The meeting took longer than I had anticipated. I had expected to be done in twenty minutes but it was close to one hour when I stepped out of the office of Carlos Rosario, the man whom I was buying the Eclipse nightclub from. My attorney, Lukas Spiros, stayed behind to discuss the legal paperwork with Rosario's lawyer.

I had put my phone on silent during the meeting and as I headed towards the elevator, I quickly checked it. The notifications showed quite a few missed calls, several emails from Andrea, and a text message from Kate.

My eyebrows furrowed in worry when I read the message. It said she was taking a cab home with Hal because she was not feeling well. I quickly called her phone but it was Hal who answered.

"Where's Kate?" I asked frowning into the phone.

He explained to me what happened and said they were in a cab home.

"She's just fallen asleep. Do you want me to wake her up?" Hal asked.

"No. That's okay. Do me a favor please, can you let me know once she is home safely?"

"Sure. We are just about thirty minutes away from her building. I'll give you a call when we reach."

After hanging up, I took the elevator down and waited at the entrance for the valet to bring my car up front. Out of habit, I scanned the area quickly, looking for anything out of place. Ben's wife wasn't feeling well so I had given him the night off and driven over myself.

The valet pulled up and handed me over the car keys. "Great car, sir."

I gave him a quick smile. "Thanks." It was a Lamborghini Veneno Roadster and I could understand why he looked so excited. With only 9 units ever made, it was one of the most exclusive cars in the world. After tipping him a hundred-dollar bill, I got in and drove off.

The car was insanely fast and it took only seven minutes to get home. After parking in the private underground garage, I walked up to the private elevator, swiped in my key card at the control panel and punched in the access code.

As I stepped inside, I caught sight of my reflection staring back at me from the mirrored interior of the elevator. My eyes were tired and red, begging for sleep, and I definitely needed a shave. I looked like hell. Worse, I felt like hell too, I thought grimly, dragging my hand through my already messy hair.

The exhaustion I felt was bone deep and I flexed my shoulders in an attempt to ease tense muscles. I hadn't slept at all in the last few days and it was finally catching up on me. All I wanted to do was take a hot shower and get a few hours of sleep but that would have to wait until I was sure Kate was home safely.

Striding into the penthouse, I peeled off my suit jacket, tossed it onto the couch and headed straight to the bar. I made myself a strong drink and gulped it down in one breath before walking back into the living room.

As I sank down onto the couch my thoughts went to the kiss we shared in the club. I had been losing my mind the past few days, going crazy with missing her. And seeing her tonight, and having her in my arms once again, had shaken me up badly.

I shouldn't have touched her, damn it, but I hadn't been able to stop myself from acting on the hungry need that arose in me every time she was near. I had wanted to drag her to the sofa in the room, bend her over it and fuck us both into insanity and I knew she wouldn't have resisted. But I didn't want to do anything she would definitely regret later.

Rubbing a hand over my face, I closed my eyes with a frustrated sigh and willed my mind to shut out images of her.

I must have fallen asleep, because I woke up with a jerk at the sound of my phone vibrating on the glass coffee table. It took a moment for me to get my sleep fogged brain to function and I reached for the phone. Cheryl's name flashed on the screen but before I could answer it ended.

I was about to call her back when I noticed the time from the phone. It was almost 2 in the morning, which meant I had been asleep for two hours. Cursing under my breath, I quickly checked if there was a call or text from Hal but there were none.

Trepidation flashed through me and I dialed Hal's number. It rang several times with no answer. I tried again with the same result. Trying to stifle the overwhelming sense of foreboding that woke in me, I quickly called Kate. Her phone was switched off. The knot in my gut was tightening by the second. Something wasn't right.

"Goddammit." I dragged my hand through my hair in frustration. A sense of panic sweeping over me, I quickly called Alex and asked him to check if Kate was home.

As I waited for him to call back, I tried to reassure myself. She was probably home sleeping, safe and sound. Hal must have forgotten to call me. I needed to stay calm.

❦❦❦

But two hours later calm was not what I felt. The moment Alex called me to say Kate was missing, my whole world had shattered and collapsed around me. I was in Nik's cabin, while he talked to some of his agents in the other room.

I felt numb, the icy fear eating away my insides bathing me in cold sweat despite the air-conditioned room.

This was all my fault. It had been my responsibility to keep Kate safe and I had failed miserably. I should have asked Alex to come to pick her from the nightclub. Instead, I had been selfish, wanting to drive her home myself, because I wanted an excuse to spend time with her. Then I had gone ahead to the meeting leaving her with that bastard, Andy.

Nik had traced Hal's cell phone and triangulated the signal to an alley not far from the nightclub. He was knocked out cold and when he regained consciousness he was disoriented and confused. It had taken the better part of an hour to get a statement from him.

According to him, the cab pulled up in the alley and Andy and the driver got out. The swollen bump on his head confirmed he was the recipient of a heavy blow but he couldn't recall being knocked out. The last thing he remembered was being dragged out of the cab by Andy.

Hal didn't know the identity of the driver but Nik checked the security footage from the security cameras outside the nightclub and confirmed it was Michael. Pure rage boiled up through me at the thought of how Andy had deceived everyone. He had been helping Michael all this time, giving him information.

Kate had often told me how happy she was that Hal had found love with Andy, but she had never mentioned that they met on the cruise. But I should have been more careful. I should have had everyone involved in Kate's life checked out but I hadn't. I was furious with myself for being so careless.

I had never been religious but in the past few hours I had lost count of how many times I had prayed for her safety, prayed that I would find her. The thought of anything happening to her chilled me to the bone. A dozen scenarios flashed in my mind where she was hurt and bleeding. My gut clenched and I rubbed both hands on my face vigorously, trying to shake off the fear.

Taking a deep breath, I told myself I needed to think rationally and positively. Nik's team was already doing everything possible to find her.

From the security footage, they were able to get the license plate number of the cab and they were already working on tracing it. A team of agents had gone to the Eclipse nightclub and swept the place for any evidence that could help.

Nik suspected Andy had tampered with Kate's drink, causing her to become violently sick so he had his men bag the glasses in the VIP room and had them sent to the lab for testing. The result confirmed his suspicion.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when Nik entered the room. "We found the cab abandoned on a dirt road just outside town." He looked grim as he faced me. "It belongs to a local taxi center and was reported stolen a few hours ago."

"So you think they ditched the vehicle and stole another one?"

"Or they probably had a getaway car stashed nearby. Michael Ryder must know we are on his trail and he is certainly not going to risk stealing another car. They also left Kate's phone behind in the cab."

"We have access to all the surveillance cameras all over the city and I have a team monitoring the feed." He continued. "I also contacted the local highway patrol and sent them pictures of Andy and Ryder with an urgent request to set up roadblocks all over the state. In the meantime, I have all of my field agents out there looking for them. We'll find her, Jason."

His words were reassuring but the fear that was chilling me to the bone refused to disappear. Taking a deep breath, I met Nik's gaze. "What have you got on Andy?"

"We ran a criminal background check on him but he came up clean. He is from Houston, Texas, and was in and out of foster care his whole life. He moved here seven months ago but before that he worked at a local real estate company in Dallas." He paused. "Guess who else was working in the same company at that time?"

"Michael?" When he nodded I frowned. "But you cross-referenced his name with the list of guests on board the cruise with Kate and I. I thought you didn't find anything to link Michael to any of the guests."

"We hit a dead end with the cross-referencing because Andy used a false passport in the name of Andrew Webber to buy tickets to the cruise. His real name is Andrew Holmes."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, I rubbed my temple, willing the headache to go away. "So what now?"

"We have a live cell trace on his registered mobile phone but right now that phone is switched off." He continued. "As soon as he turns it on we'll be able to get a location. We also pulled out his phone records and found several calls to an unregistered number over the last seven months."

"You think it belongs to Michael?"

He nodded. "It's untraceable. Chances are he is using a burner phone."

Unable to sit still, I got up and started pacing. Through the glass wall of Nik's cabin I could see dozens of his employees huddled over computers in the next room. It was only four in the morning but the room was buzzing with activity. Huge flat screens covered nearly every inch of wall space and showed live security feed from all over the city.

A woman knocked and entered the cabin. "Here's the information you requested, sir." She said handing Nik a file.

After she left, he quickly went through the file. When he looked up at me his face was grim.

"What is it?" I knew something was wrong.

"What can you tell me about Ashley Wilson?"

My brows furrowed. "Who the fuck is that?"

"You obtained a restraining order against her in 2010."

For a moment my mind went blank and then the image of a tall blonde flashed through my head. "Ashley Wilson." I repeated the name as recognition dawned on me. "I met her at a college frat party in London. We had a one-night stand but after that she started stalking me. It got so worse I had to get the restraining order." I frowned at Nik. "What's going on?"

"Five months after you got that restraining order, she dropped out of college and moved back to her family home in San Antonio. Her parents found out she had a drinking problem and encouraged her to join a support group." He exhaled softly. "The background check we ran on Michael shows that he was also a member of the same support group."

"So they were in the same support group. But what does that have to do with this?" I asked impatiently.

"We have enough evidence to prove that Michael was in love with her. One of my agents talked to his family in San Antonio and his sister confirmed it."

I didn't understand where he was going with it. "Your job is to find Kate, not dig up the dirt on whatever relationship Michael has with Ashley." I was restless, fear and anger rushing through my veins.

Nik ignored my anger and regarded me with a calm look. "Ashley Wilson committed suicide, Jason. And the suicide note she left was addressed to you."

I stared at him stunned. "What the hell are you talking about?"

He simply handed me a file. Shaking myself out of the shock I was in, I took the file and opened it. It contained all the information on Ashley. There was the copy of the restraining order, the coroner's report and also a copy of her suicide note.

I felt the throbbing at my temple intensify as I read the note. It started with explaining how she met me and fell in love instantly. She then went on to say despite how cruelly I had broken her heart, she couldn't stop loving me. And that she didn't want to live in a world where I couldn't be hers and that was why she was taking her own life.

Feeling sick to my stomach, I closed the file and handed it back to Nik. "I didn't know about this."

"I know. I checked the case records. The police thought it was an open and shut case, but still they wanted to talk to you. Your father didn't want you to get involved so he dealt with it." Nik leaned against his desk and continued. "I believe Michael blames you for her death."

Cursing under my breath, I rubbed my face vigorously with both hands. The sick taste of fear was stronger than ever in my mouth. All I could think was how alone and scared Kate must be feeling and how I wasn't there to protect her. My hands balled up into fists. If Michael or Andy even laid one finger on her I would kill them with my bare hands.

There was a knock on the door and Alex walked in. He gave me a brief nod and faced Nik. "Facial recognition just spotted Michael Ryder and Andrew Holmes at a gas station just outside Pasadena. The security feed was too grainy to pull out a license plate number but there's a chance the gas attendant could help us with that."

"Send a team to canvass the surrounding area and contact the highway patrol." Nik instructed. "And tell my driver to get the car ready. I want to talk to the attendant.

"Yes, sir."

When he left, Nik reached for his jacket that was thrown on the back of his chair. "I'm certain that Michael is going to call you. And when he does, I want you to keep him on the line for as long as possible. The tap we've put on your phone will help us trace the call." He said putting on the jacket. "I have to go now, but I'll keep you updated."

I stood up. "I'm going with you."

His expression softened. "I know you want to help but there's nothing you can do there. Go home and rest, Jason." He dropped a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. "We are going to find her."

After he left, I slumped back on to the couch. In just a matter of a few hours, I had completely lost control of everything. Never in my life had I felt so utterly useless and helpless. If anything happened to Kate, it would completely destroy me.

I kept telling myself she was okay, until the words became my mantra. I felt like I was tethering on the edge of a breakdown. With shaky fingers, I held my phone and called Ben. I was in no shape to drive so I asked him to pick me up. Nathan was out of the country but Cheryl was in town, and I needed to go see her before I completely lost it.