AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And yet now she’s missing. Can you track her phone?” He pulled his from his ear, opening the app, but he needed not bother, because their answer confirmed his fear before it had time to load.
“The app shows her battery died. Marty’s on the phone with the taxi firm to see if we can get a lead on where she went, but they’re not being helpful.”
“She was with my Mom. Who knows what was said? If she left like that chances are she’d go somewhere familiar. I’ll make some calls. She could be on her way back here.” If his mom had done something to put her in danger again. That was it. Against Ivy’s wishes or not, she was out of their lives for good. A cold rage began to fester inside him, a dark pit reminding him of his spiral into near oblivion. His hand uncurled, passing through his hair. This couldn’t be happening. Not again.
“We’re driving that route now, sir.”
“Keep me updated. I’ll let you know if I track her down.” So many thoughts were racing through his head, flashbacks to those lost months where he’d drowned his sorrows in bottle after bottle, sinking into depression, memories of being shot, waking to find her gone. Of ending the bastard who had put her through Hell.
His fingers dialled her number, voice mail. It wasn’t like he’d expected anything else given her battery was flat, but he could still hope. There was only one other person he could call. His mother. She had answers to what happened. Why Ivy had left. Maybe he could get something useful out of her.
“I wondered when I’d be hearing from you. Is that fiancée of yours ready to apologise?” Her curt tone answered on the third ring.
“Apologise?” Miles bit out.
“Yes, of course. First she was late, then she left without even the manners to say goodbye. Left the four of us sitting there like fools.”
“And why would she do that, Mother?”
“She’s a touchy thing, honestly, son, you could do much better. What kind of person walks out in the middle of brunch? The food hadn’t even been served. I guess her manners reflect her upbringing.”
“Oh, and I suppose the fact she arrived late had nothing to do with you? You arranged the car, insisted on it if I recall. I warned you, Mother, if I hear one complaint from Ivy about the way you’re treating her, you can forget the wedding, you can forget everything.”
“Funny, I hear your voice, but I bet they’re her words.”
“I wouldn’t know. She’s not home yet.”
There was a tense silence on the line before his mother spoke again. “It’s all about the upbringing. You’re marrying beneath you. You know how I feel about her. I don’t know why you’re doing this to me, to our family.” Her voice raised an octave in what Miles knew to be the pretence of grief. “You’re a good boy, but you’re breaking my heart.”
“Enough. Before you cast aspersions, remember who it was that insisted we mend the bridges. Now, if you don’t mind, I have other matters to attend to.”
“Oh, of course,” her curt tone clipped, “I mean, if you can’t keep track of your fiancée now, Heaven help you when she’s your wife. Maybe that man had the right idea in collaring her.” Miles hung up before he said something Ivy wouldn’t approve of.
His grasp on his phone tightened. How the Hell did his mother know about that? He’d kept the details of Ivy’s suffering private. He’d never have trusted her with that information, and it wasn’t something the papers had printed. NDAs were signed, phones and video footage held by those who were on the yacht had been confiscated. His mother shouldn’t have known, he was certain his father wouldn’t have discussed it with her.
The press had received their information from somewhere. They knew Ivy had been abducted and abused, but the stories were based on assumptions. They lacked details, lacked the truth, and Ivy refused to give them an interview, leaving them to spin their theories until TSS’ lawyers took action and the story died.
Miles tried her number again, already knowing it would go to voice mail.
Then, knowing Becca was out of town, he dialled the only other person she may turn to, Devon.
There were few places Ivy would go. He’d have hoped she’d come home, come to him, but if his mother had done something, maybe he was the last person she wanted to face.
She’d tried so hard to get the two of them talking. He was just starting to think he could trust her, that she was willing to place the past behind them and get to know Ivy for the wonderful and strong woman she was, be willing to accept her, even if the road was a challenging one, and then she’d gone and pulled something like this.
It seemed he’d been premature, once more lulled into his mother’s trap. He knew he’d been a fool to trust her. Worse still, he’d trusted her with the most important thing in his world.
“Devon, is Ivy with you?” Miles asked the moment Devon answered.
“No, you said brunch with your mother, so I thought I’d do paperwork in the office in case she needed to stop by. It’s been quiet. Why?” Miles gave a half smile, weighted with worry. Devon was a good man, and this only served to remind him how much so. He’d made himself ready on the off chance she needed him. Disrupted, probably even rescheduled his day around her. That thought gave him pause though. Was there something going on he didn’t know about, a reason why Devon seemed sure she’d need him after?
“She lost her protection maybe hours ago, sneaked out of the damn restaurant. I just know my mother said or did something. We’re trying to track her down, her phones dead, or off.”
“You stay there in case she’s heading home. I’ll check out some of her favourite places. She may just have needed some space.” There was something in Devon’s voice that said he knew more about why time with his mother would drive her to need an escape. He knew details, but he was also bound by client-patient confidentiality. Even if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have breathed a whisper. He kept his confidences as a matter of pride.
For a second Miles recalled how stressed she was, the look in her eyes whenever she’d spent time with his mother. He’d known it would be a hard road, that his mother would be a challenge, but could there have been more to it? Was Ivy keeping something from him, brushing it off by simply saying it was difficult and overwhelming trying to befriend her? His mother sure didn’t seem to be warming toward her, that much was for certain.
“That’s what I’m thinking. Call me the minute you find her.”
