Reckoning (Wolfes of Manhattan 5)

My heart stampeded against my chest. Something horrible was happening. I just knew it.

A few seconds later, the woman emerged. “There’s no one in there. I’m sorry.”

“Damn!” I raked my fingers through my hair and grabbed my phone.

Where are you? I texted Zee. What’s going on? I’m worried sick.

She didn’t answer, and the lump in my stomach clawed its way up my throat. I already knew she wouldn’t respond. I already knew…

She either ran away…or someone had taken her.

God, I hoped it was the former.

I quickly called Buck Moreno.

“Yeah?” he said into my ear.

“My wife is gone.”

“Your wife?”

“Yeah. Zee. We got married.”

“You what?”

“I don’t have time to explain right now. She’s either on the run or someone has her. Last seen in the women’s room at Gabriel LeGrand.”

“I’m on it.”

“Thanks.”

Next call was to Rock.

“Hey, Reid.”

“Hey. We’ve got a problem. Two problems, actually. Fuck. I’m scared, Rock. I’m fucking petrified.”

“Easy, bro. We all are.”

“You don’t understand. Zee is missing.”

“Fuck. Find out what you can, and then come here, to the hotel. I’ll see what I can find out.”

“Thanks.” I ended the call and then nearly assaulted the maître d’.

“Is there a problem, Mr. Wolfe?”

“You bet your ass there’s a problem. My wife has disappeared. She went to the ladies’ room, and now she’s gone.”

“Perhaps she went back to the table. Maybe you missed her in transit.”

Hmm. Maybe. I’d had tunnel vision on my way to the restrooms. I stalked through the dining room until our secluded table was in view.

No Zee.

Damn!

“She’s not there,” I told the maître d’ when I returned to the front of the restaurant.

“And she’s not in the bathroom?”

“No. I had someone check. Where’s the attendant?”

“Our attendant is off tonight, Mr. Wolfe. I’m sorry.”

“A woman can’t just disappear into thin air. You remember her, right? A gorgeous blonde? She came in with me?”

“Yes, I recall, but I didn’t see her leave. I’m sorry. I may have been showing someone to a table.”

“Fuck! I’ll never eat at this restaurant again.”

“I’m sure she’s fine, Mr.—”

I stopped listening and left. I didn’t wait for Wayne. I fucking ran to Rock’s hotel.

I met Rock at his suite. Lacey had finally fallen asleep, and he didn’t want to wake her or leave her.

“Thanks for coming here,” he said, letting me in.

“No problem.” I rubbed furiously at my forehead, trying to ease the pounding against my skull. “Buck’s on Zee’s tail, at least I hope he is. Fuck it all. How the hell does someone disappear from a bathroom?”

“I think,” Rock said, “we need to entertain the idea that she may have left on her own.”

“She wouldn’t,” I said. “I promised to take care of her. To protect her.”

I’d promised. And either she didn’t trust me, or someone else took her, in which case she shouldn’t have trusted me. Fuck!

“I know you did, but like you said, how does someone disappear from a bathroom of a busy Manhattan restaurant? It doesn’t happen, Reid.”

No. No. No. “I love her.”

“I know. But she’s scared.”

“Fuck, Rock. I’m sorry. Your wife spent half the day in a holding cell, accused of a crime she didn’t commit, and I’m whining about mine.”

“At least I know where mine is,” Rock said. “Don’t apologize. We all care about Zee. Buck will find her.”

I nodded. Rock was right. If Zee had left on her own, Buck would track her down within the hour.

An hour was almost up.

Which meant one thing.

Zee hadn’t run on her own.

Zee had been abducted.

I swallowed hard against the nausea crawling up my throat.

“I promised I’d protect her,” I whispered, more to myself than to Rock.

“We’ll find her,” Rock said. “I promise.”

I scoffed. “Don’t promise. I promised Zee, and look where that got her.”

Rock nodded, saying nothing.

We both knew the truth.

And it wasn’t pretty.

“I should have told her,” I said. “I should have told her I love her. Maybe it would have made a difference.”

“Don’t play that game.”

“It was stupid. So stupid. I was afraid of her rejecting me. Me! Afraid of something so damned stupid!”

“No one likes rejection.”

“But I deal with it every day.”

“In business,” Rock said. “This is different.”

Different, yeah. It was different. For the first time in my life, something was more important than business. I’d honestly never thought the day would come.

“Jesus Christ,” Rock went on. “When will this end?”

I sighed. “It only ends one way. With us finding the truth about Dad’s murder. We have to, Rock. We have to.”

“You think I don’t know that? My wife is set to go down for the bastard, and of all of us, she has the least motive. No motive.”

“That means one thing,” I said. “She was the easiest to frame.”

“I know. I should have protected her better.”

I sighed. “Believe me. I know exactly how you’re feeling.”

“Fuck it all.” Rock paced around the decadent living area of his suite. “You and I, of all people, should have protected our women better. Damn it!”