He's gonna take her away
Elena's number led me straight to Voicemail for the thousandth time. I squeezed the phone in my grip, cursing out my frustration and pacing even harder.
My anxious ass wouldn't stop glancing at the gigantic wall clock. It was an hour past midnight. She wasn't back yet.
I'm getting restless by the minute. I can't fucking figure out where she might have gone or if she planned on returning here tonight. Or ever…
I turned around and my gaze locked with Miguel's. He's been at my side since I began freaking out. He's watching me keenly, awaiting my orders which would be combing the Packs in search of Elena and dragging her ass back home.
I'm trying so fucking hard not to give such orders. She's hurt; I hurt her in the worst way possible. She needs some time to deal with it. I understand that. I should give her some space. I know that. And I'm trying to.
But damn it, Elena's one impulsive woman. She gets reckless when she's hurt or angry. So my ass is fucking scared. Of what she's gonna do to my child and worse, to herself.
I'm goddamn scared.
I tried her number again, muttering some damn prayers to the moon goddess. Pointless! She didn't pick up again.
“Damn it!” I kicked the seat in my path and it tumbled over. My fingers raked my hair in boiling frustration.
Where the fuck did she go?!
“Boss,” Miguel said, and I looked at him. He didn't say any more words. But his eyes said it all…he wants me to give him an order. He's itching for an order. An order to go find her.
I guess this is as far as my patience goes. I can't take it anymore. I can't deal with this intense anxiety anymore. I need her back, I need her in this house. She can grieve all she wants. Hell, I'm not gonna show myself to her if she insists on not wanting to see me. But she needs to be in here, under supervision.
“Find her.” I finally gave in, taking quick breaths to steady my heartbeat. But my chest hurts, physically. Was it a mate bond thing or was I just going through a lot of emotional torture?
“Yes, Boss.” Miguel bowed and headed for the door.
“Be gentle. Don't piss her off.” I added and he paused and bowed again.
“I'll try my best.”
I nodded. He left. I went for the whiskey bottle that's always at the small table. I poured myself a drink, ignoring my shaking fingers. I'm fucking losing it, I'm fucking terrified, way more than I'm letting on.
I hope she's okay. I hope she's not out there thinking of a thousand ways to hurt herself. I hope she hasn't hurt herself already. I hope…I hope…she's not trying to leave me.
I gulped another shot of whiskey. My phone buzzed. I checked the caller.
Leo.
Right. I should have called him. Elena could be in his Pack. Quickly, I took the call.
“Hey man,” he greeted. His voice lacked soul.
“Is Elena there?” I couldn't hold back the urge to ask.
“No, she's not.”
Fuck. I took another shot of my drink.
“She's missing, man…”
“She's at her Father's house,” Leo said. My racing heart slowed.
“What? Has Richard been…discharged?”
“Yes. An hour ago.”
The crushing guilt of not having gone to see him when he was hospitalized had me speechless for almost a minute.
Then I finally got it together and muttered. “That's…relieving. I'm glad he's okay.”
I'm the worst friend ever! That goes without saying.
“He wants to see you, man.” Leo continued. “He wants to see us at his house tomorrow.”
My throat clenched. “Why?”
But I already knew why. My gut feeling was already screaming Why.
“He found out. About you and Elena. I don't know how. I certainly didn't tell him. But he knows and he wants us in his house tomorrow.”
I wasn't so shocked. But I wasn't so bold about the turn of events either. Slowly, I walked over to my chair and settled into it.
I could feel my strength slowly draining away. I knew where this was headed. And to God, I wasn't the fuck ready for it.
“You shouldn't go there, Vince. Don't honor this invitation.” Leo said.
I thought for a second. Nah, that doesn't sound right.
“Richard's still recuperating. He doesn't need any emotional turmoil. And he's so pissed, man. He's fucking angry. If you go there, things are just gonna escalate. And that's not gonna be good for either of you.”
I groaned at how much Leo's words were making my temples ache.
“I'm gonna go,” I said, after seconds of silence.
“C’mon, man. This isn't the time to be stubborn. Think this through. Going there isn't the best shit to do. Richard could lose his cool, and it might affect his heart again. Stay home. I'm gonna go. I'll handle him…”
“He's gonna take her away from me,” I said with clenched teeth. Just the thought of it was already having me all aggravated and vicious.
“She's his daughter!” Leo pointed out that I'd forgotten that. Maybe I did forget. Maybe I got so lost in my little fantasy, erotic reality with her that it kinda skipped my mind that she wasn't completely mine.
There was still a Father who loved her to bits and could snatch her away from me in the blink of an eye.
“He has every reason to wanna take her away from you, man. He's traumatized. He's disgusted by the fact that you were sleeping with his daughter when you both were supposed to be best of friends. He might wanna kill you. And that's all valid. His anger is valid. I can't advise him not to be angry. But I can advise you to prevent an unfortunate situation from happening. Stay home, Vince. Please. I'll talk to him.”
“Listen, Leo,” I took a deep breath to free my voice of the viciousness that's gripping it. “If…IF…Elena wasn't carrying my child, then I might have considered not showing up at her Father's house tomorrow. But she is, and that changes everything.”
“How so?”
“If I don't show up, Richard's gonna think I'm chickening out, and it's gonna give him every right to do whatever he wants to Elena and to my child. He might make her abort it.”
“Do you think he's gonna go that far?” Leo was skeptical.
“I don't know. But I'm not gonna stick around to find out. I'll show up. I'll meet with Richard. If he wants to kill me, then it's fine. I deserve it. Because if he doesn't, I'm gonna very obsessively cling to his daughter. So he might as well just kill me. That's the only way to keep me from her.”
“You can't possibly get into a rivalry with Richard over his daughter. That's gonna ruin your friendship with him. And that's gonna mess Elena up.”
I groaned at the painful reality. “There's no other way around it. And from the beginning, I always knew this moment would come. It's about time, I guess.”
I wasn't so ecstatic to fight with Richard. Hell, I'd choose not to if I have a choice. But I don't.
I can't let him take Elena completely away from me. I just can't. I can't…
“I hope it doesn't get so chaotic between the two of you tomorrow. I really hope so.” Those were Leo's last words before he hung up.