Chapter Thirty-Four
Grant went immediatelyto Jennifer’s apartment.Her car wasn’t there, but he tried to knock anyway.
“Goddammit, Jennifer.When I find you, I’m going to blister your ass for this one.”
After several hours of trying to call and driving around looking for her, he finally called Tessa.
“Tessa, this is Grant.I’m looking for Jen.Do you happen to know where she is?”
Tessa paused.She was surprised and uneasy at the panic in his voice.He was always so cool as long as she’d known him.“No, I don’t.What happened?”Concern tightened her voice.
“I don’t know.Her manager said she left early, told her she wasn’t feeling well, and said she looked awful.I’ve tried calling her apartment all afternoon, but she hasn’t answered.I thought maybe she went to the doctor, but it wouldn’t take that long, so I called all the hospitals, and she hasn’t checked in.”
“You called the hospitals?”Disbelief was evident in her voice.
“Look, I know I sound crazy, but I’m really worried.Is there a place she would go if she were upset?”
Tessa was confused.“Why would she be upset?I thought you said she was ill?”
“Kari said she was fine, but got a call before leaving.Do you know Madlyn Stephenson?Because that’s the last person she talked to.”
Tessa was silent for a moment.“Yes, I know her, Grant.”
“Give me her number.”
Tessa paused.“No, I’m not going to do that.I’ll get in touch with her.”
Before Grant said anything, Tessa drew in a deep breath.“Grant.I can only imagine what Madlyn said to her.She’s not the nicest person I know, and although they’re not friends, the two of them have always gotten along just fine, but then Jennifer gets along with everyone.”
“Tessa.”His voice turned deadly.“I want to talk to her.”
“I’ll call her right now and ask her, then call you back.Please, Grant, let me try first.I’m afraid you’ll scare the hell out of her, and she won’t say anything.”
There was a long pause.“Call me right back.”
Grant sat in his car, pulled off his tie, and pressed one hand against the back of his neck to ease some of the tension.Jesus, he’d never felt this unhinged before.A few months ago, when he’d screwed up and hurt her, it freaked him out.Although it wasn’t intentional, he should have made sure he’d personally called Jennifer rather than relying on anyone else.So yeah, he blamed himself.
He knew it was illogical to think he could prevent her from ever getting sad, but he didn’t give a shit.He wasn’t going to stop.Jennifer meant more to him in his life than anything else ever had.He gripped the steering wheel in a white-knuckle grip before he rested his head down and took several deep breaths.He snatched up his phone before it rang a second time.
“I talked to her,” Tessa said softly and with suspicion.
“And?”he asked impatiently when she paused.
“She said they only talked about animals, but I got the feeling she was lying.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.Just the tone of her voice, maybe?I’ll keep trying to call Jen, too.We’ll find her, Grant.I promise.I’ll keep working on Madlyn.”
“Give me her number or address, Tessa.I want to talk to her.”
“I’m sorry, Grant, but I can’t do that.I’m afraid something might happen that you’ll regret, and she would be the type of person who would try to sue you if you did anything.”
Grant paused.“Dammit.Tessa, I’ll leave it to you, but we need to find her soon.I can’t stand the thought of her being out there upset and by herself.”
Tessa sighed.“I can hear the intense concern in your voice.If I didn’t know you and hadn’t seen how much you loved each other, I’d worry about how she’d react to you right now.I’ll call if I find her.”Then, she cut off the call.
