Still stunned, he opened the door and walked into the corridor.Caitlin was standing right outside the bedroom in which she and Don had slept, looking dazed.
“Did you get a message from Hannah?”she whispered through dry lips.
“Yep,” he said, walking past her to the room in which he should have stayed last night.
But Caitlin grabbed his arm and stopped him.“What did she say?”she asked anxiously.
He barked out a laugh.“That last night was a mistake, she’s leaving, I have to get on with my life.”He made a big deal of looking at his phone again.“That’s it, more or less.That’s what she wants, and I, for one, am quite happy to give her exactly what she is asking for.I’m leaving as soon as the plane is ready.Let me know if you and Don want to go with me.”
Caitlin stared at him for a few minutes.“In her message to me she said she ‘has’ to go.I’m sure Stephen White is behind this and—”
“We’re here, there is a security guard at the front door, this is the safest place for her!”He pushed his fingers through his hair and then dropped his hand to his side, feeling deflated.“She told me she loved me,” he said softly.“And bloody fool that I was, I told her the same.This…running away, sending me a damn text message, telling me to get on with my life after last night, I…” He struggled to breathe and inhaled deeply.“I should’ve stayed the hell away from her.”
He turned his back to Caitlin and stepped into his room, closing the door behind him.He had to call to make sure the plane was ready; he wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Ten minutes later, he walked into the kitchen, his bag in his hand.
“You’re really leaving?”Caitlin asked coldly.
“What the hell do you want from me?”he nearly yelled.
His heart had splintered into a million pieces—what else was he supposed to do?
“I want you to be there for her, you idiot!I want you to stop thinking about Darryn Cavallo for one minute and to think why Hannah is gone.It’s not something she would do.And if you really loved her, you would know that.”
Don gave him a cool look and took his wife into his arms.“You’ve upset my wife,” he said, his eyes chips of ice.
“I—” Darryn rubbed his face.“I’m leaving.Are you coming with me?”
“No, we’re staying another day.Just in case.Caitlin has been on the phone, trying to find out whether anyone else knows something about Hannah.Her agent also received a message from Hannah saying she’ll get in touch with her soon.”Don grimaced.“And she duped the security guy into checking the dining room window while she slipped away.So he also doesn’t know anything about her movements.”
Darryn wanted to explode.“Bloody hell!We’ve put our lives on hold to rush to her side and she does a disappearing act after one day?I’m out of here!”
Caitlin stepped out of Don’s arms.“Something isn’t right.Hannah would never do something like this.I still think something must have happened and that Stephen White has a hand in the whole thing.”
“Whatever.I’ve called the airport.I’m leaving.See you back home,” he snarled and stormed out of Hannah’s flat.
Images of the night they spent together clouded his mind, driving him insane.She had been a willing and enthusiastic lover—they couldn’t get enough of each other.He’d fallen asleep once or twice only to be woken by butterfly kisses over his face and body, and that was all it took to rekindle the fire that had nearly consumed them.
He had explored and loved every centimeter of her body, leaving them both satisfied time after time.Hell, he thought they would pick up where they left off, when they finally fell asleep.But she had slipped away while he was sleeping, without saying a word.
This only reminded him of his rule—never sleep over.It was a rule he’d broken only twice in his life, and both times it was because of Hannah Sutherland.
Well, he was done with her for good.His heart simply wouldn’t be able to take another blow.
He tried to hold on to his anger and his hurt all through the eleven-hour flight home.Sleep was impossible, he couldn’t eat, and his stomach was tied up in knots.He downed a beer, paced the small aircraft.
And somewhere over Africa, his brain started functioning again, and he was able to think.
Caitlin’s words kept bothering him—it wasn’t something Hannah would do.And if he really loved her, he would know that.Again, he saw Hannah’s sleek, sexy body rising above him, teasing him, driving him slowly insane until he became a part of her.
Was it possible he had it wrong?But where the hell was Hannah?Why had she left so abruptly?Had something happened?Why the hell didn’t she tell him about it?Worry clawed at his insides and, frustrated and feeling powerless, he eventually sat down in a chair.
Rubbing his face, he tried to think.Had he said or done something that could have her had her running away?Surely after last night, she had to know how he felt about her.He’d loved her the whole night long—with his body, with his soul, with his very being—and she had been with him every step of the way.So what the hell spooked her?
He rubbed his chest.Breathing was difficult.Hell, he never knew missing someone could cause a physical pain, but that was what he was experiencing.
*
