Filed to story: The LORDS Series Free PDF by Shantel Tessier
My chest is heaving, and my hands reach up to fist my hair. It doesn’t matter how she got that ring; she belongs to me. This changes nothing. I will bring her back, but she won’t like how I do it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
RYAT
I SIT ON the black leather couch, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees. My right hand absentmindedly spins my wedding band.
Till death do us part is engraved on the inside of the band-identical to my wife’s.
She has been gone for two days now. Not a single word, not a clue as to where she went. And no fucking idea where to even start looking. She disappeared-poof-like a ghost.
When I find her-and I will-it’s going to take everything in me not to fucking kill her. That’s how angry I am.
My new phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out to see it’s a text from an unknown number.
Negative.
Locking it back, I grind my teeth. Well, that’s interesting. But something that I don’t have time to devote my life to right now. One problem at a time.
“What do we know?” my father-in-law asks, sitting behind his desk in his office overlooking downtown Dallas. Once again, in the middle of the night.
“Nothing,” Prickett answers, sitting to my right.
I haven’t said much since I found out she decided to run. It seems pointless because there’s not much to say.
“She didn’t return to her apartment, her car is still in the same spot it was before, and she left her cell at the house of Lords, along with her wedding ring,” Gunner informs, sitting to my left.
My father sighs while he stands by the floor-to-ceiling window. “She’s just vanished.”
“People don’t just disappear.” Her father slams his hands down on his desk. I’m pretty sure Phil wants to strangle her too. “She needs money to survive.”
“She gets a job,” Prickett offers.
“She’s never had one a day in her life. What skills does she have?” he barks. “But if she does have one, then there’s a record of her somewhere out there.”
“Not if she’s making cash, getting paid under the table,” Gunner states, sitting back on the couch. “Vegas and stripper come to mind.”
My hands clench at his words, and I want to punch him for even thinking that.
“Matt played her,” my father states, turning around to face the room. “He realized his chance with her was gone, so he chose to sabotage her marriage with Ryat.” His eyes meet mine. “He was probably planning on her making a big scene in front of everyone but was granted something better when she ran instead.”
We had watched the video of Matt and my wife in my bedroom when we first arrived thirty minutes ago, I’ve watched it more times than I can count by now. You would think that I’d realize that there is no evidence to tell me where she went.
But the video didn’t change my mind about the situation she’s left us in. I don’t give a shit how upset she is with me; she’s still going to pay for this. So will Matt, but he’ll come later. Right now, she’s my main priority.
Phil runs his hands down his face, letting out a deep breath. “Find her.” His eyes meet mine. “Find her and bring her back. By whatever force you deem necessary.”
I nod once. I’d planned on it anyway, but thanks for the permission.
“Her biggest threats are those who want to hurt Ryat,” he goes on. “A wife of a Lord is one who can be used against us. And it was just announced to the goddamn world.”
Marriages inside the Lords are always to create power. Wives have been kidnapped for ransom. Some have been raped, others murdered. Any of our enemies can see what we have and take it. Doesn’t matter if the couple loves each other or not. It still impacts our world. The wife is our toy and also our weakness.
“She’s vulnerable out there by herself.” He stands and shoves his computer off the desk. It crashes to the ground. “FUCK!” Placing his hands on the surface, he breathes heavily. “We can’t go to the press with this. We can’t do anything to let the public know she’s missing. It’ll bring a fucking war on us. Someone could see her and then grab her before we even find her.” His eyes dare me to argue. I don’t. “By the time we find her body, it’ll be too late.”
He’s right. We can’t trust anyone outside this room. “I’m going to find her,” I say calmly, finally breaking my silence. But what no one knows is that I’m the biggest threat she’s got right now.
BLAKELY
“YOU MAY KISS your bride.”
Out of everything I’ve done since I ran into Ryat in the hall of Barrington, those are the most terrifying words I’ve heard.
Kiss? The thought just hit me like a brick to the face. The blow almost knocking me out of my heels. We haven’t kissed on the lips once yet. I honestly didn’t even think of it. That this had to happen.
He steps into me, his right hand cups my cheek, his eyes drop to my parted lips and I suck in a deep breath when his chest presses up against mine.
I tilt my head up to look at him. My heart hammers and beads of sweat form on the back of my neck. Why am I so nervous? I’ve kissed a boy before. Hell, I’ve even kissed Sarah before. But Ryat? Kiss my now husband sounds too intimate-forbidden.
But I can’t stop it. It has to be done-it’s a tradition to bless the marriage. Pressing his lips to mine, my eyes fall closed just as my lips part. His touch is tender, his lips almost needy. I open up for him, giving the last thing that I have to offer him and my body molds into his when his free arm wraps around my waist, holding me tightly.
His tongue enters my mouth, gently meeting mine and I moan into his mouth, wanting more. Needing that aggression that he always has. My hands slide up his back, gripping a hold of his button-up and I cling to him. Needing him closer.
But he pulls away, and I open my heavy eyes, disappointment coursing through me that I hadn’t done that before now.
His eyes are already on mine and he licks his lips as if he needed one more taste of me. His hand cupping my face moves to run his knuckles down over my cheek when he whispers, “Now you’re mine forever, Mrs. Archer.”
“Miss?”
“What?” I blink, trying to get that memory of our wedding day out of my mind. It’s been on replay ever since I left him.
“Can I get a Bud Light?” the man calls out, raising his hand to me from his table.
I nod. “Of course. Anything else?” Get your shit together, Blakely! There was a reason you left him.
He gives me a soft smile, his amber-colored eyes dropping to my tight booty shorts. “A shot of you.”
Cute! After giving him a fake laugh like his joke was funny, I turn and head to the bar to grab his order.
“You just got a new table,” Janett, the bartender and owner, nods behind me.
Looking over my shoulder, I see three men sit down. “I need a Bud Light,” I tell her, and she pops one open for me. Placing it on my tray, I give it to the man and then go over to my new table. “What can I get for you guys?” I ask, holding my round tray up against my right hip.
This is my life now. A server at a dive bar in the middle of fucking nowhere. I’ve been gone for three weeks. No phone, no car, no access to the outside world other than who I see in here, which is exactly how I want it. I don’t know just how much the Lords reach goes when it comes to the police or the feds.
But Ryat still lives in my head, and I hate it.
I left everything when I ran out of the house of Lords. I knew I wouldn’t be returning. In order to escape, I need a new life. I had some cash saved, but I wasn’t able to run back to my apartment and grab it, so until I could get some saved up again, I needed a job that was going to fly under the radar.
I applied, and Janett hired me on the spot. I think she knew by my white satin dress and smeared makeup that I was running from someone. And, of course, the fact I had no contact number or ID. She helped me out. I owe her for that.
“I’ll have a Corona,” one of the guys calls out over the music. The second one nods. “Yeah, that sounds good. Make it two.” The third guy puts the menu down and looks up at me. His dark blue eyes drop to my white crop top. It fits extra tight, pulling across the black bra I wear underneath-classy, I know.
I’ve dyed my hair black with a cheap box from the dollar store just down the road. I was trying to think of a million things I could do to change my appearance in case my picture or name was plastered all over the news. But to my surprise, that hasn’t happened.
Every day I’m gone, I feel more on edge. Like my time is running out. I don’t plan on staying here much longer. I know I need to keep moving in order to avoid my past. I already feel like I’m being watched. But I keep telling myself that’s crazy. If Ryat was here and knew where I was, he’d make himself known. He doesn’t have enough patience to hide in the shadows and watch me.