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“If? It is. I was right there.” But I was too busy fucking turmoiling over her leaving, and if it wasn’t for the fucking prick in tights, she would be gone. Squished like a bug.
“I was right there when Cassie got taken from the party. I was right there when she was bleeding out after the crash. Fuck, we were all there when Charles took Arabella, and not to mention everything Fleur went through. The point is, they’re still here, though, because they’re fucking strong. They can hold their own, and Georgina is no different. Like I told you, Georgina is a tough nut. You should know that better than anyone.”
I wish he’d stop saying her name. Every syllable tears through me in a way that I can’t even begin to put together before my next breath cuts deeper. It doesn’t matter what he says, I should have protected her better, instead of allowing myself to get caught up in sentiments that I have no business getting tangled in.
“It doesn’t matter who can hold what until this is done. Until we’re done with this shit. Because if they’ve made a move on Georgina, it’s only a matter of time before they make one for Lucy.”
“What? You think they want her back?”
“She told me that they were going to find her and kill her.”
“Does she know you at all?” he scoffs. “We both know you’re not going to let that happen. We’re not going to let that happen.”
“She said I wasn’t the worst out here.”
A low chuckle vibrates down the line as though he agrees and has thought so for a long time. “Maybe she’s right.”
“She’s not. You’re not. And I’m telling you now, if you don’t get me something soon—”
“Don’t get your knickers in a twist. Let me see what I can do. You do your thing, and I’ll do mine.”
“We need to ramp up security. We don’t know what’s going to happen or what’s coming, but it’s looming, Leo. They’re watching us. They know our routines. They knew when to drop that backdrop. They knew exactly where she would be…”
“And they failed,” he grits out. “We won’t.”
“The girls…we need to make sure they’re safe. Especially Arabella and Fleur. I know that Cassie has Wayne, but—”
“I’ve got Cass. Leave her to me, and focus on George.”
“Georgina.”
“Focus on Georgina.” There’s a slight pause before he adds, “I know what you’re thinking.”
I doubt it. Leo and I are nothing alike. His instinct is to look, listen, and take it all in, whereas I get in and go hard.
“And what’s that?”
“She’s not better off without you, and you won’t be able to get shit done if you’re constantly ruminating over her. Trust me, Fred, you’ll regret every second you let her go.”
“We don’t do regrets,” I retort, edging closer to the stairs.
“Could’ve fooled me.”
After a silent beat, we hang up, and while I try to focus solely on my whirring thoughts, the need to lay eyes on Georgina doesn’t subside. It gets stronger. The pull becomes impossible to ignore as I stand at the bottom of the returning staircase.
When I reach the top of the stairs, neither Cooper nor his sideman is at the post I set after I caught her trying to sneak out last week. I made it abundantly clear that there was to be one person with eyes on the guest room at all times. They know better than to disregard my order.
My pounding heart sinks to the pit of my stomach when I get close enough to the bedroom door and no light peeks from beneath it. Before I even open it and look inside, I know she’s gone. The air feels empty. Weightless. It’s cold as it razors through my lungs.
The bed stares back at me with the fairy lights glowing dimly, empty and as perfectly made as the housekeeper left it. Everything is right where it should be with the exception of the large leather duffel she uses to cart around her dance kit and all her everyday shit. On the armchair where it normally sits, the cat peers up at me with a visible sigh when he realises it’s me and not her. Stretching onto all fours, he turns and curls back up with his back to me as I amble to the bed and sit on the edge. The air in here is heavy with her soft scent. Warm satin and powdery roses with a mouth-watering hint of vanilla. The deeper I breathe it in, the more chills roll over my skin.
It was about time, I tell myself, even as I pull up the surveillance app on my phone and check the cameras at her house.
Going through each room to try and find her or Cooper, I’m certain that after today she won’t be opposed to them. But the quicker I swipe through the cameras, the more apparent it becomes that there’s no one there. The light from beneath her bedroom door, much like here, is absent.
Fuck.
Instantly, my head starts whirring with thoughts of how to find her, and that guilt, that nagging I-should’ve-done-more feeling, rears its ugly fucking head.
