It was worth a try!
I’d laugh, but you are too pathetic right now.
He was going to make it his priority to go to the local kink club. Yeah, a weekend should sort him out. Someone to play with to scratch the impossible itch, that was now more like his clothes had become infested by red ants, biting at his control. All of these feelings were solely to do with the fact he’d left it too long between relationships, and he needed to rectify that to stop the urges he had to punch the asshat Rex’s lights out for daring to treat Bowie in any way he didn’t deem acceptable.
Yes, finding someone else will really work. Seriously, are you listening to yourself?
Oh, be quiet.It was the best he had.
The next morning, Kari had arrived early wanting to give himself time to get his head on straight after a night of arguing with his wolf. He had managed to shut it up and concentrate on work, so much so that when his cell phone rang sometime later, he jerked back at the sudden noise in the silence. He reached for it, blinking the room into focus, to glance at his wristwatch, shocked to see it was after lunchtime. “Yes?” he asked absently, wondering why Bowie hadn’t checked in like usual.
“Kari, it’s Hollis. Sorry to interrupt you, but is Bowie with you?”
His pulse skipped a beat. “No. I haven’t seen him this morning. Why?”
“He was supposed to come to lunch with me and Frey. It’s not like him to be late unless a meeting has overrun. I was just checking before we left so he doesn’t get upset if we don’t wait.”
The one skipped beat turned into several when Kari considered the email he’d sent last evening. Verve Create had outshone the other two companies with their ad copy. It wasn’t a personal decision. That knowledge did not stop a nasty taste developing in his mouth with a sense that somehow Bowie’s absence was connected to the email. Why, he couldn’t say for sure. He just knew that the timing couldn’t be ignored.
Was Kari’s dislike of Rex interfering with logic? He had to acknowledge that it was a possibility when his thoughts wanted to leap in a nasty direction.
“Has anyone seen him today?” he questioned, already moving to stand, reaching into his pocket to search for his car keys. Everything else was now unimportant.
Find him. Something is wrong.
I’m getting that!he snapped back at his wolf. Never once had Bowie taken a sick day, that Kari was aware of.
“I actually don’t know. I’ll go and speak to—”
“Do you have his address? If so, send it to me,” Kari interrupted, his animal instincts pushing him to hurry.
“Erm… yes. But why would you need it?” Hollis questioned in alarm.
Instead of answering something Kari could in no way explain, not even to himself, he reiterated his request. “Just text me Bowie’s address.”
“I could go—”
Kari was already out of his office and marching down the hallway, glad to notice it was empty. He didn’t need to have one of his brothers stopping him. “It’s fine. I’ll go. Send me the address, please.” He ended the call, not wanting to continue wasting time.
His hands trembled slightly as he input the address into his navigation system, ignoring the rest of Hollis’s message. Traversing the streets, listening to the sat nav tell him which way to turn, he kept within the speed limits—just. He didn’t allow himself to think, only to concentrate on getting to his destination.
When he pulled up in front of an apartment block that was way fancier than he’d expected, Kari double checked he’d gotten the right place. Then a thought struck him. Did Bowie live with Rex?
Fuck.
He slammed his hands on the steering column. Why hadn’t he thought to ask Hollis?
He blew out a frustrated breath. Seeing as he didn’t want more questions, he had no option but to go in and check. He wouldn’t feel happy until he’d laid eyes on Bowie.
Out of the car, he left it outside the front door, and charged into the foyer when a kind soul held open the door as he approached.
Inside, one look at the guy manning the desk had Kari swearing under his breath.
“Excuse me, sir, you can’t leave your vehicle there. It’s a restricted area for unloading and loading only.” The graying, slender man wore a uniform and a look that said he was officious and wouldn’t listen to any bullshit.
Kari considered his options when nothing in the marble entranceway, including what looked like a key coded elevator, gave him the notion he could just waltz up to Bowie’s apartment uninvited. The security protecting the apartments showed howsensible Bowie was about his own safety, something Kari could appreciate when he wasn’t confronted with his current situation.
If this is Bowie’s place.
