Chapter 14
Dear Luc,
I cannot thank you enough for this weekend. But I think we both knew we weren’t ever meant to be more. You have a life with important responsibilities to take care of and an entire country counting on you—no matter how much you try to downplay it.
Please take care of yourself, and don’t forget to tell Dimitri that foot fungus is never sexy ;)
All my love,
Hannah
Myheart pounded like I’d ran a marathon and not just woken up from a sound sleep. She left me? No one left me. My ego staggered under the attack. I’d promised to stand by her; why would she leave? I searched the note for a clue, but I came up empty. She had enough time to tease Dimitri about his foot fungus but couldn’t tell me why? What the hell?
I ripped off the sheets and stomped naked to thebedroom door. After pulling it open, I roared, “Dimitri! Get in here!”
Silence met my demand, then a shaky voice asked, “Um,monsieur?”
I closed my eyes with a muttered curse. The new assistant.Merde,what was her name again? I grabbed a robe from the closet and was pulling it on when the bedroom door crept open.
“Monsieur?”A brunette woman with average features in a plain business suit poppedher head around the door. “Uh, Dimitri is downstairs sorting out arrangements with the hotel security for your speech tonight. He should be back in thirty or so minutes. Would you like me to summon someone else from the security team?”
“That depends. Did he escort Ms. Allen from my suite this morning?”
The woman’s eyes widened at the implication of my words. “Non, monsieur. He arranged for acar to take her home.” When I didn’t say anything, she continued. “I believe it was at Ms. Allen’s request. Was that…Is there anything else?”
“Yes. There is. I want to know where the car dropped her. I also want you to have security give me their dossier on Ms. Allen. I don’t care what they say. I want a copy. As soon as possible.”
Her wide eyes gleamed as I detailed my demands, but she neverquestioned or waivered. “Oui, monsieur. Would you also like me to order some breakfast for you?”
“I do not give a shit about breakfast. I want someone, anyone, to find Hannah. Now!”
Now the woman’s lips quivered at my tone, and she took a half step away from me. I gritted my teeth and swallowed back my misdirected ire. It wasn’t her fault. She was just doing her job. Hannah, on the other hand,would have much to answer for when I found her.
“Je suis désolé,Morgan.” I smiled as her name finally popped into my head. “I’m not myself this morning. Will you please see to my requests and order some breakfast as well?”
Morgan relaxed and loosened her death grip on the doorway.“Oui, monsieur.”
“Bon ben. I will shower, and I would like to see Dimitri in the main salon when he returns. Inthe meantime, I do not wish to be disturbed.”
Morgan inclined her head and gave me another“Oui, monsieur,”before she closed my bedroom door with a soft click.
Shrugging off the oppressively thick robe, I walked naked into the bathroom and started the shower. I had to prepare myself for the war I would face when I finally ran Hannah to ground. She wasn’t getting away that easily. She was worthfighting for.
—
Sitting in the back of a car in the parking lot of a nondescript apartment complex was not how I’d envisioned the day going. The surprise I’d scheduled for Hannah had to be postponed. I only hoped we had enough time to sort it all out once I knew what the hell was going on.
If she didn’t show up soon, someone was going to spend the rest of their afternoon with red ass cheeks.
It was close to noon when an older model red sedan—the vehicle described in the dossier—pulled into the complex. I wanted to wait until the car parked and Hannah got out before I confronted her.
But it took longer than I expected. Hannah sat in her car clutching the steering wheel for several moments. Everything inside me wanted to race across the asphalt and comfort her—after I shook her forleaving me in the first place—but I didn’t want to spook her while she had the means to make a quick getaway. After a few more moments, she seemed to gather herself as she swiped at her eyes; her shoulders heaved with her breath. Then she grabbed her purse and got out of her car.
I was a millisecond behind her.
“Hannah!”
She flinched, then turned to face me. The panic and dread in her expressionwere undeniable. “Luc, why are you here? I thought I was clear in my note: I can’t do this.”
