AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Isla is missing," I murmur, giving her the truth the way she wants it. "She left a note on her pillow and left in the middle of the night. No one knows where she's gone."
"Oh, Iz," Bella sighs.
"Do you know where she might go, baby?"
"No." She shakes her head. Hesitates. And then shakes it again.
"Tell me," I demand.
"I don't have anything to tell," she says, brows furrowed as she looks up at me. "She’s been acting weird when we talk, like she's holding something back, but she hasn't been ready to talk about it." Her expression falls. "Maybe I should have pushed."
"This isn't your fault," I growl, cupping her cheek. "Don't think it is."
"What if…?"
"We aren't going to let that happen," I say firmly. "I've already called Andreas. He'll have his jet ready to go in an hour. We're going to find her."
"I'll go get dressed." She pushes away from me, rising to her feet on the bed.
I grab her, dragging her back down into my arms. "You aren't going, Mischief."
"What? Yes, I am."
"You aren't."
Her chin comes up, stubborn intractability firing in her eyes. And goddamn. I wish I had time to fuck her happy again, but I don’t. There's no time to argue either. The longer we do, the longer Isla is out there unprotected and vulnerable. The longer she's in danger.
I vowed to protect Mischief. That means protecting her heart too. I have to bring her sister home safely. There is no other option. Not one I can live with anyway. Not one she can, either.
"You aren't the boss of me, Cormac Carmichael. I'm going home to find my sister," she growls.
"No, baby, you aren't. Putting yourself in danger won't get her out of it. You're already home. And you're going to keep your stubborn little ass right here where you belong while I go find your sister." I narrow my eyes on her, not fucking around this time. "I'll tie you to this bed if that's what it takes."
"You wouldn't."
"You know damn well that I would."
"If you tie me up, I'll never forgive you," she cries, betrayal stamped across her face as she hurriedly puts distance between us. Seeing the pain in her eyes fucking kills me. Knowing she's mad at me kills me too. It's a goddamn miserable position to be in, hurting the woman you live and breathe for. But I do it anyway. What choice do I have?
"That's fine," I say quietly, rising from the bed. "I'd rather have you spend the rest of your life hating me for doing everything in my power to keep you safe than spend a single goddamn second existing in a world where I failed to keep you alive, Bella. So long as you're breathing, I can live with you hating me. But the minute I lose you because I wasn't careful enough is the moment I loseeverythingthat matters to me."
I lean down and press a kiss to her crown. "You leave this house, there will be hell to pay."
"I'll leave if I want to leave." She turns her face away from me. But not before I see the tears slipping down her cheeks.
Yet again, I've made her cry.
Only I don't regret it this time. Her life matters. It matters a whole helluva lot.
Chapter Ten
Bella
"I'mnotgoingtorun away if I go to the kitchen," I growl, glaring daggers at Callum. "You can stop following me."
"Who says I'm following you?" He arches a dark brow, leaning back against the door jamb. "Maybe I'm just thirsty."
I huff out a breath, not buying that for a minute. He's been stalking me all over the house since he got here five minutes before Cormac left. It's driving me crazy. I can't think with him acting like my shadow.
