Liam rubs his chin. “I think we have a bigger problem than your trainer taking off out of the blue. There’s a connection with a pretty big crime ring here. There are a hundred possibilities, but…something is off.”
This is a nightmare.
Here I was, thinking this was about a doping scandal that didn’t exist and now we’re talking about a fucking crime ring?
I can’t believe this.
All I want to do right now is rush home, pack, grab Tessa, and let the damn ranch fall apart.
However, that’s not going to make the situation go away, so I need help dealing with all this.
“What’s the next step?” I ask. If there’s an issue, I want it found before anything else happens.
I was just getting the ranch back on track. The sales yesterday, two new boarding clients, and Tessa booking six more parties. All of those were movement in the right direction. The last thing I need is something else to derail it.
Liam stands, throwing a twenty down. “For the next step, I’m going to collect Travis and we’re going to figure out what exactly he’s been up to. Keep your phone close—I’ll call as soon as I have him.”
I pull up to the house. Tessa’s car isn’t here, and panic sets in that she left, for good.
Fuck. She’s probably halfway back to New York by now.
Not that I’d blame her. I was a fucking mess last night, and God only knows what I said or how the hell she ended up in bed beside me.
I really only remember talking to Hazel at the bar, then Everett coming and taking me home. After getting in the car, my memory is very fuzzy.
I have no desire to walk in this house. I don’t want to face an empty bedroom, a slept-in bed, and no Tessa.
I need her. Hell, I miss her already. As soon as I hear from Liam, I’ll be in the car on my way getting her back, to proving I’m the right man for her.
However, when I walk into the living room, Tessa is sitting on the couch, one leg pulled up, her arm wrapped around it.
“Hi.”
I blink, my heart starting to beat again at the sight of her beautiful face. “Hey.”
“How are you feeling?” she asks.
I’m not sure how to answer that, but honesty is probably a good place to start. “A bit…foolish.”
“Why?”
I move to the sectional and sit opposite her. “Well, last night was not normal for me. I don’t drink like that—ever.”
I’ve never had a great tolerance. I probably should’ve heeded Max’s advice on when to stop, which would’ve been after the first, but I just wanted to be numb. It felt so good to get out of my own head for just a little.
Tessa tilts her head. “Do you remember much?”
Shit. I must have embarrassed myself.
“I don’t,” I confess. “By the way, where is your car?”
“That’s a shame you don’t remember. You were pretty talkative.” Her smirk is playful, and now I’m really scared.
“Fuck. What did I say?”
She shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. Where did you go today?”
Right, that would be good information for her to have as well. “I went to meet with Liam. Where is your car? When I got here, I thought you’d left.”
