I had some of my men start investigating Ali Koskos to find out if there are any previous ties he might have to my father, but so far I’ve found nothing.
In fact, I can’t even figure out where my father is at the moment.
How can I plan my next move, or prepare for whatever the hell he has planned, if I have no fucking idea what’s going on?
My phone rings, and I grab it off the bar counter, hoping for some news to ease my racing thoughts, but it’s Jess calling. Nothing to do with work.
“Hi,” I answer, trying to hide the stress in my voice.
But when she replies, I can immediately hear the stress in hers.
“Kris, something's wrong,” she blurts out.
“What?” I growl, every hair on my body prickling with tension.
“It’s Georgie. We planned to video call tonight at nine, and I’ve been dialing her number for the past hour straight, and she’s not answering.”
My stomach knots, my heart beating faster against my ribcage. The thought of something happening to Georgie instantly provokes a very dangerous side of me.
“Is she maybe in class, or some kind of study group?” I ask, hoping that my instincts are wrong, that this has nothing to do with my father.
“No, you don’t understand. If she sets a call with me, she doesn’t miss it. And she didn’t have a study group this evening. She was going to study alone in her dorm room. I’m telling you, something’s wrong. I can feel it.” She sounds on the verge of tears. I know how close she is with Georgie. The quiver in her voice is all the evidence I need to understand how serious this is.
Apart from that, I know Georgie is reliable. She cares deeply about those who are close to her—about everyone, actually—and she wouldn’t leave my sister to stress like thiswithout a good reason…orif something bad has happened to her.
My sister’s friendship with her was always my cover for helping Georgie. I told Jess it was because if Georgie meant that much toher,then she was like family to us, and we should keep her safe, look after her.
Jess has no idea how I actually feel about her best friend.
About the limerence.
My obsession.
“Jess, don’t worry, okay? I’m going to look into it. I’ll take care of this,” I assure her, even though I’m terrified I might be too late.
This is what my father warned me about. It has to be.
This is what he was hinting at.
If he’s done something to her, I’ll never forgive him.
For my sake…Jess's. Georgie means too much to both of us.
“Please, Kris, I’m having a breakdown here. I need to know she’s okay.”
“I promise,” I tell Jess. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find her.”
We don’t chat any more than that. Jess wants me to get right on it, and she hangs up after a very brief goodbye.
As soon as that call ends, I make another.
I have a team of private guards assigned to Georgie. She has no idea about it, nor does Jess. But they track her movements on a daily basis and report back to me with updates. It’s how I can stay close to her, even though I can’t have her.Yet. She also doesn’t know I pulled a lot of strings and planted a lot of seeds to get her to move from San Diego to Arizona State University. I wanted her closer to me. But I made sure it was a benefit to her.
The phone rings a few times, and my tension grows with each second that passes.
“Sir,” Rogan answers, his voice gruff.
“Where is she?” I demand right away.
