She’d walked away.
The thought scraped raw.She’d kissed him with a passion that could have burned the air between them to ash… and then she’d bolted as if it had never happened.
But something had happened.
He shook his head, forcing his focus back to the danger.“Do you think that car was trying to kill her?”The question came out darker than he intended, the possibility gnawing at him.
The guards hesitated.One finally said, “It was going fast.Could have been an accident, but…” His voice trailed off.
The uncertainty in all their faces only twisted the knot in Rylan’s gut tighter.
His fists clenched at his sides.The idea that someone might have deliberately targeted Natalie was unthinkable—but it was refusing to leave him alone.Did she have enemies?A secret she’d never shared?Or had someone in his world decided she was leverage?
“Why the hell would anyone target her?”The words were more to himself than to them, but the bite in his tone made it clear he wanted answers.
He didn’t have them.And that, more than anything, made his frustration burn white-hot.
“Let’s go to her house,” he ordered.
The guards exchanged quick glances but obeyed without a word, moving to get him out of the open garage before tempers—and danger—flared again.
Twenty minutes later, Rylan stood on the front porch of Natalie’s small, charming home, irritation simmering beneath the surface of his controlled exterior.Her SUV wasn’t in the driveway.Knocking brought no answer.
The porch light glowed softly, and faint golden light spilled from a couple of windows.But there was no movement inside.
“She’s not here,” he muttered, his gaze flicking over the driveway like it had personally offended him.
“Do you think she’s still driving around?”one of the guards asked carefully.
Rylan didn’t answer right away.His eyes swept over the property again, cataloging every detail until something clicked.The lights—too evenly spaced, too strategically placed.Timers.
She’d set them to make the house look occupied.
His jaw hardened.She was scared.Scared enough to vanish into the night and not tell him—or anyone—where she was going.That thought sent a hot surge of irritation through him, the kind that came from equal parts worry and anger.
“Where the hell is she?”he growled, dragging a hand over the back of his neck, his frustration teetering on the edge of rage.
The quiet suburban neighborhood offered no answers.Most houses sat in darkness, their occupants winding down for the night, unaware of the tension radiating off him like heat.The soft hum of crickets filled the air, their steady rhythm mocking him with its calm.
The longer he stood there, the more the air seemed to thicken around him, heavy with the pounding demand of his instincts.Every nerve, every muscle screamed the same thing—find Natalie, get her in his arms, and make damn sure nothing could touch her again.
The image wouldn’t leave him—the blinding glare of headlights, the screech of tires, the split second where she’d stood frozen, her eyes wide with fear.That look… it lodged itself in his chest like a blade and twisted.
He drew in a slow breath, trying to temper the surge of fury, but instead it condensed into something sharper, harder.
“Find her,” he said, his voice low, cold, and edged with steel.
The guards didn’t hesitate.Phones came out instantly, terse orders muttered into the night, their movements quick and precise.
Rylan turned away, stepping into the back of the SUV.The leather seat creaked under his weight, but the tension locked in his body didn’t ease.His gaze stayed fixed on the darkness outside as the vehicle pulled away, his reflection in the window shadowed and grim.
Where was she?
His fists curled in his lap, the ache in his knuckles a welcome distraction from the churn in his chest.Whatever—or whoever—had driven her into the shadows tonight, he’d drag them into the light.
And when he found them, they would understand exactly how big a mistake they’d made coming anywhere near her.
Chapter 14
