I grab the bat, leaning against the wall. I smash the TV, the nightstand, the minibar.
How could she do this to me? She promised me she wouldn’t leave me, yet she just did!
I love her. Can’t breathe without her.
My stomach drops.
I hyperventilate.
Fear burns beneath my skin. How can I live without her? I can’t live without my Lilac. How the fuck was she able to drugme, and I didn’t see it coming? That’s low—even for her. She’s slipping away from me, and I can’t have that.
I grab my phone from my pocket and check her location, but it says she’s here, which can’t be right. I call her, and her phone lights up from across the room.
She knows I’m tracking her phone.
Good thing I have GPS on all my vehicles just in case they ever get stolen.
I pull up the tracker on the white Mustang, and I see she’s at a hotel two towns over.
Fuck.
I’ll handle her when I get my hands on her. I should have trusted myself and done what I was supposed to do at our wedding by completing the full ritual of our marriage, but my lawyer told me Lilac would grow suspicious.
I dial my doctor, Lena. She’s the family doctor for the American Billionaire Club. She picks up on the first ring.
“What can I help you with, Mr. Ashford?” Sleepiness coats her tone.
“I need that shot you put in all the American Billionaire Club wives.”
She laughs nervously. “You said you didn’t need one.”
“I changed my mind. Bring it here. I need to give it to my wife.”
“When do you need it?”
“Now.”
I tap the End Call button and change into clean clothes.
Once Dr. Lena drops off the drug, I zoom through traffic and drive all the way to South Haven. She didn’t get far, and I was only out for eight hours. She hasn’t moved since I last checked her location. It’s the middle of the night right now, so she probably stopped and slept.
I grip the steering wheel until my hands hurt.
When I reach the hotel, I go straight to the front desk. A thousand dollars later, they tell me what room she’s in.
I open the door, and the lights are off except for the bathroom. Relief floods me. At least she’s safe. I watch my princess sleep. She looks so peaceful. She really thinks she’s going to get away from me. My heart aches thinking about what she did. How can she just leave me? My one and only.
I don’t know why I didn’t think to do this in the first place. She’ll never escape me again.
I tap her shoulder, and she rolls over. I tap her again. She startles awake, her eyes landing on me.
She scrambles to the other side of the bed.
“Hey, my princess. You didn’t think I would find you?”
Her eyes widen in terror, and tears gloss her eyes.
“Oh, no need to cry, my love. You did this to yourself.”
