Page 81 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

“No,” Grant answered, his voice still raw with emotion.

“I couldn’t find her. I thought maybe I’d see her in town, but I couldn’t find her.” His voice sounded as disappointed as Grant’s.

Grant glanced down at his phone, sadly silent. “I can’t believe Sierra’s not back.”

“Maybe she left, too. Wouldn’t that be ironic? If you were only left with me.”

The thought made him even more depressed. He tapped his phone and called Sierra. It went to her voicemail. With a shake of his head, he gritted his teeth and dialed Lydia’s number.

She answered on the second ring. “Hi, Grant. If you’re calling to beg me to come back to replace Little Red Riding Hood, you can forget it, I–”

“I’m not,” he said, disgusted by the conversation already. “Is Sierra with you?”

“No. She isn’t with you?”

His heart skipped a beat. “No. I thought maybe…she was still upset, and she’d gone to the hotel with you.”

Lydia sighed on the other end. “No. We…got into a massive argument five minutes into the hike she insisted we take. She stormed off, and I haven’t seen her since.”

“What? When was this?”

“Mmm, a few hours ago. I’m sure she’s fine.”

“Lydia, there’s a storm coming. She could be lost and get stuck in it.”

“Have you called her?”

His panic built with each passing second. “Yes. No answer. Where did you last see her?”

“Umm, we were on some strange path. It went through the trees–”

“Theyallgo through trees, Lydia. Think. This is important.”

“Um, Wasp’s Mountain or something like that.”

“Wasp’s…never mind. I’m going to try to call her again. If you hear from her, let me know.”

Grant’s chest tightened as he ended the call and scrolled back to Sierra’s name.

“What’s going on?”

“Sierra took off on Lydia hours ago. No one’s seen her since.”

“Surely, she’d know to come home with the storm coming.”

Grant pressed the phone to his ear, his hands trembling. “Unless she’s lost.”

A few seconds later, her voicemail sounded. He pulled the phone away, ending the call as his heart sank. He couldn’t lose both of the women he loved on the same day.

Kyle shuffled toward him. “Try Julia. Maybe Sierra got lucky and ran into her. Maybe they’re together.”

Grant nodded as his shaky fingers typed a message.Sorry to bother you, but Sierra’s missing. We can’t get a hold of her. She stormed off into the woods after an argument with Lydia. I’m worried about her with the storm coming.

He stared at the phone, praying for a response but not expecting one. Julia was likely otherwise engaged and not watching her phone for his messages.

To his surprise, a bubble appeared, indicating her forthcoming response.

How long has she been gone?