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CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
MALCOLM
Waking to the sun beaming through the window, I sense I’m alone in bed. I reach across the bed, feeling the coolness. This tells me Désirée’s been gone from the bed for a while now.
I throw the blankets back, stagger to my feet and find my sweatpants on the floor. I pull them on—resting them low on my hips, and head downstairs.
Not finding Désirée, I start to get pissed. I don’t know where the hell she is or how she was able to leave without me knowing. It’s not that I don’t want her to be able to go out. I just want to be able to keep her safe. Especially if she’s not with me. If Dimitri were out of the picture, I wouldn’t be so overbearing, and I’m sure by now she’s got to be feeling some sort of way. I would if it were me in her shoes.
Taking the stairs two at a time, I rush back into the bedroom and pick up my cell phone off the nightstand. I unlock it to find a text from Désirée’s twin brother.
From Tristan:
Des is with me. She’s good. Don’t worry, I’ll have her home shortly.
I take a deep breath, relaxing marginally at knowing she’s with Tristan. Still, the two of us are gonna have a talk about this. Désirée can’t just leave without telling me. The thought of anything happening to her kills me, and I don’t think I’ll be able to live with myself.
Sitting on the side of the bed, I hunch over and run a hand along my face. Yesterday was a long day, leaving me exhausted, but it’d been good, nevertheless. Olivia and Finn have two boys, and I’m sure they’re over the moon about them.
The thought of Désirée one day carrying my child comes across my mind, but I shake it away. As much as I like it, I’ve gotta get her to a place where I can pop the question and ask her to marry me. We’re not there yet. Although when the day comes, she’ll know it because I’ll have a ring that was given to me by my grandmother for when I find the person I want to marry. It’s a beautiful seven-eight princess cut diamond rose gold band. The thing was passed down from my great-grandmother to my grandmother to me. My mom didn’t want it. She feared she’d lose it. She had good reason to, considering my dad had to replace the diamond in her band constantly cause Mom kept knocking it out somehow. So I got it.
Needing to hear Désirée’s voice, I call her phone, but it goes straight to voicemail. Furrowing my brow, I pull the phone away and get ready to call Tristan when someone calls me from an ‘Unknown’ number.
I swipe my finger across the screen and bring it up to my ear. “Hello.”
“I know who you are and who you’re looking for,” a distorted voice comes through the speaker.
“Who is this?” I demand, tensing as I straighten on the bed and look around like someone is playing a joke on me. Other than in horror movies like Scream, who the fuck distorts their voice.
“Don’t worry about who I am. It’s who I’m trying to give you that counts,” the voice crackly snaps. “You want payback for what he did to your woman, you go to this location coming through to your phone, and you’ll find him.”
“How do I know this is legit?” I question as my phone vibrates in my hand while I’m still on it, letting me know I’ve got a text. I pull the device from my ear, press the speaker, and open the text message. It’s the location in which the person on the other end of the phone says he was sending me. It’s in Baton Rouge. Fuck I’ll take me anywhere from an hour to two depending on traffic and which way I go.
“You won’t know until you go, but he won’t be there long,” the other person says before disconnecting.
Fuck.
Shaking my head, there’s no way I can’t not go. This is a lead on Dimitri, and I want that fucker dead.
I pull up Tristan’s number and call him while moving from the bed to my closet to get dressed. Désirée’s brother’s phone goes to voicemail after ringing several times. “Tristan, look, I’ve got a lead on that fucker. I’m goin’ to check it out. Stay with Désirée. And for fucks sake, call me when you get this. Désirée’s phone is going to voicemail, and I want to talk to her.”
Hanging up, I shove the damn thing into the pocket of a pair of jeans that I started to put on while leaving a message.
Finishing up, I dart downstairs, grab my keys, and head out the door setting the security system. I get to the driver’s side door of my car and throw it open. Sliding in behind the wheel, I start the engine and head out, punching the gas.
I just hope this isn’t some bullshit location. I’m tired of these fuckin’ games with Dimitri.
* * *
Thirty minutes into the drive to Baton Rouge, my phone rings. I answer by hitting the Bluetooth button on the dash. “Yeah.”
“Malcolm, you gotta get down here. Somethings happened to Désirée. I can’t find her anywhere,” Tristan mutters, sounding pissed.
“What do you mean you can’t find Désirée?” I demand, already moving over to get off at the next exit and turn around.
“I mean, she went into a store, and next thing I know, I’m passed out, and some lady is asking me if I’m okay. When to look for her in the store and she’s gone. There’s no way she’d have left me in the fucking chair sleeping.” Yeah, Tristan is fuckin’ pissed.
“Right, call your brothers. I’m on the road. Turning back now, I’ll meet y’all at the office,” I mutter, ending the call.
