The expression on her face made me falter in my original decision.Could I trust her?
“Why won’t he?”
She laughed and moved in closer. I shivered as her lips brushed against my ear. “Because he’s afraid of me,” she whispered.
I blinked as she pulled back to stare at me expectedly.
“What about the others? Someone had to have called you.”
She shook her head. “In my territory, you’ll never have to worry about men like Desi, Tully, or Dante, for that matter. Come with me. You’ll be safe, and we can make you happy.”
“We?”
“Yes. I consider each and every person in my territory important. We all strive to work together to make everyone happy. You’ll see.”
“Where is this place?”
“I wouldn’t be too worried about that. Plus, I don’t need to shout out my location here.” She glanced around and nodded to the cameras in the room's corners. “When he gets here, he’ll look at those.”
“And you’re not worried about him seeing you?”
She shook her head and crinkled her nose. “Nah. I’m sure he’ll be shocked and confused, but we’ll be long gone by then.”
“But he’ll still try to come and find me,” I pushed.
“He can try all he wants, but once you’re a part of my clan, we won’t let him take you. Come, Scout.” She reached out her hand, and I stared at it for a long time before taking it. She helped me stand and then pulled me in for a tight embrace. “You’re going to be so much happier with us.”
17
I stormed into the apartment and slammed the door behind me. It looked like a tornado had come through and destroyed everything we’d built together.
I’d gone through every shoebox, read every scrap of paper, pulled out all of her pockets in her dresses, and still, I found nothing that could point to where she’d gone.
It’d been weeks, almost a full month now, since that night at Tully’s, and not even a hint that she was coming back to me. I was miserable.
I kicked my way through the torn pillows and broken art projects tossed on the floor all the way to the bathroom. I couldn’t remember the last time I showered, which made me realize I needed one.
I started taking my clothes off and saw myself in the mirror. I did a double-take.
I looked horrible. I went to the sink and stared at my reflection. My eyes were bloodshot, my face gaunt, and I had bags under my eyes so large they looked almost like large purple bruises.
This is what she does to me. She drives me insane.
I showered as if preparing for my funeral. When I stepped out, cold air washed over me, and I stumbled out of the room and to my bed—our bed. I passed out before I could take my towel off.
***
I woke up sometime in the middle of the night, naked, confused, and thirsty. I put on a pair of lounge pants and grabbed a drink from the fridge. I glanced at the empty plastic container on top of it. It used to be filled with fireballs, but then I threw them all over the living room, hoping she had hidden something in the jar. She hadn’t, and I hadn’t bothered to pick them back up.
In fact, I haven’t had cinnamon since that horrible night.
I took another long swig of the cold blood and fell against the fridge. Another night with no leads and no clue what to do. I hated living without her. None of this felt right. My entire existence was reliant on her being by my side.
It was odd to think about, considering I had spent thirty-plus years without her. I had no clue I needed her until I had my memories back. I had known back then, in 1994, that I wanted to spend my eternity with her, and I didn’t get to take that back. I didn’t want to.
I tossed the bottle in the trash once I drained it and returned to the bedroom. This room looked like the ones before it. Everything was shredded and tossed about.
Once I had her back, I’d get it cleaned up, of course. None of this was done out of anger, but more like… mania. I was out of my fucking mind without her.
