Whisper Through The Pain (A Novella) (8 page)

The situation was bad—real bad. Why did he let Bridget cross the threshold into his room? She meant nothing to him. Then why?  To prove that a woman wanted him—and only him. It was selfish. What he did tonight proved he was as callous as people termed him. Nothing touched him.  But they were wrong—Melissa touched the core of his soul.

The word divorce resonated through his mind. When she said the word, he saw the moment she’d let go. A peaceful calm came over her face.

The tears stopped.

The screaming stopped.

The silent howl stopped.

She had given up. But he hadn’t. He couldn’t. Failure wasn’t an option.

He rubbed at the discomfort in his eyes. He sighed deeply and slowly his eyes drifted shut.

Just for a moment he needed to breathe—to rest.

He awoke with a start, startled. He sat straight up. His foot hit an empty whiskey bottle and glass beside the sofa. He squeezed his eyes tight, praying the room would stop spinning. Why was he on the couch? He looked around the room, stood slowly, hindered by the headache, and moved to the bedroom. Then he remembered. Melissa. Last night’s horrible events hit him, causing him to stumble in his wake.

The doors to the bedroom stood wide open. He rushed through.  There was no sign of his wife. The bed hadn’t been slept in but the comforter showed a slight indication, which meant she’d at least lain across the bed. He flung open the closet doors. They were empty. He looked around the room to see if there were any other signs of her presence, a piece of clothing, a hairbrush. There was none.

He grabbed the phone on the nightstand and punched in some numbers. When the person picked up, he said curtly, “What time did my wife leave?”

He didn’t identify himself, knowing that the penthouse suite number showed on the caller ID.

“Pardon me, sir?” The person at the front desk stumbled over his words.

“My wife. I know she had to come through the lobby.”

“Sir, we only have you registered in the suite. I really don’t—”

“Dammit.  I don’t want to hear about rules or regulations. Someone in the hotel had to bring my wife to my suite. I don’t care who the hell it was. Right now, I want to know if you or someone else called a cab for her this morning.”

The man cleared his throat. “I— believe—”

Jake’s hand tightened around the phone handle. “Speak up, man. I don’t have all day.”

“Ah…Yes sir. I called the cab.”

“How long ago?” The wall clock showed it was four-thirty a.m. He had slept for a little over an hour. Damn.

“Thirty minutes ago.”

He severed the connection and punched in his pilot’s number. “Ready the plane. We take off in twenty minutes.

Chapter Eleven

Jake rang the doorbell and waited. After a few seconds he pushed the button again. Finally the door opened.

“Mr. Sorensen?” A heavyset Hispanic woman dressed in a black and white uniform observed him with an expressionless stare.

“Is my cousin home?” he asked gruffly.

“Yes, sir.”  She stepped back to let him proceed over the threshold.  “Please follow me.”

They walked through the long corridor. Coming upon a large, open glass door, he stepped through to the patio outside. His cousin sat on a white, cushioned chair with her feet propped on another chair. A magazine was open across her pregnant belly. Her head was thrown back with a hand across her eyes, shielding them from the sun. She didn’t appear to be asleep, but enjoying the late afternoon sun.

“Sheila.”

The magazine fell to the marble floor of the patio. Jake reached to retrieve it and place it on the glass table beside her.

“Jake?”

“I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“What are you doing here? I thought you were in New York.” She looked behind him. “Where’s Melissa?”

Wearily, he ran a hand through his hair and looked out over the massive backyard lawn toward the horizon where the brilliant sun had boldly retreated, leaving him without warmth.

He and Sheila were born into wealth. Although he was four years older, they’d been kindred spirits since childhood. Always determined to forge their own paths in life without the help of the family money. She became a successful attorney, moving up to become the lead prosecutor in the state of California. While he started his business with bank loans, refusing to touch the two large trust funds left to him by his maternal and paternal grandparents.

He was an only child who grew up with a stern father but a good man. His loving mother had died during his last year of college from cancer. She’d always been his fiercest champion, encouraging him to make his own way in the world.  He hadn’t wanted to join the family business. With his father’s disapproval and his mother’s encouragement, he followed his dream and created his own business. She never lived to see his success. Her death changed him. He became insolent, angry and the man he was today—afraid of letting anyone see his weaknesses.

Sheila’s mother had left her father for another man when she was ten. Sheila had only seen her twice in the twenty years since. With two older brothers and a father who treated her like she was fragile, she’d refused to be what her father and brothers wanted, a pampered, rich princess so she became tough, strong-willed and rebellious.

Four generations old, the family business was still run by their fathers and her brothers.

“I asked you a question, Jake.”

“I don’t know where Melissa is,” he snapped.

She swung her feet over the side and stood. “What do mean, you don’t know? I specifically helped her pack and dropped her off at the airport.”

“Have you heard from her?” Jake asked.

“No, I haven’t.”

He observed her face. “Where would she go if she was upset?”

Her eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

“What makes you think I did something?”

“Because I know you like the back of my hand. Damn, Jake. I encouraged her to surprise you. Tell me you didn’t reject her?”

“It’s complicated.”

“What happened?”

He pinched the edge of his nose and squeezed his eyes against the headache he couldn’t seem to shake. He was tense and damn tired. He arrived in L.A. a few hours ago and headed straight to his house. Not finding his wife in residence, he left and went to the office. She wasn’t there either and her assistant hadn’t heard from her. He even went to the condo she had lived in before their marriage and still owned. There was no sign she had been there either. Everything was still covered in furniture canvas from when she moved out three months ago.

Jake rubbed the tension at his temple. “Why didn’t you call to let me know she was coming?”

“Duh. You do know the definition of a surprise, don’t you?”

“Damn, Sheila. I didn’t know Melissa was in the penthouse suite when I walked in.”

“Jake. Stop stalling. Spit it out.”

“I had a woman there.”

Sheila poked him in his chest. She sputtered and went to do it again.

“Stop, Sheila.”  He grabbed her hand and then let her go. “You haven’t poked me that hard since you were eleven.” He rubbed the sore spot.

“You asshole! You know her ex-husband destroyed her confidence when he told her he was in love with another woman. Now you go and cut the wound wide open again. Why in the hell did you marry her if you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants? Melissa’s nothing like those bimbos you dated in the past.”

“It was a mistake. Nothing happened with the woman. I’ve never cheated on Melissa,” he interjected.

“Bullshit. You wouldn’t bring a woman to your suite without screwing her.”

“Will you curb that acid tongue of yours? I didn’t screw anyone.”

“Then why?”

“Bridget was a—”

She raised her hand. “Stop. You knew the woman?” she said, incredulously.

“Yes.”

She rolled her eyes. “How could you, Jake? Never mind. Don’t answer. I know the answer. You needed to prove your dick could still get hard for someone else.”

Jake flushed darkly, not liking the way that sounded, but slowed his anger. Sheila knew more about his past association with women than anyone.

“I’m telling you nothing happened.  Damn. I’ve done a lot of inexcusable things in my lifetime, but I couldn’t go through with it.” He was silent for a long moment. The only sound was the warm wind swaying through the trees on the property. “I love her, Sheila.”

She sighed deeply. “I know you do, but damn if you don’t have a funny way of showing it. You messed up big time.”

“How do I fix it?”

He wasn’t surprised his voice cracked on the words. Vulnerability wasn’t something he was used to.

“I don’t know. You let your pride, ego and Melissa’s ex-husband throw you into a cesspool.”

“Sinclair has nothing to do with it.”

“Don’t lie to me, Jake Sorensen! You were afraid Melissa was going back to Brent Sinclair. You decided to cover all bases and beat her to home plate.”

“Damn, Sheila. You always go for the jugular. I’ve made a mess of my marriage. I don’t need you to keep throwing gas on the fire. It’s already a blaze.” He rubbed his jaw to loosen the tightness. He hadn’t realized he had been clenching his teeth. “I need your help on this.”

“You’re destructive, Jake. Melissa is the best thing that ever happened to you.”

He inhaled deeply and released it. “I know.”

“You changed when your mom died. You’re a hard man and can be a cold son-of-a-bitch. Now you’re letting it destroy your marriage.”

“You have a nasty mouth. When did you start cursing so much?”

“You forget I grew up with only men in the house.”

He almost smiled.

“She’s running, Sheila. The only road block I have is to deny her the divorce.”

Her eyes widened with shock. “What? A divorce? Damn. Damn. This is bad! If she asked for a divorce, she’s given up on the marriage…and you.”

“Melissa didn’t ask for the divorce. She said she was divorcing me. There is a difference.”

“You’re grasping at straws.”

“I’m desperate. I need you to talk to her…Please.”

“You are my cousin. She’s my best friend. I’m not going to take sides.”

“Will you call her?”

“Damn. Jake, don’t put me in the middle of this.”

“I’m desperate, Sheila.”

“I won’t call her because she’ll know I’m calling to talk about you. But, if she calls me, I’ll try your case.”

“Okay. At this point, I’m grateful for what I can get.”

“You need to make the first move toward her.”

“How can I when she won’t answer any of my texts or calls?”

“This is major. Real serious shit. You need to be careful and figure out how you’re going to get her back.”

“I must
find
her.”

“She’s wounded, Jake. Give her some time.”

“I can’t. I’m afraid I’ll lose her.”

“That’s a chance you may have to take.”

Chapter Twelve

Jake slammed his hands on the desk, knocking over the glass paperweight. His usual self-control had been distinctly lacking in the last few months.

“What the fuck am I paying you for? It’s been two months. You haven’t given me anything substantial.”

Jake stood and came around the desk. Cold, hard logic told him he was dealing with men who couldn’t begin to understand his wife’s way of thinking. If she wanted to disappear, she would. He glared at the two private investigators. Right now he was pissed and frustrated. His entire life was unraveling and he couldn’t stop it. These men were supposed to be the best but at the moment he doubted it.

His friend, Matthew Connor sat quietly slouched in a chair nearby not saying anything but watched him as he ranted at the men. Every now and then Matthew frowned at him. That was his cue to calm down but it wasn’t working.

The older of the private investigators cleared his throat nervously. “Mr. Sorensen there is something. On the morning you left New York, your wife didn’t. She went into a bank and withdrew five thousand dollars from her personal account. She has been paying for everything with cash. There’s no record of her using credit cards. If she had, it would definitely have left a trail. The problem is cash doesn’t…ah, in most cases, that is.”

Blasted out of his usual cool by that less than helpful statement, he said, “Is that all?” His voice filled with anger. “If it is, then you haven’t given me a damn thing. You’re supposed to be the best. At the moment, I don’t see any evidence of it.”

On the receiving end of his icy tone, a red tinge skimmed the investigator’s faces. The one that had been speaking cleared his throat again and peered at his silent partner seated beside him.

“Huh…there was a spotting of her in Vermont a week after you left New York, but it couldn’t be verified.”

“That was two months ago. What else do you have?” Jake asked.

The man glanced at his notes in his lap and paused before looking at Jake. “She was also seen in Miami. A woman renting a small cottage on Star Island matched her description. I have dispensed my men to Florida to investigate.”

“How long ago was this?” Jake asked.

“Ah…three days ago.”

Jake walked to the front door of his home and opened it. “Find her,” he said in a soft, lethal voice that had the men hurrying to the door. “Hire more men. I want every state in the union searched. I want people at airports, trains and bus stations. None of your men rest until her whereabouts are discovered. I want a report within twenty-four hours.”

The men scurried out and he slammed the door behind them.

“Imbeciles,” he murmured and started to pace, knowing that his anxiety levels were high due to the fact that, as each day passed, the chance of finding her was getting slimmer.

He picked up the phone and dialed his pilot. “File a flight plan for Miami. I want to leave within the hour.”

“Jake—”

“I know, Matt.” He rubbed his eyes and started to pace. Sleep wasn’t something he was getting enough of lately. He was lucky to get a couple of hours a night. His work was suffering. He looked like hell but he didn’t care. Finding Melissa was top priority. “I really fucked up.” He stopped pacing, looked through the large bay window and then turned to his friend. “I’m paying for it. I’m her husband, damnit. She’s hiding from me.”

“I know,” Matthew said. “But you can’t keep flying off the handle at every disappointment. Going to Miami won’t help the situation. You hired the investigators, let them do their job.”

Emotions unknown gripped him. Never in his life did he feel the need to explain his actions to anyone and yet suddenly he was filled with a burning need to locate his wife and explain every tiny detail of his missteps.

He had hurt her and in the process hurt himself. Frustration and concern mingled when a severe attack of conscience hit him.

“For two months, I’ve sat back and let them do just that. Today’s information was like real time. Three days ago in Miami…I’ve been given a lifeline. I have friends who live on Star Island. I may be able to get some information about her.”

Surprise showed on Matthew’s face. “You’re going to expose the fact your wife left you? What happened to the ultra-private Jake Sorensen I know? Damn. You wouldn’t even give an interview to Forbes Magazine.”

Jake frowned. “I don’t give a fuck what I expose. If there is a chance in hell I can get her back, I’m taking it.”

              Jake reached for the divorce papers lying on the table and tore them into pieces. “I’m not giving her a divorce. Somewhere in the last two months, she slipped into L.A. to file the papers. I contacted her lawyer but she wouldn’t talk. I was given some bullshit about attorney client privileges. No matter how nice I was—”

“You…nice?”

“To the best of my ability. I was downright submissive. The lawyer was a barracuda. ”

Matt laughed. “That’s a compliment coming from you. I would’ve loved to see you grovel. Melissa’s attorney is right, you know. She could’ve been disbarred if she gave you information on her client.”

“I don’t give a damn. I told her I want a meeting face to face with Melissa, until then, I’m not signing shit.”

“Jake, you’re being difficult. It’s not going to help. Not in this situation. Melissa doesn’t kneel to threats. She can be as stubborn as you.”

“It’s my only weapon.”

“How long are you going to fight the divorce?”

“Forever if I have to.”

“The possibility of you finding her gets slimmer as each day passes. You might never find her. You need to reconcile yourself to that fact.” Matthew’s tone was solemn.

“That’s not an option I’ll entertain.” His voice was devoid of emotion. “
I will find her.
” The words came without hesitation.