My forehead crinkles in confusion. This is not Noah’s handwriting. Blackness encroaches on my vision and my ears buzz. As I read, my heart lurches in place, then slams to a stop.
Eeny meeny miney moe.
Cowboy let his starlet go.
Did she squeal …?
Maybe so.
That’s a secret you’d hate to know.
I win.
There’s no signature, but without a shadow of a doubt, this is Bradley’s handiwork. Then, as I nudge the card aside, my throat goes dry, and I give myself a firm shake. My eyes have to be playing tricks on me.
Right there beneath the note is a scrap of torn white lace, tainted by smudges of garish red.No!The way thatword roars through my head rocks me to my core. “What the fuck did he do to her?”If I find out he’s not messing with me and he’s actually hurt her, I’ll personally clamp a Burdizzo to his balls and then feed them to him on his rich-prick silver spoon.
My heart gives a violent kick, and I race to the door, throwing it open.Every razor-sharp breath slashes my lungs. Frenetic energy rushing through me, I hurry down the hall. Recollection of an earlier conversation with Sage bursts into the forefront of my mind. All the out-of-town guests are in a block on the same floor as the wedding party.But where the fuck is the honeymoon suite?I take off at a dead run, my eyes darting from one door to the next, searching for anything that’ll give me a clue as to where Noah might be.
At the far end of the corridor, a couple awaiting an elevator is too busy groping each other to notice me barreling down the hallway. Suddenly, the car arrives and the woman breaks from the man’s hold and wheels her bag inside. I recognize her from the wedding, but she isn’t familiar… though, the man next to her sure as fuck is.
My pace picks up. Every molecule of my body becomes hyperaware, attacking my nervous system. Panic and fear accelerate the beating in my chest. There’s no way to reach them in time. “Hey, asshole,” I shout, making my presence known. “Where the fuck is she?”
My eyes lock with Bradley’s as the door begins to slide closed. He slings an arm around the redhead—a woman who isnothis new wife—and raises his middle finger. The sound of his amusement bounces off the mirrored walls, paired with the smug-as-fuck grin he shoots my way before the door seals. I exhale hard, my hands shaking violently as I raise them, clutching at my head. “Fuck.”
Rage pours through me. I could go after that fucker, but he’s not my priority. For as long as I can remember, my compass has pointed to Noah. She is my north.
Something is horrifically wrong. I look around wildly. And then, I’m running, scanning every single door, determined to find which one might be the honeymoon suite.
Turning to the right at the end of the hall, my eyes land on my destination. I sprint toward it as one ragged breath after another rips from my throat. She’s in there. I feel it. Feelher.A sob carries to me through the wall. “Noah!” I bang the hardwood with a tightly clenched fist. “Open the fucking door!”
There’s no response, and with every second that passes and every sound of misery that reaches me, my heart rate ratchets up until I can’t bear the erratic rhythm any longer. “Noah!” I roar as I pound. “Please,” I beg, my voice rough and raw. “I need to know you’re okay.”
“Rhett.” It’s faint, but I hear it as if it were blaringthrough the hotel speakers. My mind conjures flashes of decimated white lace panties, and all I see is blinding fury.
There’s no waiting. It works in my favor that this is a historic building that was turned into a bougie hotel, and it still has the original antique doors and locks.
Breaths fall raggedly from my mouth as I back up a few paces, then come at the vintage hardwood like a demon, delivering a kick my stallion would be proud of. The hinges creak in protest. I go at it again, then on the third try, it gives way, and I’m in.
The scene is like something from the set of a movie, the sort where drug lords and chaos reign. The entire suite is in disarray.Trashed.Heart plummeting into my gut, my eyes flick over toppled furniture and broken glass. Half-empty bottles of liquor and champagne litter every surface, and traces of a white, powdery substance remain on the coffee table.
Bile rushes up my throat and lands on my tongue when I spot a strip of condoms right next to a bottle of fuckin’ Viagra. The smell of sex hangs so heavily in the air, my stomach twists, gurgling as if it’s going to expel all the whiskey I’ve consumed. The thought of what the awful stench represents is far worse, though, and as my imagination runs rampant, rage replaces all logic.I’m gonna kill Bradley with my bare hands.Every fiber of mybeing demands blood. My eyes flick across the mayhem-strewn area, searching.
When they finally land, I know the horrifying truth of whatever he’s done to her lies just beyond that partially cracked bedroom door.
In two long strides, I’m pushing inside. My heart slams around my chest, and my hands are shaking so badly, I fist them as I close the distance to her. My broken starlet lies amid a tangle of sheets and madness. The bedding is halfway pulled off the mattress, and my head screams in agony as I reach for her.
Her name falls from my lips as a strangled plea. “Noah?” Everything I want to say isn’t nearly enough, but none of it is important now because her dazed eyes land on me, pupils blown wide.Fuck.“I’ve got you,” I grit out as my chest heaves, heart twisting itself upward and lodging at the base of my throat.I’ll fuckin’ end him.But that won’t be enough to undo the misery he’s caused.
“Rhett?” The fractured sound of my name from hesitant lips, questioning whether it’s me, brings my focus back to the only place it should be right now. Acting on pure instinct, I draw the bedding back and gather Noah into my arms, removing her from the defiled sheets.
She’s shaking hard and clearly woozy, but neither of those things stop the tears from leaking down her puffyface or her arms from winding around my neck. She clings to me like a wounded animal seeking shelter. Like she’ll never let go.
I carry her to the only armchair that remains upright. “I’m here.” My lips brush over her forehead. A part of me wants to tell her everything will be okay, but I don’t know that, and the most terrifying part is I can only guess what she’s been through since she left my arms. Her body shudders against mine, more silent sobs racking her as she buries her face against my neck.
“Never gonna leave you again. Never. I promise.” I edge back, trying to get a look at her. He’s destroyed what he should have seen as a gift. Something precious. Noah’s always been strong, but in this moment, she’s fragile. Damaged. Broken.
My love. Mylife.
