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“No man. I don’t even know where to look in this city. We know nothing about it except for where she took us last weekend,” Callum says with a sigh. “Between the people in town for work, plus holiday stuff, there are too many people.”
“Is anyone else with you? Where are you?” My questions are one after the other, not giving him time to answer. Callum is right, though. This is Kennedy’s city; we have no idea where she might be.
“Ashton is with me. We are in that small park across the street from the hotel.”
“Okay, stay there until you see me.” My tone is urgent as my feet start to move, hoping that I am heading in the right direction. “See if you can find Rodney. See you in a few minutes.”
Looking at street signs, looking for something familiar, the call gets disconnected. It isn’t long before Callum and Ashton come into view, sitting on a park bench. There is no sign of Rodney. The guys get to their feet when they spot me. Once we are close enough together to talk and not draw too much attention, I call out.
“Did you get in touch with Rodney?”
“Ashton did. Rodney said he was making a quick stop and would be here in about fifteen minutes.” Callum says, a worried look on his face.
“Where the hell could they have gone?” I ask, looking around as if they will just show up next to us on the sidewalk. It’s now dark, so trying to spot them is going to be even more daunting. “Fuck,” a thought just occurs to me. “Did either of you check the hotel rooms?” Both Callum and Ashton shake their heads no.
What are the odds that they have been up there all this time?
We move as one to cross the street when Rodney jogs up to us. He hands me a small bag and, with a Cheshire Cat grin, deadpans. “You are going to need that we catch up to Duchess.”
A quick peek inside brings a huge smile to my face. Clapping him on the shoulder, muttering a simple “thank you,” Ashton’s smart-ass words bring me back to reality.
“Not to break up the bro-fest, but are we going to check the hotel rooms or what?”
Our feet start moving again, especially since we are blocking the sidewalk, forcing people to move around us when Rodney bursts our bubble.
“They aren’t there.” He sighs out. “They haven’t been there either—nothing has been disturbed, and all of their stuff is still there.”
Callum pulls his phone back out, his fingers flying over the face. His phone chimes and his grin grows. Looking up at us.
“I think I know where they went.”
That is all the asshole says, leaving us all hanging. Without comment, Ashton punches Callim in the shoulder, causing a scene. “Spit it the fuck out already. Where is she?”
He still doesn’t give us a straight answer, the fuck.
“If you were in your home city, tons of stress and living in a fishbowl, where would you escape to?”
It takes the rest of us a few minutes to catch up, all of us responding at the same time.
“Home.”
We order a car, and not five minutes later, a dark blue sedan stops in front of us. We all climb in and sit through heavy traffic, trying to get to our girl.
CHAPTERFIFTY-FIVE
Kassidy is sound asleep in one of the guest rooms. Though I am not sure when she moved from my room, not that it matters. Since sleep evades me, I decide to head downstairs, ending up in my father’s office. At some point since leaving for Groveton, his office was searched again, and papers litter the desk and floor. Books have been pulled from the shelves and lay haphazardly on the floor. Not sure why, but I start to organize everything and put it back where it belongs.
It takes me a while, but the distraction is a welcome one. Taking a seat in the chair behind the desk, my gaze falls to the window, staring out into the darkness beyond. Subconsciously, I catch myself rubbing the fourth finger on my left hand.
Kassidy had some valid points as we talked about the guys and the revelations from court today. Since my emotions have calmed, the reasoning behind Mr. Worthington getting us married makes sense. It just pisses me off that they didn’t have the courtesy to give meallof the information. I refuse to continue to live like this. It’s the same thing with this video; they should have told me about it.
Noise in the back of the house has me on alert. The alarm is set, so the police have already been notified. Seeing the alarm panel flashing at the base of the stairs confirms it. Sliding under the desk to stay out of sight, it is a matter of biding my time until they get here. I place my hands over my mouth to help muffle any additional sounds. My breathing is picking up, and several pairs of heavy footsteps are coming closer. Someone must have decided to take advantage of the dark and empty house. It is just my dumb luck to be here at this precise time.
Not sure how much time has passed, but suddenly, red and blue flashing lights fill the room. A loud bang at the front door precedes several men yelling “police.” Still frozen in place, afraid one of the intruders might make a desperate grab for me, more yelling can be heard. It isn’t until all-too-familiar voices reach me, causing me to abandon my hiding spot. Clearing the doorway, someone grabs me from behind, causing me to yell out in surprise.
“Kennedy!” several voices yell at once.
“Duchess!’
