Chapter Nine
When Darryn got off the plane in Cape Town late that evening, his two other brothers were waiting for him.
Damn it to hell and back. He had a hole inside him the size of the wide open spaces of the Great Karoo, his head wanted to explode trying to figure out where the hell Hannah could be, and now he had to face the inquisition!
He glared at them as he walked closer. “What are you doing here?”
“We have news,” David said. “But let’s get to Rosa’s; everyone else is there guarding the phone.”
“I’m not interested in any news, thank you. I’m going home.” He grunted, trying to walk around them.
David grabbed his arm. “Will you stop being an ass and come with us?” his normally mild brother barked out.
“You’re upset, we all are. Hannah is one of us and she’s in trouble,” Dale added. “Let’s go.”
Seething with resentment, frustration, and anger, Darryn followed them. He wanted to punch something, and his brothers looked like good targets at the moment.
“I’m sick with worry, don’t you get it? Why the hell did she leave without saying anything to me? When I heard she was in danger, I flew over a bloody continent to get to her, and what does she do? She bolts. Damnit, what am I supposed to think?” he spat out.
Dale slapped him on the back. “Maybe you should start your sentences with Hannah and not ‘I’—might help you lose those blinders you have on.”
Darryn ground his teeth as they neared David’s car.
“I have my own car here,” he mumbled.
“You go with David, I’ll drive your car,” Dale said. He held out his hand “Keys.”
“I can drive my own damn car!” Darryn said as he took out his keys.
“Get in and shut up.” David growled. “Save your breath for later—you have to explain to her sisters and mother why you couldn’t wait to leave Paris.”
“I—” Darryn began hotly.
Dale grabbed his keys. “There’s that ‘I’ again,” he said mildly. “Where is your car?”
“That’s right,” Darryn said, “because I’m the one—”
“Where did you park your car?” Dale asked again.
“I—”
“Tell Dale and get in the damn car. We’re wasting time,” David snarled and started the car.
Cussing, Darryn got in. Bloody hell, nobody seemed to be interested in how he was feeling. He wasn’t the one who walked away!
It was quiet in the car all the way to his mother’s restaurant. When David stopped the car, Dale parked right behind him, and the two of them got out of the cars without a word and walked to the front door, leaving Darryn still sitting in the car.
Before he even opened the car door, they’d disappeared inside.
Reluctantly, he got out and closed the car door behind him. The last thing he wanted to do at this point was to talk to his family, but it seemed he had no choice in the matter.
As he started toward the restaurant, Brenda, Hannah’s mom, appeared in the doorway. Her eyes were red; it was clear she had been crying. And just like that, the last of his anger faded.
Hannah’s mother rushed to his side. “I know you’re angry with Hannah, but please come in and listen, we’ve heard something, and we’re trying to figure out what it means,” she said, her eyes glistening with tears, her lip quivering.
He hugged her. Damn, he couldn’t stand anyone crying.
“I’ll listen,” he said after clearing his throat.
Everyone was waiting inside. It was late; the waiters were cleaning the last of the tables.
His mother was the only one with a welcoming smile. “Sweetheart,” she crooned and hugged him.
She stared up into his face for long minutes. “You love Hannah. We all know that.”
Surprised, he took a step back. “How did you know? Oh, Don probably told you.”
His mother smiled. “It has been so obvious to all of us how you feel about her. We were only waiting for you to acknowledge it.”
Brenda clapped her hands and smiled through her tears. Darryn grimaced. Hannah’s mother was always looking for the next real-life love story.
“I knew it! And Hannah loves you?” she asked breathlessly.
“That’s what she said, but then she—” Darryn began, but Brenda stopped him with a touch on his arm.
“Hannah never stops talking about you. Of course, she never says anything nice, but that’s what alerted me to the fact she has feelings for you. And, Darryn, she has never told any man that.”
His mother touched his face. “And you’re hurting because she left you. I understand that. But—”
Zoe stormed forward, interrupting his mother, and punched him on the shoulder. “But if you love her, you should know she would never walk away without a good reason!”
He rubbed his shoulder. Damn, the woman packed quite a punch. He looked up to see Dale’s eyes twinkling. His brother was obviously pleased his wife had managed to do something he had probably been thinking about doing as well.
Dana moved toward him with purposeful strides, and he backed up a few steps, holding up his hands. “Okay!” he called out. “Sheez! I’m here. I’ll listen to your news but don’t expect me to be happy about it,” he snarled.
Dana pressed a finger against his shoulder. “You’re an idiot. We all love you, but I don’t much like you at this point,” she said coldly before turning back into David’s arms.
His dad slapped him on the back. Hard.
Wincing, he turned around.
“Damnit, stop slapping me. I’m hurt badly enough. I get it! You’re all mad at me because I left Hannah’s flat. But, damnit, why the hell did she leave? We spent the whole night together. I told her I love her, but when I opened my eyes, she was gone. What the hell else was I supposed to do?”
“Trust her and find out why she left,” his dad said succinctly and put his hand on his shoulder.
“Sit down and listen. Don phoned about an hour ago. Because he didn’t run away like some people,” he said nearly crushing Darryn’s shoulder, “he has been able to pull a few strings, call in favors, and had people scouring airports in all the major cities in France and the neighboring countries. As a result, we now know that Hannah boarded a plane from Paris to Cape Town, and Stephen White got on a plane heading for Cape Town from Brussels. Don and Caitlin are also on their way.”
Stunned, Darryn stared at his father. It took him a few minutes to digest his dad’s words. He shook his head. Did that mean…? Thousands of chaotic thoughts bounced around in his head—what if? Is it possible? But why would… And then he finally realized what his dad’s words implied.
“She’s here, in South Africa, and he found out and followed her,” he whispered through dry lips. “But why didn’t she say anything?”
“For the same reason she missed most of our family gatherings over the last few months,” David said and pulled Zoe closer. “The same reason she hasn’t been back home, or hardly made any contact with her sisters—because…” He paused dramatically, holding his one hand in the air.
“She’s worried he may hurt someone else,” Darryn finished his sentence.
Everyone else started talking. Darryn fell back against the chair. The roaring in his ears made it difficult to assimilate what he’d just heard. But finally, all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, and he jumped up.
“I’m going to wring her bloody neck,” he vowed fervently. “What the hell was she thinking?”
“What she’s always thinking about—other people. She’ll do anything to make sure no one else gets hurt. My Hannah is a caretaker, a nurturer—she simply can’t help the way she reacts,” Brenda said softly.
“So where is she?” Darryn asked and looked around the room.
Zoe shook her head. “We’ve been racking our brains, but I don’t know!
She’s not answering her phone; we knocked on the door of her apartment in Sea Point, Cape Town, but no one answered.
Caitlin has a key, so we’ll take a look when she arrives.
Hannah didn’t contact any of us, not even Mom, and that is so not her!
She must be frightened out of her mind,” she ended on a sob. Dale pulled her close to him.
Darryn stared at Zoe while her words sank in.
She was somewhere in the country, but they didn’t know where.
There was silence for long minutes. Frustrated, Darryn started pacing. Where could she be? He tried to remember the names of places she had spoken about, but he realized quickly they didn’t talk much when they were together. They either tried to avoid each other, or they made love.
He knew so little about her. When Caitlin told him Hannah gave money to a fund for war orphans, it came as a surprise.
But considering everything else he’d heard about Hannah over the last twenty-four hours, it now made complete sense.
He had been the idiot who only saw her beautiful face, enjoyed her body, but never bothered to really get to know her.
“At least if we can’t find her, chances are White won’t be able to either,” David said into the silence.
“But we have to find her before he does,” Brenda said, her eyes brimming with tears again.
Darryn pulled the older woman into his arms. “We will. I promise,” he said, and a strange calmness came over him. “What about the police?” he asked his brothers, although he knew the answer.
“We’ll do better using a private detective; as we all know, our police are completely useless,” David said. “However we should probably contact them as well, just to have our fears on record. And maybe, you never know, there might just be a lone policeman or woman who will actually do something.”
Darryn nodded. Unfortunately, it was so true.
The last two chiefs of police were in jail.
He wouldn’t put too much hope on the police.
They would have to rely on a private company and themselves.
Because they had to find Hannah. He loved her; he needed her.
Around her, he became a better version of himself.
“Is there anything you can tell us about White that might help us?” Hannah’s mother asked.
“Wait a minute,” his mother said. “White. Stephen White. I only now register his name. Is this the little guy who went to school with you?” his mother asked.
“Yeah, but we were never friends. How come you remember him?” Darryn asked.
“I remember his mother. She was always going on about how he worshiped you and tried to imitate everything you did. He even started playing rugby, because you were captain of the first rugby team.”
Darryn stared at her. “He contacted me when I was a fashion photographer.”
“He wanted to do what you were doing,” his mother said.
Don swore. “So when you got to be with Hannah…”
Darryn shook his head. “Damn, I never knew that, Mom. He was so into computers, I was surprised when he contacted me about photography.”
“So his computer skills must be how he always knows Hannah’s whereabouts,” Don said. “And she undoubtedly figured that out as well, which is why we can’t get hold of her. She probably got rid of her phone.”
“So what you’re telling me is that he is capable of hacking into any system, including ours?” David asked incredulously.
“That’s the problem. I’m not sure what he’s capable of. All I know is that we have to get to Hannah before he figures out where she is.”
“It’s late—we’re not going to get anything else done tonight,” his mother said while getting up. “Don and Caitlin will be back tomorrow; let’s meet at their place over lunch.”
“I’ll make a list of places Hannah spoke about,” Zoe added.
“I’ll see what I can find out about getting a private detective,” David said. “I have contacts.”
“Maybe she will still contact one of us,” Brenda said.
Darryn hugged her close, needing her warmth as much as she needed the hug.