Escaped Artist (Untamed #3) (18 page)

“Dare!” She giggled and smacked my arm, but then quickly sobered. “Thank you.”

“For what?” I arched an eyebrow, the sudden gravity of her tone surprising me.

“For supporting me,” she said. “For pushing me to get help and fight for the future even when I didn’t think it was possible.”

“With you and me together…anything is possible.”

My lips met hers in a soft, deep kiss.

Fuck. I didn’t want to let her go.

“Two parts?” she breathed when we pulled apart.

“No. Not today.” I shook my head and claimed her mouth again. “Today, we’re just one whole, Ree.”

Ree was checking her luggage when my phone vibrated.

“Mom? Can I call you—”

“Daren!” Her voice was panicked, desperate. “Rex is hurt. He came…he came and he…Daren…he—”

“Mom, slow down. Take a deep breath. What happened to Rex?”

“He. Found. Me,” she said between gasps.

“Rex did?” She wasn’t making any sense.

“Your FATHER.”

I turned away from the counter where Ree still stood, and walked toward the front windows. “
What?!
”

“He’s out, Daren.”

My blood turned to ice. “Of Rykers?”

“He’s here,” she said. “In the city.”

“But you’re in L.A. You’re still in L.A., right? How the hell did he find you?”

“I don’t know. He told Rex to thank someone called The Mayor for the beating. He hurt him bad, Daren.” She started sobbing. “He broke Rex’s arm and gave him a concussion.”

“Did you just say
the mayor?
” The ice in my veins cracked, splintered, cut through me.

“One of his many thugs, I’m sure.” She sniffled. “I was at work when he came to the house, thank god.” She was silent for a moment, then said in a small voice, “I don’t know if I’m strong enough to fight him. The police aren’t very helpful. They have no evidence aside from Rex’s ID and Daren’s past record. They put a warrant out, but you know how good your father is at evading arrest.”

“Go to the hospital and stay with Rex,” I said. “You’ll be safe there. I’m getting on the next flight.”

“NO!” She sounded panicked, and I could almost imagine her big, hazel eyes widening. “He’ll kill…I…I don’t know what he’ll do if he sees you again. You can’t come here. It’s not safe for you.”

“It’s not safe for you either, Mom. I’m not leaving you alone with that bastard.”

“No, Daren—”

“STOP calling me that! That’s
his
name!” Not mine.
Never
mine.

“
Dare
…”

“I’m coming,” I said. “Go to Rex. I’ll be there tonight.” Then I hung up.

“Is everything okay?” Ree walked up to me, ticket in hand, her eyes raking over my face. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

More like a fucking demon. I shook my head and cleared my throat. “Everything is fine. Perfect.”

I squeezed her tightly to me, avoiding her eyes. Lying to Ree killed me, but how could I tell her? She’d never leave. She’d demand to go back to the States with me, and I couldn’t put her life in danger. I loved her too much for that.

It was bad enough that Dax and Dalia were home already, and my dad might find them, too. FUCK. I had to get on a plane. NOW.

I pulled Ree closer, breathing her in, memorizing her scent, the feel of her even as I was sending up a silent thanks for the timing of this job. She would be happy and busy, following her dream, while I dealt with my nightmare.

Then I’d fly back to Paris to be with her just as we planned.

I pressed my lips to her forehead. “See you in two weeks.”

She stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her hands around my neck. “Don’t you dare be late.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Princess.” My chest clenched as our lips met.

Then Ree was walking away from me, biting her lip to keep from crying. I waited until she was out of sight before sprinting to the nearest airline counter and booking a seat on the next flight to Los Angeles.

My mind raced with all the things I needed to do even as I was dialing Dash’s number. A cold, hard determination settled over me. I would deal with my father. And, god-willing, I’d implicate the fucking mayor if I could for putting my family and Rex’s life in danger.

And, then I’d make him pay for everything he’d done to Ree.

I only hoped I could do it all in two weeks.

Without casualties.

nineteen

T
wo weeks.

What had felt like a lifetime when we’d said goodbye in Amsterdam had actually flown by in the blink of an eye. Preparing for La Période Bleue’s international show was unbelievably time-consuming, especially since we were working with several other galleries across the city. I was often up until the early hours of the morning, tackling the mountain of paperwork and scheduling that needed to be coordinated to pull this off. My days were spent schmoozing gallery owners and meeting artists from all around the world.

To put it lightly, I was
extremely
busy.

But I was back in the city of love and light, feeling more at home than I ever had anywhere else, and anxiously awaiting Dare’s arrival so real life could finally start.

It was an exquisite torture to be living in his apartment—surrounded by his art, his scent, his brushes. I slept between his sheets, wore his t-shirt to bed, lived and breathed him, while the only direct contact I actually had was his voice in my ear. We spoke almost every night—and if we failed to connect for some reason, I always woke up to a message from him by dawn’s light.

I was missing him like crazy, and today—FINALLY—he would, once again, be mine.

Last night, my call had gone straight to his voicemail. And there hadn’t been a message from him this morning, which was a little odd. However, considering his plane was getting in this afternoon, it didn’t really matter. I was going to get my hands on him in mere hours. My body was already humming in anticipation of seeing him, touching him, feeling his presence fill me again.

I’d spent the morning getting ready—my hair hung down my back just the way he liked it, and I’d picked out my favorite dress. But that was all I wore—I was going commando just for him.

I couldn’t keep the ecstatic smile from my face.

Nothing was going to spoil my happiness today.

And it was
happiness
. Deep, intense, pure joy. I’d never felt this good in my entire life. I knew that some people spent their lives bathed in the kind of joy that seeped into their bones and infused everything they did, every choice they made, how they viewed the world.

But that had never been my life. Until now.

The airport was busy, and I hurried to the arrival gate, scanning the crowd as I walked. I hadn’t checked to see if his flight was on time, I’d just rushed over, unable to wait for him any longer.

People streamed through the airport, most of them clearly having just gotten off a plane, bags slung over their shoulders, stretching their bodies from being cramped up. And when they cleared out, when no more people were walking from the arrival gate, I started to get concerned.

He’d bought his ticket the day before I’d left, and I knew his flight should have arrived a little before two. But it was now almost three. I walked over to a monitor to check the arrival and departure listings. His plane had arrived on time.

But, still, no Dare.

My heart started thumping, my mind racing, trying to figure out why he wouldn’t have been on the plane. I checked my messages to see if I’d missed one. Maybe he’d texted me or left a voicemail about a change in his flight plans.

Maybe something had happened in Amsterdam.

Maybe he didn’t want me anymore.

NO. No, I knew that couldn’t be true. And I was not going to allow negative thoughts to ruin this moment.

I dialed his number but, once again, it went straight to voicemail. Then I sent him a quick text and drummed my fingers against my phone as I waited for his reply.

Nothing
.

I tried Dash’s number, but he didn’t pick up either, so I left a message, then dialed Dalia. And even Dax.

Fucking hell. Why wasn’t anyone answering their fucking phone?

Trying not to panic, I headed over to the baggage claim area to see if maybe I’d somehow missed him.

The carousel was deserted when I got there.

Oh, god. I was rooted in place, unsure of what to do, who to call next, how I could reach him to find out what was going on.

In that exact moment, my phone buzzed.

I glanced at the screen.

Dalia
.

Relief flooded my body. She must have gotten my message. She would—

“Ree?” Dalia said, her voice tight with tears. “You’ve got to come. Dare’s—” She broke off, sobbing into the phone.

“
What?
” She was crying too hard to speak, but panic had overtaken me at the sound in her voice. I needed her to tell me NOW. “
Dare’s WHAT?
”

“He’s been hurt. Oh god, Ree. He’s in intensive care. They don’t know if he’ll—”

Chills shuddered through me, my whole body went numb. I started shaking my head. This couldn’t…HE couldn’t…

“Where is he, Dalia?
Where?!
”

“New York,” she said. “And, Ree? Hurry.
Please
. They don’t…” Her voice quivered as she choked on the words. “…they don’t know if he’ll make it.”

Reagan and Dare’s story continues in...

Did you ACTUALLY think we’d give you a blurb right now? After THAT ending? Ha! No such luck.

But we promise you one hell of a WILDE ride.

Stay tuned. It's coming.

(Feel free to throw things at us on Twitter: @VG_Writes & @JinseyReese)

WILD AT HEART (Untamed #4)

COMING JUNE 2014

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