Pawn of the Billionaire (14 page)

I
had
to tell James now. I was so sorry I’d worried him and made him unhappy. My body glowed with the memory of him loving me, and I felt ashamed of having thought he didn’t care. I turned off the shower instead of getting in and slipped on my robe. I’d come back later and do the getting ready thing. I smiled to myself. I’d take care to make myself look the best I could for him.

I hugged my new confidence to me as I went to the connecting door and knocked before turning the handle.

It didn’t take long to realize he wasn’t in his suite at all. Still, I could easily run downstairs and find him, and I hurried along the hallway to the stairs, skimming them, feeling lighter than I had coming up last night. I remembered that. I’d been a fool. I should’ve asked him, told him what was worrying me. Misunderstandings were just that, and I believed now that he truly cared.

I heard his voice from within the study, and I hurried towards the door. I was brought to a sudden stop when I heard my name. James was on the phone, and he was talking about me. I ought to go away, and come back later.

I stayed, and listened.

“Yes, I know I said Antonia was suitable, Father. But …” He sounded anxious.

“No, you have to listen. I can find …” I heard the click of the chess pieces. I could picture him trying to calm himself by holding them, moving them.

“Yes, I know. I know I picked her for Edward. I know he’s my older brother and he needs to marry. But …”

My heart went cold.

“Yes, she’s utterly amazing.” There was warmth in his voice now, and I crept forward a bit where I could see him lounging in his chair with his back to me. “She’s bright, she’s clever, she’s beautiful, she could run the Estate like she was born to it.” He laughed. “Yes, and manage Edward too. But you …”

I stepped backwards, horrified. My heart was pounding so fast I could feel it in my throat. Had I really just heard that he had been training me, using me, and was going to give me to his brother to marry, someone I’d never met?

“Father. You keep interrupting. Please let me say what …” I heard him sigh. “You’re interrupting again.”

I
’d heard enough
. I felt utterly frozen. The humiliation of how I’d just given myself to him and had told him I believed that he cared, sawed at me from the inside, hacking my heart to pieces. Maybe I should go into the room, confront him, tell him exactly what I thought of him. I could do that. He’d know what interruptions meant for sure then. He’d not get a word in edgeways. I smiled savagely, but found I was running to my room.

My heart was like stone as I dragged jeans and some sweats from the closet. I couldn’t confront him. Not and get away without being found. I wasn’t going to stay and be passed along like a piece of … I swore under my breath. I couldn’t face him. The betrayal felt utterly complete. He’d reassured me, made me come, made love to me. Then the next moment, he was talking to his father about selling me out to his brother. He’d manipulated me. Rage and anger burned within me. I was out of here right now. I rubbed a washcloth over my face to wipe away the old tear streaks. No makeup for me now. I was going back to my world, the world where I belonged.

But not where he’d ever find me. My heart twisted in pain at the thought of never seeing him again, but a steely resolve drove me on and I slipped down the back stairs. I made my way out to the garaging and knocked on the window of Steve’s office.

He opened the door, looking puzzled. “Ms. Chapman?”

“Steve, can you run me to the metro station please? I’m late.” I tried to make him hurried, so he didn’t think why he’d not had a call from Lawrence, which would be the usual routine.

“Nobody’s phoned me,” he grumbled, “or I could’ve been ready for you, Miss.”

“Oh, that’s odd. But thank you, if we could just go now.” I felt really bad. He’d probably be in big trouble later because of me. But there was no other way to get out of here fast enough.

I breathed a sigh of relief as the car slipped through the early morning streets. The traffic was building up, and I hoped to get a good start. I pulled out my phone. I daren’t use it again. I called up Paul’s number and wrote it in the tiny notebook I kept in my purse. Feeling like a failure, I copied out James’ number too. Then I turned off the volume and vibration and dropped it into the glove compartment.

Outside the station, I leapt out of the car and leaned in. “Thanks so much, Steve, you were beautifully quick. Now, if you can go back and take Mr. James into work. Thanks.” And I turned away and went into the Metro, hoping against hope that he wouldn’t ring back to the house. Then I’d get a decent start. I hurried out of the other exit, and found an ATM. I felt sick as I withdrew the maximum that the ATM would let me, knowing I couldn’t risk using the card again and being traced, but even worse, that I was using James’ money to run away from him. As I tucked the cash into the tight front pocket of my jeans, I vowed that I’d send back every penny, just as soon as I was on my feet again. Then I leapt onto the bus that would take me to the next metro, where I could use the cash to get a ticket to the airport.

I didn’t know where I was going. That depended on which way the first flight out was going.

I stared out of the bus window, feeling cold. I didn’t want to cry. I was angry. Then I did want to cry. Because I loved him. Even though he’d betrayed me, used me, the thought of never seeing him again was agonizing. My future began to seep in on me. No possessions. Nowhere to live. No job. No friends. No income and limited cash. Worst of all, no James. I couldn’t go to old school friends, I couldn’t go back to my old haunts, work back at the diner. That would be the first place that James would look for me. And he would look, he’d spent time and money on training me, like I was some fucking performing animal. I let the rage build up again. It might ease the pain of loss.

F
ather wasn’t old
. He was hale and hearty in his sixties, but my God, he could talk. He was repeating himself, and in the end I cut him short. “I’m sorry, Father, I have to go to work now. And I’ll arrange for Lawrence to identify another suitable girl for Edward. Let’s get together when he turns up again, I’ll fly over, and we can put the fear of God up him, and try and frighten him sober for a month or two.”

Another few platitudes and I rang off. I looked at the clock. Fuck! I’d have to get a move on if I was going to have time for breakfast. Toni would be making smart-ass comments about being late and inconveniencing the staff. I grinned and ran up the stairs three at a time, and swung cheerfully into my suite.

Showering didn’t take me long, and as soon as I was ready, I knocked on her door and went in to collect her. But she wasn’t there. She must’ve gone down for breakfast already, and I saw she’d left a heap of clothes untidily on the bed. I pursed my lips. She knew she was asking for a spanking, doing that. My lips twitched. She enjoyed these punishments far too much. We were so well suited, and I couldn’t imagine going back to my old life.

I saw the diamond jewelry still on the nightstand, and I remembered that Anne Russell had a day off today, thinking we’d still be in Seattle. I went over and picked it all up, so I could lock it away. I smelled her perfume and my cock twitched again. I wanted her again already.

Downstairs, I turned the jewelry over to Lawrence to be put away and went through to breakfast. Toni wasn’t there, although her place was laid. I turned to David.

“What time did Antonia have breakfast?”

“She’s not been down this morning, sir.” He looked unsurprised. “You did have a late night, of course.”

I nodded. “All right. I’ll go and check.”

And I went back up the stairs. Perhaps she’d been in her bathroom still, although I’d assumed she wouldn’t have been that long. I hoped she hadn’t fallen and hurt herself. I hurried in. She wasn’t there. I ran through to my suite. She wasn’t there, either. I tried to quell a rising sense of dread.

“Lawrence!” I called down from the top of the stairs, and he appeared from the front office immediately. He hurried up to join me.

“I can’t find Toni,” I said in a low voice, and we went back into her room. “I left her here, having a shower, while I went down to ring Father about her. Now she’s not anywhere.”

“Was she actually showering when you left?” Lawrence was unflappable.

“Well, she went through as I went out.” I went through to the bathroom. There was water on the floor of the wet room area, although the atmosphere wasn’t that steamy.

Lawrence felt the towels. “These are dry, they haven’t been used.”

I hurried back into the bedroom. Looked in her sitting area. There was no note, no clue. I stared over at Lawrence.

He looked calmly around. “Do you think she might have wanted to speak to you, and come down and overheard your conversation?”

I thought back. “But she’d have heard me telling Father I wasn’t going to send her to England. I told him I love her and she’s going to stay with me.”

He looked at me. “Maybe she didn’t listen to all of it. Did she even know about your arrangement at all?”

I shook my head. I hadn’t mentioned it.

Lawrence turned away. “I’ll go down and see Steve. If she’s gone, then she’ll have taken the car.”

I felt my spirits lift. Of course she would. We could trace her, find her, check she was okay. I hurried after Lawrence.

S
teve’s office was empty
. I stared at Lawrence and picked up the phone.

“Just about to arrive now, sir.” Steve’s voice sounded anxious. “Sorry, the traffic was bad.”

“Where’ve you been?” I tried not to sound angry. He was flustered enough.

“Miss Chapman, sir. I took her to the Metro. I was surprised no one had rung me, but she said Lawrence must have been busy and she was in a hurry.” He hesitated. “I’m just pulling into the driveway now, sir.”

I dropped the phone and ran. I was in the car before it had pulled to a halt, Lawrence behind me.

“Which metro, Steve? And take us there now.”

The gravel spurted under the tires as we spun and began the tortuous journey back. Lawrence pulled out his phone and began dialing. “I’ll get her phone GPS tracked. Hope she hasn’t switched it off.” And he began emailing on his tablet too. “And we’ll check if she’s used her card for a ticket anywhere.”

“Thanks.” I was watching the city as we approached the center.

“Steve. How did she seem?”

He looked at me through his rear view mirror.

“I — I didn’t notice anything, sir. She was quiet, but was busy with her phone. Then she got out and told me to come back to the house to take you to work.”

“What was she wearing?” Lawrence asked.

“Er, dark jeans and a gray top - sweatshirt.”

As we drew up at the Metro, I leapt out. “Wait for us, Steve.”

Lawrence stepped out after me. “Try calling her phone, sir. She may be waiting to see if you ring.”

I looked at him.

“No, I don’t think she’ll answer, either. But you must try.” He looked at his iPad.

I called her number, my eyes scanning the crowd. I was getting some curious looks, as if people were trying to place me. Her phone rang and rang.

“Stop now, sir. She’s not going to answer, and we don’t want the battery to run down. We’ve got the GPS onto the phone, and she’s close by.”

My heart lifted at Lawrence’s words. “Why would she hang around here?”

“I don’t know, sir. But I’m worried that she’s ditched it in a bin somewhere. It wouldn’t be tracking at all if she was on the metro.”

And my heart sank. “We’ve got to find her.”

“Yes, sir. I’ve got a security firm on standby. I need you to come to the office where we can brief them.” He stood in front of me, stopping me scanning the crowd. “We have to go, sir. There’s too much attention. It’ll scare her off if she is here.”

That did it, and we went back to the car.

“To the office, please.”

I
roamed
the office that morning feeling desperate. Lawrence came to me at one point. “She hasn’t ditched her phone. It’s tracked her. She’s in this general area now. Why do you think she’d come here? Would she want her app documents?”

“Paul!” I spun around.

“Oh, no. You don’t speak to him. If he’s our best point of contact, then you let me speak to him.” Lawrence was certainly taking the lead here. I needed to take it back. But on this point, he was right.

“I agree. That’s best. But I’ll speak to the security firm boss. And you’ll tell me what’s going on.”

Lawrence smiled. “Of course.”

The PI was sitting with one of his stooges in one of the spare offices. They had maps spread out over the tables, and were deep in conversation when I went in.

“What’ve you got so far?” I didn’t want to waste time with pleasantries.

He was a small, nondescript chap. The sort who nobody would notice even in a quiet place. I was amused. A useful attribute for an investigator. But his first few words showed that he was good at his job.

“We’re not wasting too much time on the phone trace, Mr. Sandiford. I think she may have left it in a cab or something as a sort of decoy. If that’s the case, then she won’t have anyone’s contact details with her. We know she used the ATM just outside the metro station where your driver dropped her. Near a different exit, so that he wouldn’t see.” He looked pointedly at me. “She doesn’t want to be followed.”

I looked at him. “I would respect that decision, except I need to know that she’s all right.” I held his gaze until he dropped his eyes.

“All right, then. Just so’s you know.” He picked up a map. “I’ve got an inside man who’s checking the CCTV around that ATM. She got on a city bus going west.” He spread the map over the table. “That means finding the camera records at each stop until we see her getting off.” His stubby finger traced the bus route to the terminal. “The trail will get colder unless we have a stroke of good luck. My gut feeling is she’ll get out at the next metro and go to the airport that way, using cash. So I’ve sent a man to try and get into the airport security room, see if he can talk them into looking for her on the screens.”

“Good idea.” I stood there, trying to think how Toni must be feeling. What she could have overheard, because it must be that? We’d just got everything sorted when I left her. Something — or I — had hurt her terribly, and she had nowhere to go. “Are we checking her old haunts?”

“Of course. There’s a team there already, one sitting in the diner. It’s a shitty place.”

“Mmm.” I didn’t think she’d go back there, but she might just be feeling lonely enough to.

Lawrence appeared in the doorway. “Call for you, sir.” He jerked his head.

I stared over. It couldn’t be her, or he’d be smiling.

I followed him to my office. “Who is it?”

“It’s Lord Sandiford, sir.”

I stared at him. “For God’s sake!” I didn’t have time for this. I seized the handset.

“Father.”

“Oh thank goodness, Son.” He sounded quite distressed. “I’ve just had the police come round. They’re here now.”

“The police?” I felt stunned. How could they know about Toni? “What …”

I saw Lawrence signal to me. He was asking permission to listen in. I nodded.

I took a deep breath. “Okay, Father. Tell me what all this is about.”

“The police are here, Son. They’re asking about Edward.” My heart sank. Somehow I thought there’d been news about Toni, how I didn’t know. “What about Edward?” My voice was almost as cold as my mind.

“Look, I’ll hand you over to the Inspector.” Father couldn’t get off the phone fast enough. He sounded pretty frail, and I cursed Edward in my mind. What the hell had he been arrested for this time?

“Mr. Sandiford, sir?”

“Yes, Inspector. What’s he done now?”

“Oh, it’s not that this time, sir. We’re a bit concerned for him. The last time he was seen he was in the company of a number of his friends. We know they all travelled over to Turkey, and that they all booked on a plane from Macedonia to the Philippines. But your brother wasn’t with them then. Or, we think maybe it was your brother on a fake passport. Anyway, it was officially a different man that checked in. And your brother’s passport was recovered being used by an illegal Turkish immigrant trying to come into Britain.” He paused, and I tried to think straight. Toni. Toni and my worry for her was more important than this.

“So, who got off the plane in the Philippines then?” I couldn’t make sense of it.

“I’m sorry, sir. That was the plane that went down over the Indian Ocean, sir. Two weeks ago. Maybe you heard about it?”

There was a long silence. I stared over at Lawrence. His face was tight, and his pen was stilled, hovering over his notes.

“Sir?” The Inspector’s voice over the line was hesitant. “Do you think that there might be a possibility that your brother might have left that group before they got on that plane?”

I rubbed my face. I could do without this. “I suppose he paid for the tickets with his credit card?”

“Well, the group appear to have been given the tickets as a gift. In London. But they missed the connecting flight in Turkey and transferred them to seats on a plane from Macedonia. Your brother’s card paid for the hire car to Macedonia.” I heard him draw a deep breath. “I’m sorry to say that the card’s been used a lot since then. In Turkey, mostly for drugs.”

“Damnation!” I looked over. “Lawrence, get that card blocked now. I’m damned if I’m going to fund more drug barons than Edward did. Get the local police onto it the next time they try to use it.”

I returned to the call. “Inspector, do you think my brother got on that plane, or do you think he’s in trouble in Turkey?”

There was quite a long pause. When he spoke, he was very careful. “We have to consider all options, sir. But my personal view is that his friends would want to keep him with them if they were going to spend time in the Philippines.”

My heart was heavy. “I think I agree with you. But I’ll get some investigations under way from the UK and they can help you in Turkey, too.”

“Yes, sir.” The Inspector and I had a lot of experience together, sorting out Edward and his personal disasters. He knew that whatever private investigator I put in would work with him, and not undermine him. But I had the resources that they didn’t.

“I’ll hand you back to Lord Sandiford now, sir.”

“Wait.”

“Sir?”

“I’ll speak to Father now, but when you leave, I’m asking if you can inform Lady Mason over at Brandwell that we’ve had some difficult news and could she arrange for Father to have some visitors?”

“Yes, sir. I’ll do that.” The Inspector sounded sympathetic.

Then Father was on the phone. “Do you think you could come over, Son? I need you.”

“Father, I’ll try and get over, but I’m in the middle of a crisis here, and I can’t leave now. The Inspector’s going to tell the Masons, and Penny will get in touch.” I listened to his woes for a moment, then interrupted him. “I’m sorry. I really have to go.” And I shut the phone off with a snap.

Grief pushed at my mind. Edward and I had been close once. But I had other things on my mind.

“Lawrence. Get the best UK firm onto this. But they’ll have to liaise with the Sandiford copshop. I can’t be doing with it. And tell the bank to stop all the cards that Edward has from now. Tell em we’ll be claiming back anything out of the ordinary after the hire car. They should’ve spotted that and cancelled the cards then.” My voice cracked.

“Then forget it. We need to concentrate on finding Toni.”

“Yes, sir. I’m very sorry, sir.”

T
he PI appeared
in the doorway. “New Orleans. She got on a flight to New Orleans.”

My heart leapt. “Lawrence. Let’s …”

“Wait.” The PI lifted his hand. “I’ve got someone hot footing it over to try and get witnesses while they might remember. But she landed an hour ago, and there are parts of the city where there isn’t a good network of working cameras.” He looked at me. “It’s going to be difficult to find her.”