Page 29 of Believing in a Billionaire (Hearts and Holdings #7)

JULIA

J ulia’s pulse raced at Alex’s words. “You found something?”

“Yeah, just a second, I’m grabbing it to send to your phone,” Alex answered.

Her heart raced as she shot a worried glance at Grant. He tightened his grip on her. She leaned closer, appreciating his strength.

“Ooookay, sending it now. Give it a second to arrive since it’s a larger file.”

She chewed her lower lip as she waited for the message to come through.

Her mind sorted through the possibilities.

Memories of Kyle, both infuriating and endearing, swirled in her mind.

Had their last argument pushed him too far?

The weight of their shared history, filling with both conflict and unexpected moments of understanding, pressed down on her, making the wait for Alex’s video unbearable.

The file finally popped up in her text messages. “Got it.”

She pressed play, her heart thudding hard as each frame played. Kyle’s car sat on the edge of the video frame. She stared at it as the knot of worry in her stomach tightened.

A figure finally appeared on the side of the video. Kyle. He strode toward his car, his posture stiff. The lights flashed as he unlocked it before he twisted to glance back at the hospital.

A shadowy figure, their face obscured by a dark hood, followed him, skirting the car and sliding into the passenger seat. Kyle’s hand hovered on his door handle before he finally tugged it open and slid inside. A second later, the car backed from the space and pulled away.

She stared at the car as it left the frame, clinging to fading hope. Who was the man he was with? Something still didn’t add up. Her heart continued to race, fear for Kyle knotting her stomach, mixing with a profound frustration over the elusive truth.

“That is the Junior G, right?” Alex asked.

“Yeah,” she said, her voice still breathy. “Yeah, that’s Kyle. Who is the guy he’s with?”

Her forehead pinched as she worked through what she’d seen.

“No idea,” Alex answered. “His face is never on the camera. At least not that one. Hey, kid, mind if I call you back?”

“Not at all. Thank you, Alex, for sending this. You’ve been very helpful.”

“Anytime, kid. Anytime.”

She ended the call, biting her lower lip as she rested her chin on the phone.

“Feel any better?” Grant asked as he rubbed her shoulder.

She snapped her gaze up to him. The video hadn’t provided her with any reassuring information. “Better? I feel worse.”

“Worse?” he questioned. “Juls, the video clearly shows him getting in the car of his own volition.”

“But who is this person with him? Why did he get in the car with Kyle? Why does he look nervous?”

“He doesn’t look nervous to me. He looks…agitated. Which I’m certain he was after our argument.”

“But…why would he get in the car with this person?”

Grant lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “Julia, that could be another doctor or a friend. Maybe he called someone to talk to about what happened.”

“Before he smashed his phone, you mean?”

He frowned at her. “Maybe he’s giving him a ride home.”

She shifted her weight as she stared down at her phone’s dead display. The person didn’t look like a doctor.

“Juls, he got in his car and drove away. No one grabbed him or shoved him inside. He opened the door, got inside, and drove away. Maybe he dropped the phone. Maybe he smashed it. I don’t know, but that video clearly shows him getting in the car of his own free will.”

She couldn’t argue with him. He wasn’t wrong. But something didn’t sit right with her.

Grant tugged her a little closer, tipping her chin up. She raised her eyes to him. “Julia, I know this is hard for you because you have such a big heart. But…Kyle doesn’t want to be found right now. Maybe that will change, but until then there’s nothing we can do. He’s a grown man.”

She blew out a long breath, still unable to argue.

“Look, I’ll keep Max on this. If he can find him, then at least we’ll know he’s safe, okay? But we can’t make him come back if he doesn’t want to.”

She bobbed her head up and down, her disappointment still clouding her head. Something just didn’t seem right.

Grant’s phone rang, and he dug into his pocket, checking the display before he answered. “Mike, everything okay?” He paused before his posture stiffened. “All right…yeah…I’m not at home but I’ll be there as soon as I can…yeah.”

He ended the call with a sigh. “Juls, I’m sorry–”

“You need to go to the office,” she answered.

He nodded, his features penitent.

“Well, we’re at a dead end, anyway, so let’s head back.” She took a step toward the hall when he tugged her back, wrapping his arms around her.

“Wait a second,” he said. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

She sucked in a breath. “I’m still worried. But there’s nothing I can do at this point. He has to come back on his own. Or with Max dragging him back.”

He chuckled at her statement. “Okay. As long as you promise to rest.”

“I promise. I’ll go home and wait to hear from Max.”

He smiled at her before he kissed her lips. “Good. I hate that I need to run to the office, but I will feel much better if you’re safe.”

“It’s okay. Don’t feel bad about having to put out a fire at the office. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. I hate it, but it’s my life.”

“Yes, it is,” she said with a nod. She’d known that when she’d married him. She didn’t mind the long hours, though she hated how much it seemed to wear on him lately. “Now, come on, you need to drop me off at home so I can worry from the comfort of my own bed.”

“When you get home,” he said as they made their way through the cabin to the front door, “you should go to sleep, not stay up and worry.”

“I’ll worry while I wait up for you.”

“No, you shouldn’t wait up for me. Besides, I don’t know how long I’ll be.”

“That bad?” she asked as she slid into the passenger seat.

He climbed behind the wheel and fired the engine. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

Within an hour, they were back at the house. Despite her protestations, he insisted on settling her in bed before he left.

She let her head fall back into the pillows with a sigh as he strode from the room. The images she’d seen at the cabin played over and over in her mind. She flicked on the light and sat up, grabbing her phone.

She opened the video and played it again. She paused as Kyle glanced over his shoulder. She stared at his face, trying to read any emotion in it. Was that fear clouding his eyes? Upset? Anger?

Her heart sank as she stared at it, wishing he’d call and tell her he was fine.

Tears stung her eyes, and she clicked off the display. Something didn’t sit right with her, but she couldn’t deny that the video clearly showed him climbing into the car without being forced.

She chewed her lower lip as she white-knuckled the phone. The creaking door drew her attention across the room.

Alicia peeked in. “Still up?”

“Yeah,” Julia answered. “Come in.”

Alicia sidled to the bed and collapsed on the edge with a sigh. “Nothing at the cabin, I guess?”

Julia shook her head. “No, but Alex found a video of Kyle leaving the hospital.”

Julia queued it on her phone and passed it to Alicia.

Alicia studied it before she clicked off the display and handed it back to Julia. “Mystery solved. The doc took off.”

“That’s your professional assessment?”

Alicia slid her eyes sideways. “Uh, it’s pretty obvious. He got in the car and left.”

“With some random person.”

“Who he may know,” Alicia pointed out.

Julia shook her head. “No. There’s something about this video that bothers me. He’s…stiff or something. And the way he turns back to glance at the hospital. I don’t know. Something’s off.”

“It could be anyone. A friend, a colleague. People get into cars with other people all the time.”

“Not Kyle. Not like this. Not with that…stiffness. Something’s off. And it’s not about him needing space.”

“Juju,” her sister said, her voice measured, “I think you’re really tired. Maybe some sleep will help you feel better.”

“I’m not tired. And I’m not crazy. Watch it again. Tell me you don’t notice this…as a cop.” Julia shoved the phone back at her.

Alicia sucked in a breath, offering an unimpressed glance at the footage as it played through. “It looks like he got into the car and left.”

Julia snatched the phone back from her sister with a frown. “You don’t know him like I do.”

“Obviously not, he’s never–”

“Don’t say it,” Julia snapped, her face set in a warning.

“Julia, he may look stiff or…forlorn because of the argument. Looks like he got into the car with a friend and took off.”

“Without his phone.”

“Maybe he dropped it,” Alicia said with a shrug.

Julia let her head fall back against her pillow as Alicia lectured her on sleeping. She was about to agree when her phone chimed. Her heart jumped, and she checked the display. A message waited from Alex. Hey kid, you up?

She rushed to answer. I am. What’s up?

Her phone rang a second later, and she answered the call immediately. “Alex? You found something?”

Alicia offered her a confused glance.

“Alex Stone,” she mouthed as he answered her question.

“I did. It’s…not conclusive, but…when you mentioned your concern with Hoodie, I tried to find some footage of his face.”

“Did you?”

“No. Which makes me…suspicious. Someone that good at hiding their face from a camera probably has something to hide. I’m sending a video of Grant 2.0 now. Let me know what you think once you watch it.”

“Okay. And thank you for this. I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything, kid. I am thoroughly intrigued.”

Something about the way he said his last statement worried her. The video popped on her screen, and she pressed play. Alicia leaned over her arm, holding her breath.

The video showed another angle of the parking lot. Kyle appeared along with a shadow of another figure. Kyle seemed perturbed. He shook his head, his features twisting as he said something.