Page 14 of Joel (Guardians of the North #6)

JOEL

I’m getting married today.

For real.

I’m marrying the feisty, confident, brave woman I dove into the Bering Sea to offer a lift to just four days ago.

Maybe I knew all along that she was the one, even when I suggested we should prank the J-Squad with a fake engagement.

“Sweetheart, can I make you—” But my outstretched hand doesn’t find a warm body beside me. Only cold sheets. “Kylie?” I call out, tossing aside the covers. Panic hits me, despite having found her on my covered back porch yesterday.

I pull on a pair of sweatpants, and rush to the kitchen. The coffee pot is off. None of the lights are on. The porch is empty. The bags Kylie left beside the couch when I first moved her in are missing.

I search for my phone and call her.

I’m sent straight to voicemail.

I navigate to the text messages, hoping she left me a clue. I want to believe that she’s getting ready with the wives. Or that she had some secret pre-wedding ritual she wanted to do in private. But there’s no text messages.

None from Kylie, anyway.

Only one.

From Todd.

Todd: I got your money. I’ll leave Kylie alone if you leave my company alone. Do we have a deal?

Fuck.

Did Kylie see this?

I was going to tell her about Todd.

Eventually.

Well, okay. Maybe I wasn’t. But that was before I asked her to marry me for real and she said yes. I would never keep that kind of secret from her if I planned to spend the rest of my life with her. But it was one that could wait until after the wedding.

One loud knock on the door is the only warning I get before it’s tossed open. The J-Squad pours into my living room, carrying a small feast. For a beat, I relax. Maybe the wives abducted Kylie again. That would explain the radio silence.

But not the missing bags.

There’s a lump in my throat, and pit in my stomach the size of a fucking bowling ball.

“You okay man?” Jasper asks, concern knitting his eyebrows.

“You didn’t go to Rocco’s Tacos after you disappeared last night, did you?” Jordan asks, concern etched in his expression.

“I don’t have food poisoning,” I groan, wishing I could send them all away. But they deserve to know the truth. “It was a sham wedding.”

“And?” James says.

“What do you mean and ?” I fire back.

“None of us bought the shotgun wedding thing,” Jasper admits with a shrug.

“Then why the hell did you go along with it?” I demand, looking around the room at the five assholes in my living room. I’d still take a bullet for every one of them, but that doesn’t mean they’re not assholes right now.

“Because she’s the one, isn’t she?” Jonas asks, his tone calmer than mine.

My gaze lands on the spot beside the couch where her bags should be but aren’t. “Doesn’t matter. I fucked up. She’s gone.”

“Not yet,” Jaxson says, holding up his phone. “Blakely found her at the airport.”