I turned her to face me, delicately cupping her bruised cheek.“Don’t think likethat, Kiki. Billie is a fighter. She’s been through so much in her life already, and she never gave up. She never stopped fighting. She’s strong and brave, and she’ll be home to you in no time, I promise.”
She gazed up at me, her swollen eye open the tiniest amount.“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Jackson.”
“I don’t. I’ve never broken a promise.”
Her eyes dropped.“You promised you’d love me for eternity.”
The sorrow in her voice hit me straight in the chest, and I couldn’t help my next words as I pressed two fingers under her chin and lifted it so she had to look at me.“And like I say. I’ve never broken a promise.”
Her bottom lip quivered as she inhaled a shaky breath, and for several seconds, neither of us looked away. Every part of me ached to close the gap between us and kiss her, but I held back. She’d been through enough, and as much as I was sure I still had feelings for herthatran bone deep, I couldn’t ignorethatI didn’t trust her.
Stepping back, disappointment flashed on Kiera’s face as I moved her under the stream to wash the shampoo out. When the water ran clear again, I cast my eyes over the gash to her head, assessing how bad it was.
“I don’t think you need stitches, but I suspect it’s going to hurt for a while, and you’ve probably got a concussion, so you need tostay awake.”
Her lips creased into a small, sad smile.“I don’t think I’ll be sleeping until I know Billie is safe.”
I bobbed my head.“Thenlet’s get to work and find out wherethatfiancé of yours is.”
She snorted.“I think it’s safe to say he is no longer my fiancé.”
“Good,”I growled, my fists clenching.Evenwhen the asshole was dead and buried, I wasn’t sure I’d ever not want to dig him up,justso I could kill him all over again for daring to hurt Kiera. To hurt my woman. “Come onthen, let’s get dressed, and we can figure out where to start.”
I reached for the handle to shut the shower off, but Kiera’s hand whipping out to grab my arm stopped me.“Can Ijusthave a minute on my own?”
My brow lifted.“Of course. You okay?”
Sorrow filled her eyes.“Yeah. Ijust…need a minute alone.”
I pressed my lips lightly against hers.“Shout if you need anything.”
Leaving her to it, I dressed and headed downstairs to wait for her. There were a number of options I had to start tracking Alec. His phone, his car, and his money to start with. Not wanting to sit around with my thumb up my ass, I headed to Alec’s office, figuring his computer might hold useful information.
Unsurprisingly, his office was the one room he hadn’t smashed up before he went on his kidnapping mission, and it remained exactly as it had when he’d brought me in here to discuss investment options.
His computer stood on his desk, and I wasted no time taking the seat in front of it, tapping away at the keyboard in an attempt to bypass his password. Lost in concentration, trying every trick I knew to hack into a computer, the rumble of an engine only caught my attention because of how close to the house it had sounded.
My head whipped up, and I jumped from the chair to sprint to the window, catching Kiera reversing her car out of the driveway before speeding off. I bolted to the front door, confused as hell as to where she was going, but by the time I ripped the front door open, her car had disappeared around a corner.
Where the fuck had she gone? More to the point,whyhad she left?
Dread churned in my stomach as I pulled my phone from my pocket, loading up the appthatshowed me all the incoming and outgoing text messages from where I’d cloned her phone.
My gaze landed on the most recent message, and I muttered a curse as I read it.
Unknown number:
If you want to see Billie again, answer your fucking phone.
I quickly loaded up the list of her phone calls, noting two missed calls from two different numbers before the message came through. The callthathad comeafterthe message had been answered, and a forty-three-second call had taken place only moments ago.
Not bothering to shut the front door, I ran to my car, tapped the onboard computer several times to bring up the data for the tracker I’d put on Kiera’s car, andthenI took off after her.
Stopping my car half a mile away from where Kiera’s car had come to a stop, I made the rest of the journey on foot. I knew the area well, and I’d be lying if I said I had any idea why Kiera had come tothisplace.
Especially if she was meeting Alec.
Not knowing what she was dealing with, and not wanting to spook Alec—ifthatwas who she had come to meet—I kept myself hidden behind outbuildings as I neared the property. Reaching the carport, I peeked around in hopes I could see what was going on inside, cursing myself for not having my gun.
