Because I don’t know where to go.
My father is dead.
I have no family.
I have no one.
Reaching behind myself, I pull my phone from my back pocket and stare at it.
My hands are still shaking when I dial a number.
My heart is still sitting in the pit of my stomach when I press the phone to my ear and listen to it ring.
“Hello?”
“Hi, it’s Athena. I need help. I didn’t know who else to call,” I say quietly, my voice sounding like it belongs to someone else.
Chapter 21 - Adrian
As I wake, my body starts to stretch lazily beneath the tangle of blankets knotted around me. My lips curve into a smile when I think about how she managed to coax me into resting. My beautiful wife. My naughty little kitten.
I let out a long groan of satisfaction as I stretch my legs further and arch my back, hearing a faint pop as my body realigns. I really needed that sleep. Far more than I understood.
And I needed her. And she was there for me.
Rolling over in bed, the blanket half falls from my body, but I pay no attention as I reach out in search of her, hoping to pull her into my arms and repeat what we did early this morning.
It’s no surprise she isn’t there, though. It’s the middle of the day, and she got plenty of rest last night. She’s probably reading or getting up to some mischief somewhere in the house.
Mm. I wonder if she made lunch. I sit up, suddenly craving the richness of that spaghetti Bolognese she made before.
Tossing the remainder of the blankets off myself, I slip out of bed, ready to go sweet-talk her into making it again. Maybe a little less this time, though.
A chuckle rolls through me.
This week has been hell. Absolute hell. I’m dreading the moment I have enough information to actually tell her about her father. The moment that will break her heart. I wish I didn’t have to be the one, but I am. And I’ll be there for her to support her in any way she needs.
But so far, I have no leads on who took his life.
I hate keeping this from her, but it’s the only way I can save her from the hurt of it all.
I grab a pair of sweatpants from my closet before I head downstairs. On the way past her room, I peek inside, but it’s empty. a little messy, but empty.
“Kitten?” I call out. “I haven’t slept that well in a decade. You really do have magic hands,” I chuckle as the memory flashes through my mind.
“Kitten?” I call louder when only the silence of the mansion comes back at me.
Frowning, check the living room—there is no fire going, so she wasn’t relaxing in there. The room is quite cold and unwelcoming without her warmth filling it.
“Athena?” I shout louder, leaning into the kitchen, which is also empty.
The library. She loves sitting in the afternoon sun reading.
I run upstairs, taking them two at a time.
The library is empty as well.
The entire mansion suddenly feels cold.
