Page 27 of Believing in a Billionaire (Hearts and Holdings #7)

GRANT

G rant stared at the screen for a few more moments trying to parse through the vague threat.

With a few clicks, he sent it to both Mike Donovan and his personal security team.

It sounded like a nutcase’s rantings, but in case it played into Lydia’s sick game, he figured he’d have the team check it out.

With a tap of a button, he turned off the display and settled back in his chair, staring out over the twilight of the evening. It had been another long day of fielding issues created by Lydia.

From the potential hostile takeover to the debacle with the photographs, the attacks were coming from all sides. He was doing his best to put out all the fires, but it was exhausting.

His mind taunted him with Worthington’s statement earlier about keeping things from Julia. Was this more tiring because he didn’t share any of it with her?

She didn’t deserve that, though. He wanted her to be happy. And given her current state of health, he preferred to shield her as much as possible.

He missed her advice though, but he wouldn’t put this burden on her shoulders. The ringing of his phone interrupted his thoughts and tensed his stomach as he wondered what fresh crisis awaited him.

He glanced at the display, noting Mike Donovan’s name. With a sigh, he swiped to answer and pressed the phone to his ear. “Yeah?”

“I received the email. I’ll see what I can track down. This could be nothing. It’s certainly vague enough to seem like a distraction attempt from what’s really going on.”

“Yeah, I thought the same thing. Probably part of Lydia’s games.”

“Unfortunately, your ex-wife has proven herself enough of a real threat that this could be a dangerous warning. I’ll see what I can dig up.”

“Thanks, Mike. How are things looking now that the market’s closed?”

“Not great, but we’re not sunk yet. We’re treading water, with DG not making much more ground. Let’s hope this dies off before it gets any worse. Is the other situation handled?”

“It is,” Grant said with a sigh as the reminder of the provocative photos of his son and wife raced across his mind. “Now, we can put that behind us and concentrate on squashing this attempted takeover.”

“We’re doing everything we can, sir. If there’s nothing else, I’ll get on this email.”

“Thanks, Mike.” Grant ended the call and slid the phone onto the desk before he rose and crossed to pour himself a bourbon.

A knock sounded at the door as he sipped it, staring out the large window. “Come in!”

“Excuse me, Mr. Harrington, do you have a moment?” Worthington clasped his hands in front of him as he stood in the doorway.

“Depends. What do you need me for?”

“Has there been some change to Mrs. Harrington’s recovery plan that I have not been informed of?”

Grant screwed up his face. “What? No. Julia’s supposed to be resting in bed. Why?”

Worthington glanced down at his feet as he cleared his throat. “I cannot seem to locate Mrs. Harrington.”

“You cannot what?” Panic laced his voice.

“I thought perhaps she had an appointment or the like, and I had not been informed.”

“No, she doesn’t have an appointment. Could she be somewhere else in the house? Where is Alicia?”

“I did not see Ms. Alicia either.”

Grant heaved a sigh as he grabbed his phone and scrolled through his contacts to find Julia. “Oh, did you check Kyle’s room? She asked Alicia to look for him there. I wonder if she went to check herself.”

“I did not check there, but will do so immediately, sir.” Worthington spun on a heel and hurried up the stairs while Grant pressed his phone to his ear.

His call went straight to her voicemail which annoyingly still contained her maiden name. He’d have to remind her to change that when she was feeling better. “Hey, Julia, where are you? Call me back when you get this.”

After pulling the phone from his ear, he stared down at the display, his brow furrowed. Why had her phone gone straight to voicemail? Maybe it was dead.

He didn’t have Alicia’s number to try her phone. She’d likely not answer anyway given their relationship.

A winded Worthington returned a minute later, shaking his head. “Not in Dr. Carter’s room, not in her office, not in bed.”

Heat washed over him as his pulse sped a little. Where was Julia? “And you didn’t find Alicia either?”

“No. I have not found Ms. Alicia.”

“Well, where the hell are they?” His stomach twisted as he wondered if something had happened while he was on the phone. Had Julia’s condition worsened? She’d have told Worthington, though.

Unless she couldn’t. Was she that sick? Or had Alicia pulled another one of her classic moves to steal Julia right out from under them?

His throat went dry as he considered the possibilities before he snatched the receiver on his phone and dialed his head of security.

“Mr. Harrington,” Max answered, “I’m tracking that email now–“

“Forget the email. We can’t find Julia or her sister Alicia. I need you to locate her now.”

“I’m on it, sir. I’ll start tracking her phone.”

“Get back to me the minute you have anything.” He reset the receiver, his mind whirling.

Had the vague email he’d received been a threat against Julia?

Maybe her sister had merely been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

However, in a match-up between Alicia and Lydia, he wasn’t certain who would win.

“Perhaps a call to James, sir. Maybe they took one of the vehicles.”

Grant nodded as he grabbed the phone again and called his driver.

“Mr. Harrington, need a ride into town?”

“No, I need to know if Julia took her car out.”

“Let me check, sir. If she did, she didn’t tell me.”

Grant waited for confirmation one way or the other, unsurprised if his wife had taken her car without James knowing. When Julia wanted to do something she felt others wouldn’t approve of, she usually just did it.

“Mrs. Harrington’s car is not in the garage, sir. She must have gone out earlier, though I don’t know when.”

“Thanks, James.” He shook his head as he hung up. “Her car’s gone.”

“So, she has gone out.”

“Where?” Grant barked. “I hope nothing’s wrong.”

As he collapsed into his chair, worry settling over him like a heavy mantle, lights snaked their way down the drive.

He rose from his chair, charging past Worthington to fling open the front door. Relief coursed through him as he recognized Julia’s car.

“Julia!” he said as she climbed from the passenger seat. “Where have you been? Are you feeling okay?”

“No, I’m not,” she answered, her features pinched as Alicia skirted the hood of the car.

“You took her out? Are you kidding me? I trusted you to keep an eye on her.”

“I did,“ Alicia answered. “As best I could. Julia doesn’t exactly listen all the time. Obviously. She came back here and stayed married to you, didn’t she?”

He scowled at her but ignored the comment, intent on focusing on Julia. “What happened? What did the doctor say?’

“Doctor? I didn’t go to the doctor,” she said as he led her into the house and to the living room.

She collapsed on the couch, the frown on her face still deeply embedded in every line.

“Julia, why did you leave without telling anyone? What’s wrong?”

“Kyle is missing,” she said. “That’s what’s wrong. He’s not here. He’s not at his apartment. He’s not at the hospital. He’s gone.”

Annoyance crept up inside him. She’d nearly died a few days ago, and her primary concern was his wayward son’s bad behavior. “Julia, we talked about this. Kyle is probably just blowing off steam.”

“No,” she insisted. “No, he missed his shift at the hospital and never called in. That’s not like Kyle. He’s a lot of things, but he’s a responsible doctor. He’s never missed a shift before.”

“Except the time he thought you weren’t talking to him, and he came home to confront you.”

She glanced up at him, her eyes wide. “Exactly. So, where is he? Why isn’t he confronting me?”

“There could be a lot of reasons–“

“Look, sorry to insert myself here, but from a cop’s perspective, everything you’re saying is right,” Alicia said, her eyes on Grant. “But that’s not everything.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“We found this in the hospital parking lot,” Julia said, her voice shaking with upset. She handed him a cell phone with a cracked screen. “That’s Kyle’s.”

Grant stared at the cracked phone, a sudden tightness in his chest. Despite their strained relationship, physical evidence hinted at the reality of Kyle’s absence. Had something really happened to him?

“That makes me a little concerned as a cop. People don’t usually go anywhere without their phones.

Now, it could be a case of him being very upset, possibly angry, and he smashed it before he left.

” Alicia shrugged as Julia opened her mouth to respond.

“Could happen, Juju. You’ve never been in a situation where he’s actively known he doesn’t have a chance with you. ”

The words, coming from Alicia, were strangely comforting to him. “Your sister’s right.”

“Does Kyle have a temper?” Alicia asked.

“No,” Julia said as Grant answered, “Yes.”

She snapped her gaze to him. “He doesn’t.”

“Julia, he kidnapped you once after he told another set of kidnappers where you would be. And Sierra said he forced her out of the car at knifepoint. Yes, he acts out.”

“Not like this. Something is wrong. Why will no one listen? Lydia has been attacking us non-stop for two years. How is it a stretch to think she’s done something to Kyle?”

“But Lydia thought he was on her side.”

“It’s clear that wasn’t true after the whole hostage situation. Grant, please. I don’t like this.”

He eased onto the couch next to her, wrapping her in his arms. “Okay, I’ll have Max dig into it. Okay?”

Her pinched expression didn’t change.

“Julia, there’s nothing else we can do.”

“It may be prudent to inform the police. They won’t act on it yet, but just in case,” Alicia said.