Page 28 of Believing in a Billionaire (Hearts and Holdings #7)

“Okay. We’ll do that. I’ll call them right away, and I’ll tell Max to do some searching.” He glanced down at her. Seemed like nothing he said eased any of her worries. “We don’t know anything has happened to him.”

“I can coordinate with your head of security if you want,” Alicia offered.

“That would be great. Worthington can put you in touch with him.”

She rubbed her sister’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay, Juju. I’m sure he’s fine.”

She followed Worthington from the room as Grant stroked Julia’s hair. “Now, how about if we get you back into bed? You aren’t supposed to be running around all over the place. You’re supposed to be resting.”

The crease between her eyebrows deepened. “Do you think he went to Lydia’s cabin?”

He struggled to hold his annoyance at bay. Her desperate concern over his son bothered him. Was it jealousy or merely because he didn’t want her to be upset while she was recovering? “Maybe.”

“Let’s check,” she said as she shrugged out of his embrace and stood.

“Julia, no. You’re supposed to be resting.”

“I can rest in the car. I’m not going to rest here because I’m really worried.”

He rose with a sigh. “All right. I will send someone to check.”

“No, we should go.”

“Julia, if Kyle has run off to Lydia’s cabin, then that’s on him. Outside of us knowing he’s okay, he can stay there for as long as he’d like and pout.”

She frowned at him, her displeasure obvious.

He hated that look when she directed it at him. The worry that etched her face gave him a rare moment of helplessness. Despite his skepticism, her worry gnawed at him. What if she was right? “Okay, fine. I will drive you up there myself. Okay? Will that help?”

She nodded, her features lightening a little as she squeezed his arm in a silent thank you.

He wrapped an arm around her as he led her toward the foyer.

Aiding her search was more than a reluctant obligation.

It was a silent vow to protect her peace, even if it meant facing his own doubts about Kyle.

“Just so you know, I don’t like this. You should be in bed.

But I don’t want you sneaking out again. ”

“I didn’t sneak,” she said.

He arched an eyebrow at her as they arrived at the front door.

“Okay, I snuck out. But this is important.”

“Uh-huh,” he answered as Worthington stepped into the foyer from his office. “We’re going to check Lydia’s cabin. Have Max text me the address.”

Worthington bobbed his head at them. “Do let us know if you find anything.”

“We will,” Grant said as he pulled the door closed behind him and stepped into the cool night air. Julia already waited in her car, drumming her fingers against her thigh.

He circled around the car and slid behind the wheel as his phone chimed with the address. After adjusting the seat and mirrors, he buckled his seat belt and fired the engine. He glanced up to find Julia’s eyes on him. “What?”

“Take your time.”

“I’m going, Julia. I can’t help it that you and your sister are way shorter than me.”

She heaved a sigh as he started down the driveway, shaking her head. “You and Kyle are so much alike.”

He scoffed at the statement. “No.”

“Yes. Right after that explosion at the remote site last year, Kyle insisted on driving. Took him forever. I’ve never seen someone drive so cautiously.”

“Good. That’s one thing I agree with him on. He had precious cargo.”

“At least after we got into an argument, he drove faster.”

“Don’t try that tactic with me. You’re not going to pick a fight with me so I drive faster. I’ll drive slower,” he warned before he slid his eyes sideways, hoping his sarcastic comment brought a smile to her face.

She stared straight ahead, rubbing her forehead. With a sigh, he reached for her hand, squeezing it. “Juls, I was only kidding.”

“I know,” she said. “I’m just…worried. And tired.”

“Why don’t you let me send someone–”

“Just keep going. I’m okay.”

He tugged her hand closer, kissing it as he left the city behind and headed for the rural area to the north. “At least we’ll get to spend some time together. I feel like I haven’t seen you nearly enough since we finally cleared up our relationship status.”

“You’re going to have to get on my calendar,” she said, finally cracking a smile.

“Yeah, really. Between Sierra and Kyle, I don’t stand a chance. I may get penciled in during leap years.”

“I’m sure Sierra has a leap day celebration planned then. We’ll have to find another time.” She turned serious again. “Hopefully Kyle’s stuff stays on the calendar.”

The comment brought a pang of jealousy that simmered below the surface. The difficult relationship between the three of them made offering him sympathy difficult. “I’m sure he’s okay, Juls. Although he won’t be if I find him at this cabin.”

“What does that mean?” she asked, her eyebrows pinching.

“It means I’m going to wring his neck for worrying you this much.”

She heaved a sigh as she focused on the road again. “He just wants to be accepted. We were too hard on him.”

Grant’s nostrils flared as he huffed out a breath. His son wanted more than that, by his estimation. It seemed perfectly within the realm of possibilities that Kyle would disappear after he’d accepted that Julia hadn’t chosen him. “Maybe he changed his mind.”

“No,” Julia said with a shake of her head. “He was crushed during that argument you two had.”

“Oh, Julia. Come on, you’re giving him way too much credit. He wasn’t upset, he was angry.”

“No, he wasn’t.”

“Yes, Julia, he was,” Grant answered.

“Okay, maybe he got angry after you accused him of kissing me on purpose.”

“He did kiss you on purpose. I don’t care what anybody says. He wanted to kiss you that night. Lydia didn’t twist his arm.”

Julia rolled her eyes as she let her head fall into her palm again.

“It’s true, Julia. You’re too nice. He is still angry that his games didn’t work. You chose me.”

She shifted in the seat next to him and rubbed a thumb along his cheek. “Yes, I did. And Kyle was okay with it.”

He grabbed her hand and kissed it again. “I doubt that.”

“He was. We talked. And he just didn’t want to lose our connection or the connection to the family. You should have seen him when Sierra called him her brother.”

This time Grant rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. Okay. He was upset. And he may just need some time alone.”

The trees filled in around them as they approached the cabin.

Julia stiffened in her seat, peering forward through them. “Let’s just hope he’s spending his alone time here.”

Grant turned off the main road, easing the car forward on the rough road. “Where is this place?”

“It’s pretty far from the road. I remember thinking I probably wouldn’t outrun him to the road if I had to.”

Grant clicked his tongue. “I cannot believe you are this worried about a man who kidnapped you twice.”

“Kidnap is a strong word,” she answered as the house came into view, looming ahead of them in the dim light. His pulse quickened. Would they find anything?

It looked dark. Maybe he was asleep. Grant almost hoped to find him there so they could finish this, and Julia could go back to resting.

Before he had the shifter in park, Julia was already out of the car. He hurried to catch up to her as she mounted the stairs leading to the cabin. She jiggled the handle, finding the door locked. A curse escaped from under her breath as she tugged a bobby pin from her hair.

She dropped to a knee and shoved it into the lock.

“Are you kidding me?”

A few seconds later, she twisted the knob again and pushed the door open. “No.”

“I’m a little disturbed. You should have disclosed that information to me.” He offered her a coy smile.

“On my fake wife application?” she asked as she scanned the dark interior before finding a light switch.

“Mm, maybe on the real wife one. Lock picking was probably a pro for the fake wife situation.”

“It was. I picked the lock to find Eve.” She twisted to face him, her features scrunching. “James didn’t tell you?”

“No. Another thing I’ll have to speak with him about.”

“Nice to know he kept my secret.” She scanned the living room before she crossed to the kitchen. “He’s not here.”

She hurried up the stairs before he could stop her. He followed behind her as she called out to his son.

She burst into a bedroom and crossed to the en-suite bathroom. “He’s not here.”

The disappointment in her voice was obvious. His heart broke for her, and he stepped closer, pulling her into his arms. “I’m sorry, Juls. But it was a long shot, right?”

“Yeah,” she admitted. “I don’t know where else to look.”

“Your bed.”

“You think he’s hiding under it?”

He pressed his lips together. “I was going to say no, but this is Kyle we’re talking about, so maybe. But I’m serious. You need to go home and rest. Let Max handle this.”

Julia sucked in a breath, flicking her gaze sideways. Had he convinced her to leave this to the professionals? Of course, she’d just picked a lock, so maybe she was also a professional.

As she started to answer, her phone rang. She hurried to answer it, turning on her speakerphone. “Alex, hi.”

“Hey, Sunshine. Did you manage to locate little G’s phone?”

Grant furrowed his brow. Had she called Alex for help?

Julia sighed. “Yeah. But no Kyle.”

“The plot thickens,” the tech guru answered. “G-junior is missing?”

“Yes,” she answered, “I’ve looked everywhere, and I’m really worried.”

Grant rubbed her arm, trying to offer her support. She grabbed his hand before she stepped closer, leaning into him. He wrapped a consoling arm around her.

“Hmm, give me a quick second here. I’ll see if there’s anything intriguing on the hospital security cameras.”

Grant scrunched his features. “Hospital security camera?”

“Big G,” Alex answered, “I didn’t know you were on the line.”

“Yeah, sorry, I put you on speaker. Grant and I were checking a few places for Kyle.”

Clacking keys filled the air. “You say you last saw him last night?”

“Right.”

“Okay, give me a second here, I’m just reviewing the footage.”

“How are you accessing the hospital security footage?” Grant asked.

“Uhhh, are you serious?”

Grant bobbed his head. “Yeah.”

“Let’s just say my approach was…less than legal. But desperate times, right, G-man?”

Grant shot Julia a glance as she shook her head.

“Oh,” Alex said. “Oh, just a second, just a second. I may have something for you.”

Julia’s grip tightened on him, her breath hitching at the words.

A jolt of adrenaline pushed his heart to pound against his ribs as the weight of the moment pressed down on them.

Would they finally have an answer about his son’s whereabouts?