What the hell is wrong with me, never once considering what this means for him if it is true? All I’ve been worried about is my selfish self.
I roll him over and take him into my arms to hold him, his head nestled into my neck.
He’s distraught, and rightfully so.
“It’s okay, baby,” I whisper as I hold him tight. “Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together.” I kiss his temple, “I promise you. It will be okay.”
He stares straight ahead with a cold detachment, and I kiss his neck. I slide my hand lower. We haven’t made love for so long. Perhaps, if we did….
“Don’t,” he murmurs.
“Okay,” I whisper.
He’s too sad, even for sex.
I kiss his forehead as I hold him close. “Go to sleep, Seb. Tomorrow’s a new day. It’s going to be okay.”
I wake with a strange sensation. It’s dawn, and the other side of the bed is empty.
I sit up instantly, my senses on high alert.
I make my way downstairs, where I can hear a muffled voice coming from Sebastian’s study. I creep down the hall to listen.
“Yes,” he says. “That’s right, the arrest warrant has been withdrawn.”
Helena.
My heart begins to beat hard. Why did he have that removed?
Nobody is looking for her.
“You know what to do,” he says calmly.
My eyes widen.
I push the door open in a rush, and he steps back, shocked to see me. He’s fully dressed in his suit, ready for work.
“What are you doing?” he asks sharply.
I stare at him, confused. “What are you doing?”
He marches down the hall. His overnight bag is packed by the front door.
“W-where are you going?” I stammer as I run after him.
“I have to go away for work for a few days.”
Panic surrounds me. “Where to?”
“Winchester.”
Gone is the upset man of last night. This man is cold and calculating.
Determined.
This doesn’t feel right. Something’s going on here.
“I’ll come,” I tell him.
“No, I don’t have time to wait for you to get ready. I have a breakfast meeting. I’ll call you as soon as I get there.” He kisses me softly and brushes the hair back from my face. “I love you.”
I stare at him, fear infiltrating my system.
“Seb.” I hold his hands in front of me. “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid,” I plead.
“I’m going.” He tries to pull away from me.
I hold his hands tighter in mine. “Sebastian.” My eyes search his. “What are going to do?”
“What needs to be done.”
My heartbeat thumps hard in my chest.
Helena’s in danger.
34
April
“W-what does that mean?” I stammer.
“Nothing. I’m going to work. You should, too.” He turns and heads out of the door.
“Seb.”
He turns back.
I open my mouth to say something, but I stop myself. I don’t want this to come out nastily. “Promise me that you won’t do anything… I.” I search for the right words. “Illegal.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Are we going to fight again?”
“No.” I shrug. “I’m just worried about you making a bad decision out of anger.”
“Like what?”
I widen my eyes. I don’t want to say it out loud.
He rolls his eyes. “If I did kill her, she had it coming.” He turns and walks down the steps.
What does that mean?
“That means no, right?” I call.
He gives a subtle shake of his head, and I have no idea if he’s disgusted in me for assuming that’s the plan, or if he’s impressed that I can foresee it.
“Promise me!” I call. “Seb, I mean it.”
He exhales heavily and gets into the back of the waiting car. I watch it drive away, while my mind goes into overdrive.
Right, the gig is up, bitch.
Today, I am busting your lying ass if it’s the last thing I do.
That’s if Sebastian doesn’t have you killed beforehand. And I kind of have to agree with him. You really do have it coming.
I smile and wave as Sebastian’s car pulls out and drives off, and then I run inside and call Jeremy.
“Hey, babe.”
“Oh, my fucking God, Jez. Everything is turning to shit. Can you meet me for breakfast? I need a crisis meeting.”
“Okay, usual place in forty minutes?”
“Yep, see you there.”
An hour later, Jeremy and I are eating breakfast, and I run my hands through my hair.
“This situation is spiraling out of control,” I say quietly. “We can’t find her. We have no confirmation if the baby is his or not, or if there even is a baby, and now he’s retracted the blackmailing charges against her when I know for certain that he is going out of his head with worry.”
“Why would he do that?” Jeremy asks. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t know. It’s fucking strange.”
“It is.” He thinks for a moment. “What does your gut tell you about all this?”
I exhale heavily. “That the baby isn’t his and this is just another attempt from Helena to get more money and upset him.”
“Okay, let’s go back. What are the facts? What makes her story seem plausible?”
“Well, on that night Sebastian called her, there was an eight-minute call from his phone to hers on his register. Then, when he woke up, he didn’t remember anything, but there was a bottle of champagne as well as two wine glasses on the table. And the bed sheets…”
“What about the bedsheets?”
“Sebastian said that, at the time, he thought it was just the smell of strong laundry powder.”
Jeremy rolls his eyes.
“Don’t.” I put my head into my hands. “I know how this sounds.”
“It sounds like he called her for a booty call.”
I think on that for a moment.
“But he wouldn’t have.” I frown with renewed determination. “They broke up because their sex life was shit. He wouldn’t have called her for sex, I know that for certain. If he wanted sexual satisfaction, he would have ordered prostitutes. He has a thing for them.”
Jeremy gives a subtle shake of his head, disgusted. He’s still traumatized about the possibility that Bart slept with two.
My mind begins to race at a million miles per hour.
The more I think about it, the more this story just doesn’t add up.
“I mean, she tried to blackmail him with video footage but why would she go to all that trouble if she was already pregnant, you know?” I say.
“Yeah, you’re right. A baby is the ultimate blackmail tool. It’s not something you throw in when you don’t get the cash handed over.”
“True!” I cry, “That’s so true. Why would you try and blackmail the father of the baby you were carrying?”
“So, maybe she did set him up, which means Bart is an actual fucking scuzbucket,” Jeremy agrees.
I widen my eyes and I want to say, I know that for sure, but I won’t. “How would she have set him up, though?”
He thinks for a moment. “She had the drinks spiked, got him to his room, had him open his phone, and she called her own number from his phone.”
“Yes,” I whisper. “She could have done that, couldn’t she? I hadn’t even thought of that.”
“She could have left all the evidence to make him think that he did it.”
“But surely…” My heart drops. “Surely she would know that we would find out who the father is as soon as the baby is born.” My shoulders slump. “What if it is his baby? What if this is all some grand plan to tie Sebastian to her for life?”
“It could be.” Jeremy sighs, and we stare at each other for a while. “If we just had the security footage of that night at the hotel. I know Bart asked the hotel for it, but they said there wasn’t any.”
I frown. “There has to be some. It’s a five-star hotel. It’s the law.” An idea comes to mind and my eyes rise to Jeremy. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Jez, but what if Bart didn’t want the footage to come out? What if he never even asked for it?”