person who took her. There are always consequences. And in this case...deadly ones.
Before that, I need confirmation—proof—and the security camera footage will give me what I want. If I can see what happened, then maybe I can piece the rest of the puzzle together.
Pausing in the kitchen, I take a moment to breathe and roll my shoulders to release some tension. She wouldn’t leave; she wouldn’t. Even as I tell myself that, though, I don’t completely believe it. What if she heard my conversation with Tanya…what if she left because she thinks the baby…? Could she have heard what happened with Tanya and run away?
The muscles in my stomach tighten, panic crawling up under my ribs to seize my heart. The shit with Tanya is something I never wanted Elyse to know.
What if she thinks I'm disgusting once the truth comes out? Once she discovers how filthy I really am?
I can’t handle it. Slowly, through her eyes, I've come to see myself in a different light, and I don’t want to lose that. I can’t lose that. The best parts of me shine brightly through her, and without her, I’m merely a shell of the man I was.
I do my best to suppress the doubt. I don't know anything yet, and until I do, letting my brain conjure up wild ideas isn’t going to help. I need proof. Exiting the kitchen, I continue down to the security room.
When I enter the space I find it’s still empty, only adding to my unease.
Where the hell is everyone? Throwing myself into one of the rolling chairs in front of the monitors, I try to log into the system but an error message pops up on the screen.
What the fuck?
I scan the real time monitors, searching for either of the security guards who are supposed to be on duty. Finally! I spot one coming in through the back door of the kitchen. It’s the oldest member of the security team, a guy who’s been here since my grandfather was alive. I don’t know if I should be thankful or throttle him to death.
Shoving out of the chair, I race from the room, intending to catch him at the top of the stairs. Adrenaline pumps in my veins, the need to find Elyse guiding me.
As soon as he spots me, he freezes. "Sir?" His voice shakes, and I can fucking see the worry and fear in his eyes, the guilt spiderwebbing across his face like broken glass.
He knows something.
"Hayes, you've been here for years." I meet him head on and stare him down. "You’ve always been loyal to the family. If there was one person we could count on, it was you. Is there anything you want to tell me?”
He looks away, refusing to make eye contact.
“Has your loyalty shifted? ” I tuck my trembling hands into the front pocket of my hoodie. I can’t let him see how close to losing it I am.
I want him afraid, yes, but I also need him to talk, and he won’t if fear is all he has running through his veins.
He blinks and exhales. "I don't know what you’re talking about, sir.”
I grit my teeth against the desire to destroy, to force him to tell me what I want to hear.
"Play stupid with someone else, not me. Now, get the fuck down here, and show me the security feed for the last twelve hours. It’s that, or I can beat the information I need out of you. What’s it going to be?”
He curses softly under his breath and steps forward. "I'll show you."
I move out of the way, and he lumbers down the stairs, defeat in the set of his shoulders. When he passes, I clench my fists, my fury rising slowly inside me like mercury in a thermometer. I follow closely behind him and throw myself into the chair, moving the other and forcing him to stand.
He quickly types into the computer and brings up the feed, then takes a step back, giving me space to review. My gaze locks onto the screen and I see the other security guard, a newer guy. I can't remember his name—not that it matters when I see him leading Ely through the back door.
They disappear off the screen, and my blood pressure bubbles over.
“Pull up the other fucking camera,” I order.
Hayes scrambles, his fingers shaking as he does what he’s told. The second camera footage pops up onto the screen, and he scrolls through the footage until I see them in the image. He hits play, and the feed shows them walking out to the cabin.