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I’d already signed my life over to Rafe and now this bullshit.
If I didn’t find Rae soon, someone was going to pay . . .
FIVE YEARS LATER I, Peter “Edge” Harding, was a bitter, angry, and violent man headed down a path of self-destruction. The more time that past, the more I resented my current set of circumstances.
I woke up to the blaring alarm on my cell and sat right up, hitting end on the phone.
Midnight.
My thoughts came back to the present and shook off the memories of the past, focusing as I picked up the white cupcake with rainbow swirls GQ bought only a few hours before I arrived and lit a single pale pink candle. So softly that no one would have heard me, I sang happy birthday to my beloved Rae in the silent air, my voice hoarse and choking on the raw emotion, and blinked back stinging tears. She was twenty-two now.
Five times. Five birthdays without my baby. Five long agonizing years.
“I love you, Rae,” I whispered into the dark. “Happy birthday my love.”
Wherever she was, I hoped she was surrounded by friends and people who loved her.
I didn’t have the heart to blow out the candle and snuffed the flame with my fingers, setting both the cupcake and picture frame down on my desk. Opening the top drawer my eyes fell on the four previous birthday presents as I added the new gift, wrapped and bought per my instructions to GQ. I dropped the box into the drawer staring in silent misery.
I felt abandoned and alone, lonely and heartbroken, sad and anxious. Every year it was the same. The feeling always lingered, even in a crowded room. No matter what I did or who I was with, that feeling never went away. Not in five long, painful years.
I don’t think it ever will.
For a minute I let all those pesky feelings overtake me and then I stood, grabbed my boxing gloves, and slipped from the clubhouse. Most nights when I was unable to sleep I usually ended up in the ring or working out to the point of exhaustion. Tonight the booze might take its toll, but I would push my body anyway. If I didn’t, I’d be overcome with thoughts and dreams of Rae, and for once I wanted to forget the beautiful slim brunette and the ache that never seemed to subside inside my chest.
In the minutes that followed, I took my aggression out on the sturdy punching bag dangling from the gym ceiling. I decided I couldn’t take another day.
No more. Not another minute.
I swore not another hour would pass before I did what I had to do to locate Rae . . .
Even if I had to burn the entire fucking world to the ground to find her.
Chapter 34
I think I’ve found her.
I stared at the text, blinking my eyes in disbelief.
Pete?
My fingers trembled as I sent the return text to Beckett, breaking out in a cold sweat. Where?
Juniper Hills.
Fuck. Really? The same city Mack lived in? How the hell did that happen?
Works 2nd shift at Billiards & Buds.
My baby was working in a bar? I sat down with a muted thud on the barstool of the clubhouse, my head falling in my hands. How was she so close all this time and we couldn’t find her?
Address? I sent the reply and waited, not realizing I was holding my breath until my cell chirped with his response.
439-C Harbor Ridge High Rise.
Huh, I knew the place. A ritzy building for young, wealthy singles and couples. Fairly new. Built about five years ago if I remembered.
Of course. Why not put Rae up in a brand new high-security building?
