Chapter Thirteen. #2
“If not for Stone’s criminal connections, I might not have been kidnapped, terrorised, and forced to work for someone illegally.
And that same man wouldn’t have come near me yesterday with a bribe to keep quiet.
Take your holier-than-thou attitude, Briar, and shove it.
” With that, I stormed out and headed for Teagan.
When I spotted her, she was all over Smokey again, who’d arrived.
I rolled my eyes, said I was leaving, and left. Fuck tonight! It had totally backfired.
◆◆◆
The next day, dark thoughts kept torturing me.
I’d intended to make Stone jealous last night, but instead I’d been the envious one.
The jealousy was uncontrollable, and I realised that.
If I hadn’t been so insecure and foolish, I’d have approached Stone at lunch, and he’d have introduced Briar.
Salisbury wouldn’t then have found me alone.
That was on me, not Stone. But I had come to Salisbury’s attention because of the connection with Stone; there was no denying that.
In two days, I returned to work, but I needed to escape these depressing thoughts before then. Dressing quickly and slipping my feet into my boots, I headed downstairs. Clara glanced over and nodded.
“Your stuff is in the garage, darling. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
Grabbing a picnic basket and cooler, I smiled. I was going hunting; it was my go-to when I needed to clear my brain. Packing up food, I carried the cool box to the garage to pack the car. The peace of the Black Hills was required.
Once there and breathing in the fresh air as I made camp, I could figure out my thoughts.
Insecurity led to jealousy, which was a bitter pill to swallow.
Those two emotions were my problem. Learning to control them and wrestle them back under control was a huge issue.
It wasn’t as if I had other dating experiences to fall back on and draw confidence from. Stone had been my one and only.
Somehow, I had to wrangle my issues, or there wouldn’t be a Stone and April. Stone wouldn’t allow my emotional issues to rule a relationship. And that wasn’t healthy, anyway. Turning my gaze towards the tree, I picked up my rifle and headed out.
Harlequin
What was Margrave doing out here? I wondered as I gazed around the immediate area. The tracker led to an empty warehouse where the homeless had clearly once lived. Maybe they still did, but there was no sign of anyone now. Nothing stood out, so why come here? Was the fucker messing with me?
Margrave wasn’t stupid. He’d guessed I was suspicious.
I’d handed over the discrepancies in his statement to Lio, who said he’d investigate.
Stubbornly, I kept searching the warehouse and discovered nothing.
Three hours had been wasted, but at least I knew Julie wasn’t here.
Julie was somewhere, and I wanted to believe she was alive, but the likelihood of that was low.
I sighed as I walked back out and stared at the sky.
If Julie were alive, I didn’t want to imagine what the teenager was suffering.
Human trafficking was the most likely possibility, and many never recovered from their time in captivity.
Julie was perfect for a trafficker: beautiful face, dark skin, slim with the rounded, juicy booty African American women boasted. She was a pervert’s wet dream.
One way or another, I’d find her, no matter how long it took. I wouldn’t give up. I hit my bike and rode away. Margrave was playing games. Well, he wasn’t the only one capable of mind fucks, I was a master.
◆◆◆
“Nothing?” Slaughter asked.
“Nope. False lead. Fucker’s toying with us.”
“What’s the plan?”
“I’m upping the pressure, might rope some of the others as well,” I replied.
Slaughter grinned. “Let me know. If you think Margrave’s the type to cave, then we’ll force the issue.”
“I’d love to give the sleazebag a beatdown, but I don’t think that will work. He’s the type to spit in our faces and send us off on false trails.”
“Keep me updated. If the girl’s out there, she’s relying on us finding her.”
“I know.”
Slaughter nodded and waved me from his office.
I headed back to my own and logged onto my laptop. Quickly, I checked where Margrave’s vehicle was, and it was stationary at his house. On a whim, I clicked on the hidden cameras I’d placed.
“Fuck!” I roared and hit my desk. The car was gone.
Margrave had discovered the tracker. Which meant he was onto me.
Margrave was playing games with the wrong man.
As I watched, Margrave pulled up and parked.
Without a glance at the camera, he headed inside, and I got to my feet. Time to up the pressure.
As I walked around the rear of the building, I heard footsteps and turned. To my surprise, April stood there.
“Don’t have time for your bullshit,” I snapped.
“I came to apologise.” April scuffed her boot, and I noticed she was dressed for hunting. I wondered if she was returning or heading out.
“April, I’m too busy for a fight.”
“Stone, honestly, I’m not here to fight; I’m here to talk.”
“You can talk while I drive.”
“That’s fine,” April said, falling into step with me. She seemed different somehow, but I wasn’t prepared to open myself up. I admitted my mistakes and owned them, but I wasn’t going to let April lead me around by my dick.
April owed me an apology this time.
April
Stone was fuming. I knew him inside out.
Honestly, Stone hadn’t changed that much.
Something was bothering him, and while angry at me, he was absolutely livid at someone else.
Anxiously, I got in the passenger side and let Stone drive out of the car park in silence.
As soon as he hit the road, I turned to him.
“We’re going back to that man’s house?”
“Margrave,” Stone gritted out.
“You’ve new evidence? You found Julie?” I asked, hope in my voice. Stone’s expression softened a little.
“No. But that asshole’s been playing games. He’s found the tracker and has been leaving it behind when he leaves. Worse, Margrave’s been driving to random places to make me chase my fuckin’ tail. This ain’t a game when a teen’s life is on the line.”
“I agree.”
We sat in silence, and I felt awkward. I didn’t know where to start with my apology. “Stone, I’m sorry.”
“Sorry’s just a word, remember?” Stone bit out.
I flinched. I’d said that before.
“Yup, I know, but I regret acting as I did. Old memories overwhelmed me and mixed with jealousy; it wasn’t healthy. Briar’s turned into a stunning woman, barely recognisable, and I was jealous. Old insecurities won out instead of being an adult.”
“Not disagreeing.”
“Will you forgive me?” The words fell into a loaded silence. Stone was thinking things through. That didn’t bode well. Tension mounted in my spine, and I wanted to snap.
“Say something,” I finally pleaded, biting hard on my control.
“Like what, April? I explained why I did what I did. Those were the actions of an immature, inexperienced kid who didn’t want to drag his girlfriend down with him.
Back then, you were my world. Being tied to a jailbird wasn’t a situation I wanted for you.
Sure, I could have done things differently, but I was scared, lonely, and panicked.
I fucked up. You got badly hurt, but out of that came your fuckin’ amazing career. That I don’t regret.”
“I don’t either.”
“But I won’t walk through life on tiptoes, waiting for the hammer to drop.
If I have to be constantly on guard in case a woman talks to me or smiles at me, that ain’t living.
When I say I’m with someone, I don’t cheat, and I never cheated on you, no matter what you think.
We’d broken up before I pulled that stunt with Chelsea. And again, that was for two reasons.
“First, Chelsea was a shit friend. She constantly flirted behind your back and made disparaging remarks about you. Before I left, I needed to prove how poisonous Chelsea actually was. That I succeeded in doing. The second was to ensure you stayed away and weren’t labelled as a ‘jailbird’s woman’.
You might not like it, but I acted on your behalf,” Stone ground out.
“I know you did. Please, can we try again?”
“I don’t know. Frankly, April, I don’t think I can handle being judged all the time and having to walk on eggshells.
I get that I did a number on you and your self-confidence, and I understand I’ve got a lot of work to do building you back up.
But this shit, this petty jealousy? Nah, I don’t have the energy to deal with that. ”