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Xandro, who, of course, spoke impeccable French, issued another lightning-fast query at the harried doctor.
‘Where’s Ben?’ she demanded again.
That earned her a chilling look from the man who’d donned his ruthless mogul suit with shocking ease. ‘It seems everyone is of the view that he’s checked himself out against doctor’s orders.’
‘They’ve lost him?’ she screeched.
Xandro sent her another censorious look. ‘He’s a grown man, Sage. They couldn’t keep him here if he didn’t want to stay.’
She curbed her panic as anxiety surged. ‘What about his injuries? Ask him how bad he is? Please.’
His lips compressed. ‘Believe it or not, it was the first question I asked. They’re not life-threatening. Unless he does something more to aggravate them.’
‘Oh, God.’
A slight gentling of his features tugged hard at her. Made her wish for the impossible. ‘We will find him.’
She nodded. She could believe that. Xandro was relentless when he wanted something.
He ended the conversation with the doctor and then he took her arm and led her out of the emergency ward. The SUV idling at the kerb had tinted windows and the usual contingent of menacing-looking bodyguards.
She shivered as she slid into the back and the doors shut. ‘Where are we going?’
‘We tracked his phone to Monaco. I have a few ideas of where he might be headed.’
‘Another gambling den?’
‘If he’s running out of money that narrows his options.’
She leaned back against the headrest. ‘But not in a good way, right?’
His cold silence said everything.
The miles rolled by as they travelled along the craggy shoreline. Eventually, signs for the Principality of Monaco appeared and she silently shook her head. She’d once longed to visit this place with the man of her dreams. But never like this. Not with a man she’d fallen in love with while knowing he was merely using her as a means to an end.
Pain wrenched at her then rolled over her in unrelenting waves. She was attempting to breathe through it when Xandro sat forward and peered ahead through the windscreen.
Sage looked out too, noting the seedy street. Her heart sank as they pulled into an alley and stopped in front of an ominous-looking door. Two burly men in dark clothes stood on either side of it, eyeing the SUV.
Xandro turned his attention to her. ‘You will stay in the car—’
‘No. Please, I need to see Ben.’
His jaw flexed. ‘You will when I bring him out. This is non-negotiable.’
He didn’t give her a chance to respond. He pushed open his door, nodding to one of the bodyguards. Then, without a word, he disappeared through the black door.
The next twenty minutes was the longest of her life. By the time half an hour had ticked by, her nerves were frayed beyond recognition. She held on for another five minutes, then jumped out.
Xandro’s bodyguard immediately stepped in front of her. ‘Miss, I can’t let you go in.’
‘I... I need the bathroom,’ she lied.
He shifted uncomfortably. ‘I can get the driver to take you to a hotel or a—’
‘Not to put it too indelicately, but I won’t last that long.’
She caught the tiniest pained grimace before his professionalism slid into place. ‘I’ll take you in, but please stay close.’
