Master in Shining Armor (Masters Unleashed 4)

“But this isn’t about Will not being perfect. He’s pretty bloody perfect.”

“That baby is pretty perfect, too, if you ask me, Jules. She’s bizarrely good and quiet, and she won’t be a baby forever. In a few years, she’ll be someone cool to hang out with. She’ll be a good cousin for my boys. That is, if we get to see you around and you’re not traveling all over Europe with her.”

Juliet groaned and pressed her forehead to Leo’s. “I know! I love her already. I haven’t seen her in two days, and I’m thinking of storming the house and demanding joint custody.”

She checked her phone again, wondering why Will still hadn’t answered her from four hours ago. He never went incommunicado that long. Maybe he’d broken his phone. Maybe he dropped it in the bathtub when he was bathing Beau, or maybe in the sink when he was doing dishes? He swore he was managing fine with Tabitha gone to her grandmother’s, but she knew he must be struggling.

“Even though he keeps telling me not to, I guess I should go over there and make sure the house hasn’t gone back to total chaos.”

“You’d better.” Sadie laughed. “It’s hilarious that it takes three adults to keep that place in order. There aren’t that many of you living there.”

“I’m not living there, and I think that’s part of the problem, and Tabitha is out of town, remember? I don’t always feel like I can say something about his bad habits. He tends to leave things dragging. So messy. Good thing he makes up for it in other ways.”

“Do tell,” Sadie prompted, leering comically.

“Are you saying you want to see some of the dick pics he’s sent me?”

“Shit, are you serious? Give me your phone!” Sadie said, cackling, holding out her hand for it.

“No, I’m not serious!” Juliet said, giving her sister a disapproving glare. “Does he seem like the kind of guy who sends dick pics?”

Sadie was laughing so hard now that Eli had woken up and was looking around, confused. “No! And you’re not the kind of woman to show them to me even if he was.” She patted Eli and he settled back on her chest. “That’s what’s so funny.”

Juliet gazed down at Will’s last text to her. They’d been in the middle of a conversation, and he’d suddenly disappeared. Fifteen minutes or half an hour without an answer, she’d expect, but she’d texted him twice more with no answer.

“He’s still not answering. I don’t like this.”

“You said he was complaining of a sore stomach. Maybe he’s taking a nap.”

“For four hours? Beau wouldn’t let him sleep that long.”

“Try his brother? Or his friend Dexter?”

“I already did. Neither of them have heard from him since yesterday. At least I’ve heard from him more recently than that.”

“Well, then go.” Sadie made a shooing motion. “If you’re worried, it’s best if you just go check. It’s not like we’re doing anything important here.”

Juliet leaned down and put Leo on the floor beside Sadie, then kissed her sister on the cheek.

“Make sure he puts that ring on your finger while you’re there,” Sadie called after her. “I don’t care if he’s puking up a lung, you convince that man you do want to marry him. And don’t come back here until you’ve succeeded, woman!”

Juliet rolled her eyes and headed for the door. She hoped he wasn’t puking. Puking sucked, but considering all the activities he took Beau to it was only a matter of time before they caught the bug going around. Babies were such adorable little germ factories.

It seemed to take ages to get to Will’s place. She punched the code in at the gate and drove up, half expecting to see the truck gone. It was there, though, which meant he was likely home. She’d have to convince him to get a landline in case this happened again.

Quietly, she let herself in.

Before she even got the door fully open, she knew something was terribly wrong.

Beau’s thin, hoarse wail reached her ears, as though she’d been crying for ages. Juliet bounded up the stairs two at a time, an icy dread piercing her chest.

Will never let her cry things out. Where the hell was he?

She couldn’t hear him singing to her or comforting her. Terror made her run faster than she’d thought she was capable of.

The sound was coming from Beau’s bedroom, but the door was shut tight. Juliet turned the handle and pushed, but the door wouldn’t budge.

For a moment, she thought it might be locked, but then realized the door had a small amount of give. It was as though someone had piled sandbags against the other side. She pushed and heaved, leaning into it, fear making her stronger. She gripped the door frame with her hands when she got it open a sliver so that she would have more leverage while she pushed the door with her shoulder. A million scenarios ran through her mind, and she was having trouble catching her breath.