Chapter Eight
Something had woken her up. It was still dark outside, and behind her, Darryn was still asleep, breathing deeply.
Her cell phone was lit up. She was used to getting messages at all hours of the day; it was probably Karen.
Carefully, Hannah lifted Darryn’s arm that was holding her against him and slipped from the bed.
She had to go to the bathroom anyway and would see what Karen wanted.
In the bathroom, she washed her face and stared at herself in the mirror—she looked thoroughly loved.
Groaning, she dried her face. She shouldn’t be awake.
They’d hardly slept. She blushed and put her hands to her flaming face.
Wow, the man had moves and then some. When she remembered all the things she’d done to him, what he’d done to her, her pulse picked up and she had difficulty breathing.
Phone. That was why she was here. She had to check her messages. She clicked on her phone and the text message jumped out at her. Her legs gave way, and she sank to the floor. No, no, no! Grabbing her mouth to prevent a sob escaping, she put her head on her knees.
The message was from Stephen White.
Although his name didn’t appear anywhere, she knew it was from him.
So you think having your family around you and a Cavallo in your bed will keep me away? GET RID OF THE SECURITY GUARD AND GET AWAY FROM CAVALLO OR I WILL KILL HIM!!!
And below the horrible words were two pictures—one from the four of them when they were having dinner and one of Darryn on her bed. She hadn’t closed the windows, she remembered.
Hannah lifted her head and wiped her cheeks.
This was never going to be over; he was never going to stop, and there wasn’t anyone who could do anything about it.
The only way she could protect those near and dear to her was to do what she’d been doing—keep as far away from them as possible.
But this time, she would have to disappear as well. At least for a while.
For a minute, she considered telling Darryn about the threat.
Maybe she could persuade him to disappear with her, maybe they could…
With a sob, her face fell into her hands.
Darryn would never back away from someone like Stephen White, and if anything happened to him, it would kill her.
This was something she would have to do on her own.
Her mind made up, she got up unsteadily while her brain worked overtime. She’d phone Karen when she was on the move. Before the others woke up, she’d have to be gone. None of them would back away if she were to tell them about Stephen’s message, and she needed to know they’d be safe.
She grabbed her toiletries bag. This was all that she would take with her.
Whatever else she needed, she could buy or get from her apartment in Cape Town.
Her handbag with her passport and cards was on her dressing table.
If her luck held, Darryn wouldn’t wake up.
Her phone. She’d have to get rid of that.
But first she’d send everyone a message.
It would be easy enough to get a new phone at the airport and hopefully it would take a while before Stephen had the new number.
Nobody had to be able find her.
And the security guard? She’d have to think of something quickly.
*
Darryn opened his eyes and he knew—Hannah was gone. The sun was up; a light breeze blew in from the open window. He looked around. Everything looked the same as it did last night, not that he could remember much, he only had eyes for Hannah. But she wasn’t there.
An emptiness filled his being. His phone bleeped. Grabbing it, he sat up. For a long time he simply stared at the message. A sharp knife went right through his side, pierced his heart and left it bleeding. Hannah had indeed left.
Forget about last night, it shouldn’t have happened, she wrote. She was fine; she needed to be alone. He had to get on with his life and forget about her. He reread her words three more times, but the message stayed the same—she had left, she didn’t want to be with him.
Swearing, he grabbed his jeans and, jumping around, finally got them on. A look inside her closets told him she hadn’t taken anything with her.
For a minute, he leaned against the wall, his heart breaking into a million little pieces.
This time the hurt cut deeper. After last night, he’d thought she’d trusted him.
Hadn’t she told him she loved him? And hadn’t he told her the same thing?
Added foolishly that his heart was hers?
But she’d left, so last night obviously meant nothing to her.
Still stunned, he opened the door and walked into the corridor. Caitlin was standing right outside the bedroom in which she and Don had slept, looking dazed.
“Did you get a message from Hannah?” she whispered through dry lips.
“Yep,” he said, walking past her to the room in which he should have stayed last night.
But Caitlin grabbed his arm and stopped him. “What did she say?” she asked anxiously.
He barked out a laugh. “That last night was a mistake, she’s leaving, I have to get on with my life.
” He made a big deal of looking at his phone again.
“That’s it, more or less. That’s what she wants, and I, for one, am quite happy to give her exactly what she is asking for.
I’m leaving as soon as the plane is ready.
Let me know if you and Don want to go with me. ”
Caitlin stared at him for a few minutes. “In her message to me she said she ‘has’ to go. I’m sure Stephen White is behind this and—”
“We’re here, there is a security guard at the front door, this is the safest place for her!
” He pushed his fingers through his hair and then dropped his hand to his side, feeling deflated.
“She told me she loved me,” he said softly.
“And bloody fool that I was, I told her the same. This…running away, sending me a damn text message, telling me to get on with my life after last night, I…” He struggled to breathe and inhaled deeply.
“I should’ve stayed the hell away from her. ”
He turned his back to Caitlin and stepped into his room, closing the door behind him. He had to call to make sure the plane was ready; he wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Ten minutes later, he walked into the kitchen, his bag in his hand.
“You’re really leaving?” Caitlin asked coldly.
“What the hell do you want from me?” he nearly yelled.
His heart had splintered into a million pieces—what else was he supposed to do?
“I want you to be there for her, you idiot! I want you to stop thinking about Darryn Cavallo for one minute and to think why Hannah is gone. It’s not something she would do. And if you really loved her, you would know that.”
Don gave him a cool look and took his wife into his arms. “You’ve upset my wife,” he said, his eyes chips of ice.
“I—” Darryn rubbed his face. “I’m leaving. Are you coming with me?”
“No, we’re staying another day. Just in case.
Caitlin has been on the phone, trying to find out whether anyone else knows something about Hannah.
Her agent also received a message from Hannah saying she’ll get in touch with her soon.
” Don grimaced. “And she duped the security guy into checking the dining room window while she slipped away. So he also doesn’t know anything about her movements. ”
Darryn wanted to explode. “Bloody hell! We’ve put our lives on hold to rush to her side and she does a disappearing act after one day? I’m out of here!”
Caitlin stepped out of Don’s arms. “Something isn’t right. Hannah would never do something like this. I still think something must have happened and that Stephen White has a hand in the whole thing.”
“Whatever. I’ve called the airport. I’m leaving. See you back home,” he snarled and stormed out of Hannah’s flat.
Images of the night they spent together clouded his mind, driving him insane.
She had been a willing and enthusiastic lover—they couldn’t get enough of each other.
He’d fallen asleep once or twice only to be woken by butterfly kisses over his face and body, and that was all it took to rekindle the fire that had nearly consumed them.
He had explored and loved every centimeter of her body, leaving them both satisfied time after time. Hell, he thought they would pick up where they left off, when they finally fell asleep. But she had slipped away while he was sleeping, without saying a word.
This only reminded him of his rule—never sleep over. It was a rule he’d broken only twice in his life, and both times it was because of Hannah Sutherland.
Well, he was done with her for good. His heart simply wouldn’t be able to take another blow.
He tried to hold on to his anger and his hurt all through the eleven-hour flight home. Sleep was impossible, he couldn’t eat, and his stomach was tied up in knots. He downed a beer, paced the small aircraft.
And somewhere over Africa, his brain started functioning again, and he was able to think.
Caitlin’s words kept bothering him—it wasn’t something Hannah would do. And if he really loved her, he would know that. Again, he saw Hannah’s sleek, sexy body rising above him, teasing him, driving him slowly insane until he became a part of her.
Was it possible he had it wrong? But where the hell was Hannah? Why had she left so abruptly? Had something happened? Why the hell didn’t she tell him about it? Worry clawed at his insides and, frustrated and feeling powerless, he eventually sat down in a chair.
Rubbing his face, he tried to think. Had he said or done something that could have her had her running away?
Surely after last night, she had to know how he felt about her.
He’d loved her the whole night long—with his body, with his soul, with his very being—and she had been with him every step of the way. So what the hell spooked her?
He rubbed his chest. Breathing was difficult. Hell, he never knew missing someone could cause a physical pain, but that was what he was experiencing.
*
Hannah had ditched her normal smart, casual look for jeans and running shoes and had bundled her hair in a cap.
The biggest pair of sunglasses she could find covered most of her face.
This wouldn’t stop Stephen from recognizing her, but hopefully she could reach South Africa before he realized she was gone.
As she walked toward the plane, she looked surreptitiously around her, but there was no sign of the telltale prickling on the back of her neck that always warned her when Stephen was around, and she was praying she would be able to get on the plane without anybody finding out.
She’d been racking her brain trying to think of a place where she could hide when she found a brochure in her handbag about Jacobsbaai, a tiny village on the west coast of the Western Cape in South Africa.
She had been there for a shoot about a year ago and had fallen in love with the quiet, pretty little village with its whitewashed houses, dirt roads, and cobalt blue sea.
Somewhere close to the sea, that was where she wanted to be. She had been away from a beach and the ocean for far too long.
A phone call later, she’d booked the holiday house she’d stayed in before.
It was a big house, and although it was possible for her to rent only the loft part of the house, she wanted to be alone and had taken the whole place.
She had to think, had to make a plan to make sure Stephen didn’t hurt those she loved.
Nobody could know she was back in South Africa, even though everything inside of her urged her to phone her mother.
Darryn would find out and she wanted to make sure he stayed as far away from her as possible.
Just the possibility that something could happen to him because of her had her breaking out in a cold sweat.
She rented a car at the airport to drive to Jacobsbaai so she wouldn’t have to use her own car.
Stephen was bound to know her license plate…
he seemed to know everything. She’d also taken all the cash from the safe in her flat in Paris.
Credit cards could be traced and Stephen seemed to know exactly what she was doing every minute of every day.