Chapter Eighteen
SAINT
The victory of having my dad sign the papers doesn’t feel as good as I thought it would.
That’s because she isn’t here to celebrate with us.
I did as she said and asked him about his will.
To my surprise he told me he had left everything to me and not my little brother.
Chester lost the fucking plot hearing that, but upon him explaining, I got it.
I built something out of nothing and became someone he could respect.
I showed him I wouldn’t squander his empire, I would build on it and make it into something he would be proud of.
Our relationship will never be the same and I told him as much, money doesn’t change the past.
I told him I wouldn’t be coming home for the holidays, and the next time I would see him would be when he’s in a box, then walked out of there feeling fucking lighter but not fulfilled.
I’m empty inside and I hate it. When we arrive back at our office, a part of me is hoping that we’ll see Holly, but when we enter the office and see her desk empty my stomach sinks.
“She’s really gone,” I mutter.
Chris claps me on the shoulder. “We’ll figure it out.”
I whirl around and glare at him. “How? We fucked up by lying to her and using her, just like Chester tried to do. Look how fucking well that ended for him! We did what you said and stayed away for the week to give her space after she broke down and all it did was cost us her!” I stab a hand through my hair and tug on the strands, we had her right in our grasp and then we fucked it all up.
“How the fuck did she know?” Nick wonders aloud. I pause and mull over his words, I’m trying to think if we said anything or did she notice Chris’s tats, but that wouldn’t explain how she knew everything else.
“The drive!” Chris blurts after minutes of silence. My and Nick’s expressions mirror each other’s.
“How did she get access to our drives?” I ask. Nick darts across the room to his computer and punches in his password, then brings up the drive the three of us share and checks the recent activity in the snowflake folder.
Wednesday two-thirty-two p.m.
“Fuck,” I breathe out.
“She has our passwords. She must have needed something and then logged on and found the file,” Chris says.
I nod my agreement as Nick begins to scroll through the folder. “Stop!” I snap when I see a video in there I have never seen before. “What’s that?” I ask as I point to it. He clicks on it and pushes play. Holly’s face fills the screen and the look of betrayal in her eyes cuts me to my fucking core.
If you’re watching this, then you figured out how I know your dirty little secret.
The pain that laces her words makes me feel like a piece of shit.
I see the hurt in her eyes and it fucking kills me to know we are the reason for that look.
I guess I don’t understand why you didn’t just tell me the truth.
Why all the lies?
You hired me because you knew I was dating Chester. You never thought I was good enough for the role. You tricked me into thinking you guys cared about me. You used me in the hopes I would be what you needed to bring Saint’s brother and father down.
If you three had just told me from the start, I would have helped you. Instead you chose to believe the worst of me, thinking I would turn my back on Saint’s cause.
Did you all laugh at me when you would go each night, thinking about how funny it was to fuck me and then face me every day at work?
You stalking me and wearing the masks isn’t even the part that hurts.
I mean, I may not have known who you were but now that I do, part of me is happy that my dream came true and I got to know what each of you tasted like.
I don’t wonder how your skin feels or what it would be like to be at your mercy, because I got to experience it.
The part I can’t get over is how you were going to use me.
That’s the part that fucking hurts the most. In case it wasn’t clear, I quit.
I cleared my desk out and Sharon will help you until you can find a new assistant.
Don’t bother trying to come to my apartment, I’ve already booked my flight and I don’t plan on coming back for a long time.
I loved working with the three of you. Saint, you could always make me laugh and brighten any room you walked into.
Chris, the way you listen to every word out of my mouth and pay close attention to my likes and dislikes is something I have never experienced before.
Nick, we worked together for months and formed a bond like no other, you were there when I needed you the most and that will always mean something to me.
The three of you each gave me something I didn’t know was missing from my life but it's all ruined because of your lies.
Tears shine in her eyes but she’s too prideful to allow them to fall not wanting to allow us to see how deep her pain is. You can hear it in her tone how she is latching onto her anger so she doesn’t have to deal with the heartache we have caused her.
When the video cuts out, we all just stand here silently staring at Nick’s screen.
My chest caves in and pain explodes inside me.
I fucking love Chris more than anything.
I love Nick as well. I may be dating his twin, but I love him just the same as his brother, but somewhere along the way I fell in love with someone else and judging by their reactions, they fell for her too.
Now we’re left here with nothing but the ghost of her memory.
Nick’s the first to snap out of it. He pulls his phone out, then punches in a number and places it on speaker, then drops it on his desk before he starts typing on his computer.
“Nick?” the man on the other end says when he answers.
“Victor, I need a favor,” Nick says curtly.
“What do you need?”
“I need you to find out what flight Holly Noelle is on, then send me the details.” Chris and I glance at each other in shock, not knowing who the fuck this Victor is.
“Yeah, I’ll get on to it, but Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“This is the last one for a while. I’m going off grid.”
“Everything okay?” Nick asks.
“Yeah, just got a girl to hunt down,” he says, then ends the call.
“Who the fuck was that?” I ask.
Nick peers back at me over his shoulder. “Victor is the president of the biggest MC in the state.” My brows hit my hairline.
“How the fuck do you know him?” Chris presses.
Nick shrugs. “He wanted investment advice, and a year ago I helped him invest his money and tripled his ROI in three months. We’ve been friends ever since.”
“You didn't think to mention to your buddies that you’re friends with a biker gang president?” I snap.
Nick waves me off. “He’s a good guy. Single dad, two sons and trying to build something for them. That’s it. Now, as soon as he gets me her flight information, we’re going.”
I jerk in surprise. “What if it’s too late?” Chris asks, the longing in his tone proves me right, they are in love with her.
“Then at least we know where she is, then we go there and find her ass.”