There’s one problem, though. Mick will never let me go retrieve it. He’ll insist on doing it himself. And that could get him killed.
Me, however? If I could sneak back in undetected before my father returns home from being evacuated, Mick’s job will be saved and he’ll have the evidence he needs to complete the case. My father will go to prison and we won’t have to live in fear of him. Dammit. Why didn’t I just bring the book with me?
I’m so distracted by my own thoughts, I don’t realize the men have hung up until I hear Mick’s footsteps approaching the room. I hang up the phone just in time for him to kick open the door, a tray of room service in his hands. “Dinner is served, baby,” he says, a strained smile playing around his mouth. “I’m going to run downstairs to the gift shop and buy you some clothes. Just in case we have to move soon, so you’ll have enough to last. You stay here and eat until you pass out.”
An ache starts in my chest. “Okay, Mick.”
He sets down the tray and catches my chin. “You’re beautiful,” he says gruffly. “You know that?”
When he walks out a moment later, I don’t waste any time throwing on my clothes and shoes, saying a prayer for forgiveness when I scoop a handful of bills out of Mick’s wallet, vowing to pay him back. I wait a full two minutes after Mick leaves the room to poke my head out of the hotel room. My guards are in the opposite end of the hallway, smoking out an open window and watching a sports game on one of their phones. I hear them complaining about Mick being a hard ass and wonder if he just reminded them to do their job better. They should have listened.
Quietly as possible, I slide out of the room and vanish down the stairwell.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Mick
It’s the first time I’ve gone shopping for woman’s clothing—and I kind of love deciding what touches Hailey’s skin. This is an upscale hotel, so I have a lot of options, too. I buy her comfortable underwear, because I can’t imagine having a string up your ass feels good. But I can’t stop myself from buying her a few pairs of tight, little boy shorts made of lace. Pink, white, yellow. Just thinking of her buns in them is giving me a hard-on in the store, so I move on to clothes.
No help there. Tank tops make me think of her tits, skirts make me think of her thighs. Having them wrapped around me while I ride her on the bathroom floor. By the time I get to the checkout counter, my cock is hard, off to one side behind the fly of my jeans. There’s no help for it. Soon as I get back upstairs, I’m going to take her again.
Having the situation with her father out of my control, I’m twice as possessive. Protective. The need to claim and guard her is fierce. Now that she’s out of the house, I have to figure out my next move. One thing is for certain, Hailey isn’t going to be in harm’s way. Not in this lifetime.
I grab a pack of Advil for Hailey at the checkout, feeling like a depraved motherfucker, but the stoic salesman’s expression never changes as he bags the items and takes my money. Money I really like spending on Hailey.
If being with her costs me my job, I’m not worried. With my horse breeding operation gaining momentum and the cattle yielding income, the ranch is lucrative. And hell, I don’t relish the idea of being away from Hailey for months at a time while I work a case. Maybe it’s for the best if we cut our losses and go home, leave Los Angeles in our rearview. I know the Bureau won’t let me drop a case without giving them something, though. As soon as I get back upstairs and reassure myself Hailey is safe and sound, I’ll figure out my next play.
The first thing I notice when I walk into the bedroom is Hailey isn’t there.
Second? The food is untouched.
“Hailey.” Panic grabs me by the throat. “Hailey!”
No answer.
I check everywhere—the bathroom, the balcony, under the fucking bed, for chrissakes—before retreating to the hallway, grabbing one of the agents by his collar, throwing him up against the wall. “She’s gone.”
His shock is genuine. “What?”
I’m so terrified, my words are barely intelligible. “Listen to me very carefully. Did anyone come in here?”
“No.” He shifts a glance over at his partner, who is also white as a sheet and already shouting orders into his earpiece. “Stepanov has no idea she’s gone yet with the evac order still in place. We didn’t think there was a threat until he finds out she’s gone.”
“It’s my job to determine that, you fucking dead man.” I rear back and give him a right cross, letting him slump to the ground. Just like that, a light goes out in the rational part of my brain. Hailey. Where the fuck is my girl? Did someone take her? Did she…leave? No. No, she wouldn’t do that to me. She wouldn’t rip my heart out like this. Wait. I didn’t look for a note. Maybe she went out for some reason and left me an explanation.