Chapter 67
Her door is closed when I get there so I knock once and gently, like the very gentle man I am. When there’s no answer, open it anyway only to find her room empty, I check the bathroom next just to find it empty too.
My jaw tightens.
I head downstairs, irritation creeping in despite myself. The kitchen lights are off an there’s sign she’s been here recently
“She’s not stupid,” I mutter to myself. “She wouldn’t just disappear again p>
I stop in the middle of the hallway and pull my phone from my pocket. The tracking software opens easily when I click on it. Yes yes I might have put a tracking chip in my wife’s while she slept the other day, yes I’m an obsessive, possessive bastard and controlling too, if you want to add that. I didn’t put the chip in her phone for nothing, I need to that she’s safe and where she is all the time. When Thomas had suggested it casually, the other day I thought it was a brilliant idea given her tendency to test my boundaries.
The dot loads and I frown when the location isn’t outside the house.
It’s on the compound, the staff quarters and Margaret’s house to be precise.
I stare at the screen longer than necessary, trying to make it make sense. Elaine has no reason to be there this late, Margaret’s a cook, not a social coordinator.
My grip tightens around the phone.
I start walking to Margaret’s place.
The path to the staff quarters is dimly lit. The night air is cooler here, the smell of grass and soil stronger. As I get closer, I hear it.
Laughter.
Not just one voice. Several high pitched voices.
I slow my steps.
The sound grows clearer as I round the corner. Shadows move across the patio wall, people dancing together.
I stop just short of the open area.
The patio is lit by string light, with light bulbs strung overhead. There are at least three women out there, laughing, spinning around with their arms raised. One of them trips and nearly takes another down with her and there’s more laughter.
And then I see her.
Elaine is sitting on the low step by the door, her knees drawn up slightly with one arm resting behind her. Her hair is loose. She’s smiling.
Aaron is sitting beside her,so close that their shoulders are almost touching. His body is angled toward her, his h good arm resting casually on his knee, his injured one cradled carefully. He says something and she laughs, tilting her head back just a little.
Something ugly twists in my chest.
I don’t move at first, I just stand and watch them.
Aaron leans closer, not touching her, but close enough that I can imagine the heat of him. He says something else. She nods her smile softening.
My jaw clenches hard enough to hurt.
This is exactly what I warned her about. Slipping into comfort and forgetting where she is and most importantly who she belongs to.
I step forward, gravel crunching under my shoe.
Aaron notices first. His body stiffening, he turns his head and his face drains of color when he sees me. He straightens immediately, creating space between them.
Elaine doesn’t notice right away.
She’s still smiling when she turns.
The smile fades the second her eyes land on me.
The laughter around us dies quickly after that and girls go quiet, exchanging looks. No one speaks.
I stop a few feet away, my gaze fixed on Elaine.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
My voice is calm.
She blinks once. Then she stands. “I was helping Margaret earlier p>
“At midnight p>
“It’s not midnight,yet.”she says automatically, then hesitates when she checks the time on her phone. “I lost track of time p>
My eyes flick back to Aaron. “You p>
“Yes, sir,” he says, already standing
“How long has she been here p>
Aaron swallows. “Since earlier this evening p>
“And you thought that was appropriate p>
He opens his mouth and closes it. “I was told to just keep an eye on her p>
I chucklequietly. “Well you did a poor job p>
Elaine steps forward. “Don’t talk to him like that p>
I look at her again, really look at her this time around, she’s bare feet, with loose clothes and a faint haze in her eyes I recognize immediately.
“Have you been drinking little spitfire?” I ask.
“No p>
“Don’t lie to me p>
She lifts her chin. “I’m not p>
My gaze drops to the blunt still smoldering on the table behind her.
I feel the rage settle in fully now.
“Go inside,” I tell Aaron.
“Yes, sir p>
He hesitates, glancing at Elaine, then obeys. He disappears through the side door without another word.
The others scatter quickly after that. The patio empties until it’s just the two of us and the faint music still playing from someone’s phone.
Elaine folds her arms. “You don’t get to look at me like that, I’m not a fucking child p>
“Like what p>
“Like I did something wrong p>
I step closer. “You did p>
She exhales sharply. “I smoked a blunt, I don’t think that’s any of your business Zane p>
“In my house,” I say quietly, “everything is my business p>
Her eyes flash. “I’m not your property p>
I stop inches from her.
“You are my wife,” I say. “And you were sitting alone with another man late at night and smoking.
“He’s injured,” she snaps. “And he was helping me. God, you’re unbelievable p>
Her chest rises and falls quickly. For a moment, I think she’s going to say something stupid.
Instead, she looks past me toward the dark path leading back to the house.
“Are you done?” she asks. “Because I’m tired and I need some sleep p>
I don’t answer right away.
“Go inside,” I say finally.
She turns away from me and starts walking toward the house, her steps uneven, like she’s misjudging the grounds level.
She makes it maybe ten steps?, before her foot catches slightly on the stone path and she stumbles, not enough to fall, but enough that her body tilts sideways.