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Pepper
One dead end after another.
Completely stranded.
That was where I was two days after leaving Jacob’s house, a never-ending cycle of unanswered questions, circling a drain that was completely plugged.
The first mystery was Jacob. He was nowhere to be found. My texts went unanswered. My calls went straight to his voice mail, a box that was too full to leave a message.
I’d even stopped by his home a few times. My knocking and doorbell ringing had gone ignored.
As for Bale, I studied every piece of data he had provided on his paperwork. I searched his address, which, at one time, had existed on Miami-Dade County’s website, but had since vanished from their system.
Just like him.
It was as though he’d hacked into their database and created a listing that showed ownership, paid property taxes, and then the listing was deleted.
The same was true for his bank accounts.
His Social Security number.
Don’t look for me … you won’t find me.
That was because Bale Pierce didn’t exist.
What didn’t make any sense, what I couldn’t wrap my head around, even days later, was why he had come to Lush. Why he wanted a membership. Why he so expertly coerced his way into my private room. Why he seduced me. And why he’d taken me to Jacob’s house to sleep with me.
Only to vanish less than twenty-four hours later.
Had I been a conquest?
A check on his bucket list?
A final one-night stand?
When I couldn’t come up with a single reason, when I was driving myself nuts with every unanswered question, I headed to The Agency, the office in downtown Miami, where my best friend, Scarlett, was the CFO.
She was the most analytical, brilliant person I knew. She wouldn’t look at this situation emotionally, like me. Her advice would be raw, honest, and hopefully come from an angle I hadn’t considered.
Once I walked into the building and got past security and entered the elevator, I exited the moment I reached her floor, passing the executive-level offices, where her partners worked. There were three others besides Scarlett—Brett, Jack, and Max. Each was an agent, representing a different branch of their company. Movies and TV were Brett’s specialty, sports was Jack’s arena, and Max focused on music. Since they now had two locations, the other one in LA, not all the partners worked in Florida anymore. But ironically, they were all here today, and if I were in a better mood and visiting under different circumstances, I would have stopped and chatted with them. Instead, I waved at each of the guys as I passed their doorways and continued to Scarlett’s office.
I didn’t stall in her doorway either.
I didn’t even knock to notify her of my arrival.
I moved directly inside and closed the door behind me.
“I need help,” I huffed as I walked to her desk, sinking into the chair in front of her.
“You didn’t sound like yourself when you called.” She scanned my eyes. “What’s going on, babe?”
I reached inside my purse, taking out the note Bale had left on Jacob’s pillow, and I handed it to her. “He’s gone.”
She read the words Bale had written and looked up at me. “Who’s gone?”
“Bale Pierce. Except his name isn’t Bale—or maybe it is, and he’s just invisible. I don’t know. I can’t—”
“Hold on.” She placed her hand in the air to stop me from saying another word. “Back up. Start at the very beginning. I don’t even know who Bale Pierce is.”
