I open the door to a tall man with dark hair, a goatee and an anxious expression on his face.
“Mr. Ryan, my name is Marvin George. I’m the director of security here at the hotel.”
“Come on in,” I say to him as I hold the door open.
I note the laptop he is carrying under his arm and he opens it up as soon as he sits down. “I had one of my security guards check the floor as soon as you reported Mrs. Ryan missing,” he says and his Adam’s apple bobs in his throat.
“And?” I snap.
“If you look at the time stamps,” he taps a few keys on the keyboard and an image of the empty hallway outside fills the screen, “there has been an hour of footage wiped from our systems. From every single camera.”
“What?” I frown at him. “I chose this hotel because it was a safe place for my wife to stay, and you’re telling me someone hacked into your security feed and erased it?” I shout at him, even though I know no matter how good your security is, there will always be someone who can hack it. Someone like Jessie.
“I’m sorry, Sir. We are doing everything we can to discover how this happened, but…”
“But nothing!” I snarl at him. “Do you have anything at all that might help me find her?”
“Not yet, but I can assure you I have all of my staff making enquiries.”
“Enquiries?” I run my hands through my hair. “I’m going to need more than fucking enquiries, Marvin!”
“I will do everything in my power to assist you, Sir,” he says as he stands and picks up his laptop.
I nod at him. “See if anyone saw or heard anything suspicious today. No matter how small or insignificant it may seem, I want to know about it.”
“Of course,” he says with a nod. “I’ll leave you to it.”
I watch him walk out of the door and pick up my cell again and dial Paul’s number. It takes him a while to answer and when he does he is out of breath.
“Hey, kid,” he answers.
“Paul, I need your help.”
“Why?”
“My girl. Jessie. She’s disappeared. Someone’s taken her.”
“You sure she didn’t just go out shopping or something? You know what women are like.”
“No, Paul. She is gone. Now are you going to help me find her or not?”
He takes a few moments to answer me. “Of course. You think it was that prick O’Connor?”
“Maybe,” I say, hoping that it is him, because I know where to find him. But if she has been taken by the Wolf, I am worried we might never get her back. “Can you meet me at my hotel?”
“Sure. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
My heart is in my throat as I close the door to our suite. What if she comes back and I’m not here? I shake my head and walk to the elevator. I’m going to speak to the desk clerk again while I wait for Paul. Someone must have seen her leaving here today. Maybe Erin even saw something? It’s a long shot but I am already clutching at straws here.
A few moments later, I stand outside Erin’s room and wait for her to open the door. I doubt she will have any useful information but then right now I don’t know what’s useful.
The door opens a few seconds later. “Shane?” She looks at me in surprise as she fastens her earring. “I was just getting ready for dinner. Come on in.”
I follow her inside and close the door.
“You fancy a drink?” she asks with a smile.
“No,” I shake my head. “Have you see Jessie today?”
“No. I’ve been working all day. Should I have?”
“No, but she’s gone missing,” I say the words and even though I know they’re true, they don’t seem real.
Erin stares at me and I swear I see a smirk flicker over her lips.
“Did you just fucking grin at me?” I snarl.
She sighs dramatically. “Oh come on, Shane, it’s not like she hasn’t walked out on you before.”
I cross the room to her in one stride. I have never laid a finger on this woman in anger. Not even when I found out she had been lying to me for years. Not even when she accused my brothers of ruining our engagement. I grab her throat and she blinks up at me in shock as I push her back against the wall.
“She did not walk out,” I hiss as I squeeze her throat harder. “Somebody fucking took her.”
“Shane! You’re hurting me,” she whimpers.
“Hurting you?” I narrow my eyes at her. “You’re lucky I don’t snap your fucking neck. I know you don’t like her, but she is fucking everything to me. Everything! And you fucking smile when I tell you she’s missing.” I release her from my grip, afraid that I might go too far if I don’t let her go now.
Erin rubs at her throat and gasps for breath but I don’t have an ounce of sympathy for her. She has made her dislike for Jessie clear from the outset.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbles.
“Have you seen anything suspicious at all?”.
“No,” she says with a shake of her head.
I glare at her and then I walk out of her room, but she shouts to me before I reach the door. “Everything? Really?” she sniffs.
I turn on my heel and look at her. “And then some.”
