If I wasn’t completely selfish, I’d walk away. I’d convince East that the best thing for Ella is to be as far away from us as possible.
Instead, I stay quiet and think of what I’m going to say to her when we find her.
“Let’s go. I have an idea.” I pivot and head toward the entrance.
“I thought we were going to Gainesville,” East mutters from behind me.
“This’ll save us the drive.”
We make a beeline for the security office, where I slip a hundred bucks to the rent-a-cop and he gives us access to the camera footage from Gainesville. The guy rewinds the tape to the moment the bus from Bayview pulls in, and my heart seizes up as I scan the passengers. Then it drops to my stomach when I realize that none of those passengers is Ella.
“What the hell,” East blurts out as we leave the bus station ten minutes later. “The ticket lady said Ella was on that bus.”
My jaw is so tight I can barely get a word out. “Maybe she got off at a different stop.”
We trudge back to the Rover and slide in. “Now what?” he asks, his eyes narrowed menacingly at me.
I rake a hand through my hair. We could drive to every bus station on the route, but I suspect that’d be a wild goose chase. Ella’s smart, and she’s used to running, used to skipping town at a moment’s notice and making a new life for herself. She learned it from her mother.
Another queasy feeling twists my gut as a thought occurs to me. Is she going to get a job at another strip club? I know Ella will do whatever she needs to do to survive, but the thought of her taking her clothes off for a bunch of skeezy perverts makes my blood boil.
I have to find her. If something happened to her because I drove her away, I won’t be able to live with myself.
“We go home,” I announce.
My brother looks startled. “Why?”
“Dad has an investigator on retainer. He’ll be able to find her a lot faster than we will.”
“Dad’s gonna lose his shit.”
No kidding. And I’ll deal with the fallout the best I can, but right now, finding Ella trumps everything.
3
As Easton predicted, Dad is livid when we tell him Ella’s missing. I haven’t slept in over twenty-four hours and I’m exhausted, too exhausted to face off with him tonight.
“Why the hell didn’t you call me earlier?” my father booms. He paces the massive living room in the mansion, his thousand-dollar wingtips slapping the gleaming hardwood floor.
“We figured we’d find her before it came down to that,” I say tersely.
“I’m her legal guardian! I should have been informed.” Dad’s breathing grows labored. “What did you do, Reed?”
His furious gaze bores into me. He’s not looking at East, or the twins, who are on the couch wearing identical looks of concern. I’m not surprised Dad’s decided to lay the blame at my feet. He knows my brothers follow my lead, that the only Royal who could’ve driven Ella away is me.
I swallow. Shit. I don’t want him to know that Ella and I got involved right under his nose. I want him to focus on finding her, not distract him with the news that his son is hooking up with his new ward.
“It wasn’t Reed.”
Easton’s quiet confession shocks the hell out of me. I glance at my brother, but his eyes are on Dad.
“I’m the reason she’s gone. We had a run-in with my bookie the other night—I owed him some cash—and Ella got spooked. This dude’s not the friendliest guy, if you know what I mean.”
The vein in Dad’s forehead looks like it might burst. “Your bookie? You’re mixed up in that shit again?”
“I’m sorry.” Easton shrugs.
“You’re sorry? You dragged Ella into one of your messes and scared her so badly that she ran away!”
Dad advances on my brother, and I immediately step into his path.
“East made a mistake,” I say firmly, avoiding my brother’s eyes. I’ll thank him later for taking the heat. Right now, we need to calm the old man down. “But it’s done, over with, all right? We should be concentrating on finding her.”
Dad’s shoulders drop. “You’re right.” He nods, his expression hardening. “I’ll call my PI.”
He storms out of the living room without another word, his heavy footsteps echoing in the corridor. A moment later, we hear his study door slam shut.
“East,” I start.
He turns with a deadly look. “I didn’t do it for you. I did it for her.”
My throat tightens. “I know.”
“If Dad knew about…” He trails off, warily glancing at the twins, who hadn’t said a word during the entire exchange. “It would distract him.”
“You think the PI will find Ella?” Sawyer asks.
“Yes,” I answer with conviction I don’t feel.
“If she uses her mom’s ID, we can definitely find her,” East assures our younger brother. “If she figures out how to get a fake ID…” His shoulders slump in defeat. “I don’t know.”
“She can’t hide forever,” Seb says helpfully.
Yeah, she can. She’s the most resourceful person I’ve ever known. If Ella wants to stay hidden, then she will.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I eagerly grab it, but it’s not the person I want to hear from. Bile coats my throat when I see Brooke’s name.
A little birdie told me your princess is missing.
“Ella?” East says hopefully.
“Brooke.” Her name burns my tongue.
“What does she want?”
“Nothing,” I mutter, just as another message pops up.
Callum must be beside himself. Poor man. He needs someone to comfort him.
I grit my teeth. She ain’t subtle, that’s for sure.
In our mad search for Ella, I haven’t allowed myself to think about Brooke’s pregnancy and the deal I struck with her last night. Now I can’t ignore it, because the messages keep coming.
You have a job to do, Reed.
You made a promise.
Answer me, you little prick!
You want some baby mama drama? Is that it?
Jesus. I don’t need this right now. I choke down my rage and force myself to respond. Relax, bitch. I’ll go talk to him.
Instead, I stay quiet and think of what I’m going to say to her when we find her.
“Let’s go. I have an idea.” I pivot and head toward the entrance.
“I thought we were going to Gainesville,” East mutters from behind me.
“This’ll save us the drive.”
We make a beeline for the security office, where I slip a hundred bucks to the rent-a-cop and he gives us access to the camera footage from Gainesville. The guy rewinds the tape to the moment the bus from Bayview pulls in, and my heart seizes up as I scan the passengers. Then it drops to my stomach when I realize that none of those passengers is Ella.
“What the hell,” East blurts out as we leave the bus station ten minutes later. “The ticket lady said Ella was on that bus.”
My jaw is so tight I can barely get a word out. “Maybe she got off at a different stop.”
We trudge back to the Rover and slide in. “Now what?” he asks, his eyes narrowed menacingly at me.
I rake a hand through my hair. We could drive to every bus station on the route, but I suspect that’d be a wild goose chase. Ella’s smart, and she’s used to running, used to skipping town at a moment’s notice and making a new life for herself. She learned it from her mother.
Another queasy feeling twists my gut as a thought occurs to me. Is she going to get a job at another strip club? I know Ella will do whatever she needs to do to survive, but the thought of her taking her clothes off for a bunch of skeezy perverts makes my blood boil.
I have to find her. If something happened to her because I drove her away, I won’t be able to live with myself.
“We go home,” I announce.
My brother looks startled. “Why?”
“Dad has an investigator on retainer. He’ll be able to find her a lot faster than we will.”
“Dad’s gonna lose his shit.”
No kidding. And I’ll deal with the fallout the best I can, but right now, finding Ella trumps everything.
3
As Easton predicted, Dad is livid when we tell him Ella’s missing. I haven’t slept in over twenty-four hours and I’m exhausted, too exhausted to face off with him tonight.
“Why the hell didn’t you call me earlier?” my father booms. He paces the massive living room in the mansion, his thousand-dollar wingtips slapping the gleaming hardwood floor.
“We figured we’d find her before it came down to that,” I say tersely.
“I’m her legal guardian! I should have been informed.” Dad’s breathing grows labored. “What did you do, Reed?”
His furious gaze bores into me. He’s not looking at East, or the twins, who are on the couch wearing identical looks of concern. I’m not surprised Dad’s decided to lay the blame at my feet. He knows my brothers follow my lead, that the only Royal who could’ve driven Ella away is me.
I swallow. Shit. I don’t want him to know that Ella and I got involved right under his nose. I want him to focus on finding her, not distract him with the news that his son is hooking up with his new ward.
“It wasn’t Reed.”
Easton’s quiet confession shocks the hell out of me. I glance at my brother, but his eyes are on Dad.
“I’m the reason she’s gone. We had a run-in with my bookie the other night—I owed him some cash—and Ella got spooked. This dude’s not the friendliest guy, if you know what I mean.”
The vein in Dad’s forehead looks like it might burst. “Your bookie? You’re mixed up in that shit again?”
“I’m sorry.” Easton shrugs.
“You’re sorry? You dragged Ella into one of your messes and scared her so badly that she ran away!”
Dad advances on my brother, and I immediately step into his path.
“East made a mistake,” I say firmly, avoiding my brother’s eyes. I’ll thank him later for taking the heat. Right now, we need to calm the old man down. “But it’s done, over with, all right? We should be concentrating on finding her.”
Dad’s shoulders drop. “You’re right.” He nods, his expression hardening. “I’ll call my PI.”
He storms out of the living room without another word, his heavy footsteps echoing in the corridor. A moment later, we hear his study door slam shut.
“East,” I start.
He turns with a deadly look. “I didn’t do it for you. I did it for her.”
My throat tightens. “I know.”
“If Dad knew about…” He trails off, warily glancing at the twins, who hadn’t said a word during the entire exchange. “It would distract him.”
“You think the PI will find Ella?” Sawyer asks.
“Yes,” I answer with conviction I don’t feel.
“If she uses her mom’s ID, we can definitely find her,” East assures our younger brother. “If she figures out how to get a fake ID…” His shoulders slump in defeat. “I don’t know.”
“She can’t hide forever,” Seb says helpfully.
Yeah, she can. She’s the most resourceful person I’ve ever known. If Ella wants to stay hidden, then she will.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I eagerly grab it, but it’s not the person I want to hear from. Bile coats my throat when I see Brooke’s name.
A little birdie told me your princess is missing.
“Ella?” East says hopefully.
“Brooke.” Her name burns my tongue.
“What does she want?”
“Nothing,” I mutter, just as another message pops up.
Callum must be beside himself. Poor man. He needs someone to comfort him.
I grit my teeth. She ain’t subtle, that’s for sure.
In our mad search for Ella, I haven’t allowed myself to think about Brooke’s pregnancy and the deal I struck with her last night. Now I can’t ignore it, because the messages keep coming.
You have a job to do, Reed.
You made a promise.
Answer me, you little prick!
You want some baby mama drama? Is that it?
Jesus. I don’t need this right now. I choke down my rage and force myself to respond. Relax, bitch. I’ll go talk to him.
