Page 36

36

MICHAEL

She was gone.

My mind reeled as I stared at the note.

I quit. I’m sorry.

That was it. No explanation. The words were like a slap in the face When they began to blur, I blinked. What did this mean? Did she quit just the job, or did she quit me, too?

I’d woken up this morning feeling good, lighter even. The one thing I had held back from Mia was in the open. She knew why I had behaved with skepticism in the beginning. Surely she saw how much she meant to me after I lowered every guard I had in place. I was convinced we’d connected on a higher level.

When I woke and didn’t find her in bed beside me, I’d assumed she was with Poppy. She wasn’t. I then thought she was in her bedroom. When I checked, there was no Mia, just this fucking note. I crumpled the piece of paper as my chest tightened with hurt, anger, and betrayal. What was with the women in my life leaving these notes?

I clenched my jaw so tightly it began to throb. How could Mia do this to me? To us? I recalled asking— begging —her to not abandon us without a word if she ever wanted to leave. I raked my fingers through my hair as my pulse pounded in my ears.

It didn’t work. I’d let Mia in—really let her in—and she’d just left. Letting out a frustrated growl, I punched the wall. The impact vibrated through my arm, and I froze to stare at the hole I’d just created as my breaths came out in ragged gasps. When the initial shock wore off, pain shot up my arm. I pulled my fist back and winced at the sight of my bruised and bloodied knuckles. My hand ached, and I shook it as I unleashed a torrent of expletives. I never lost my temper like this.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” I grumbled. I needed to get the hell out of Mia’s space before I completely lost my shit. The room smelled like her, and right now I hated it.

I went stock-still when I turned to the door and saw Poppy. She stood in the doorway, wide-eyed and clutching a stuffed animal.

My heart dropped into my stomach. Oh shit. The last thing I wanted was for my kid to see me in this state. I dropped my bruised hand and slid it behind me. “Hey, my little flower. You’re up…” The smile I forced was almost hurt.

“Daddy, are you okay?” her gaze slid to the hole in the wall and then back to me.

“I’m fine, sweetheart.”

“Did you hurt yourself?”

“Just a little. It was an accident. I’ll be fine. I bet you’re ready for breakfast.”

She nodded and clutched the stuffed toy tighter. The wary look she gave me made me regret losing myself in anger. Hopefully, she’d forget she’d ever seen me in such a state.

“Why don’t you go to the kitchen and wait for me? I’ll be right there.”

“Okay.” After another assessing look, she disappeared.

As I shut my eyes and rubbed my forehead, it hit me that Poppy didn’t ask for Mia. It was strange. Nowadays, if she doesn’t see her favorite person first thing in the morning, she asks for her…

After getting my head screwed back on straight and covering my bruised hand, I made Poppy breakfast. I couldn’t stomach anything, not even a crumb, so I watched Poppy… suspiciously. She still hadn’t uttered a word about Mia’s absence.

“Poppy?”

She glanced at me as she chomped away on her favorite cereal.

“You haven’t asked for Mia all morning.”

She shook her head, and I frowned. “Mia had to go.”

My eyes widened at her unexpected response. “She told you she had to go?”

“Uh-huh. It’s like the bedtime story.” Poppy picked up the stuffed toy she’d had a death grip on it all morning. I gave the toy a more focused assessment. The worn bear seemed to have been around for a long time—hell, it looked way older than Poppy. The white sections weren’t white anymore, and it was missing an eye.

“Where did you get that bear?” I asked.

Her face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Mia gave him to me! His name is Patch.”

I gave the bear another look. Patch was a good name for the worn-out toy. There were patches of varying shades of brown, and they seemed to have been sewn together by hand.

“Her grandma made it for her when she was a baby. Patch always made her feel better when she was sad, so she gave him to me because she loves me. She said so.”

I swallowed the ball of emotion that was trying to claw its way up. I knew Mia loved Poppy. There was no way she could have faked it. She’d given Poppy something her grandmother made. That stuffed bear must have meant the world to her. As I gazed at the toy, worry started to nag me.

If she was as attached to Poppy as Poppy was to her, then serious shit would have to hit the fan before she walked away from the job . I’d had that exact thought the morning that I’d decided I’d jump headfirst into an affair with my daughter’s nanny. Something serious had to have happened for Mia to walk away so abruptly without a word.

“Poppy, what did you mean about Mia having to leave like the bedtime story?”

She pushed her empty bowl away, hugged the stuffed bear, and launched into a story Mia told her last night about a girl who got to live with a king and his little princess. She was happy for a while because she loved her new family, and she was sad when she had to leave. But she had to because she was protecting the king and the princess from the monsters who were after her.

I gawked at Poppy, who smiled after she finished the story. “Poppy, I need you to tell me exactly what Mia said after she told you the story.”

Her smile dimmed. “She said not to be sad if I didn’t see her when I woke up. She might have to leave us for a little while to protect us from the monsters like in the story. I didn’t want her to go, but she said I could keep Patch to remember her, and we’ll be best friends forever. I promised I’ll be good when you get a new nanny.” She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want one, but Mia told me to be nice.”

I scrubbed a hand over my face and let out a shaky breath as I rolled back my memory. Mia’s strange behavior and apparent anxiety started after our encounter with her ex. That bad feeling in my gut intensified. She didn’t abandon us. She was in trouble…

I felt as if I was about to unravel into a million pieces. Panic tried to get me in a chokehold as I stared at the chaos in Mia’s apartment. However, I couldn’t let the mind-numbing fear take control. I needed to keep a clear head. I’d come to Mia’s place after Poppy’s interesting story. I didn’t find Mia, but her door had been left open and the place was in utter disarray—furniture overturned, drawers pulled out…

My heart pounded as I considered two possibilities. The mess could be the result of a burglary or worse, a struggle. The thought of Mia being scared and hurt almost made me descend into the panic I was trying to avoid.

It took everything I had to keep my mind steady. “Think, Michael, think…” I muttered as I exited the apartment. What kind of trouble was Mia in? Her ex-boyfriend gave me a shady vibe. Had he done something to her? Just who were these monsters in Poppy’s bedtime story, and was it a good idea to get the cops involved? My first instinct was to call the police. However, wouldn’t Mia have done that if she could?

Hands on my hips, I stood in the hallway and looked skyward. The security camera down the hall was pointed right at me. “Of course…”

I took off to find the person in charge of the building.

It didn’t take too long because the landlord lived on the first floor. I glowered at the man, half hidden behind his door. He was a tiny man with graying hair and beady eyes. For some reason, he gave the same cagey energy that Mia’s ex did.

“What do you mean, I can’t see the footage?” I growled.

His eyes narrowed to slits. “Hey, man, you’re not a cop with a warrant. I don’t know who the hell you are, but you can’t just show up and demand to see security footage.” He gave me a once over and scoffed. “You don’t even live here.”

“It’s an emergency,” I said. “Please.”

“No way,” he said.

As he prepared to close the door in my face, I slammed a palm against it. “Name your price…”

The man’s eyes sparkled with interest, and then his greedy gaze shifted to my Jaeger-LeCoultre watch. He smirked. I snorted inwardly. I knew he was the shady type.

Gritting my teeth, I peeled the watch off and held it up. “Security footage, now… ”

He stepped aside, and I brushed past him. I’d find Mia if it was the last thing I did. I had a good thing with her and damn if I’d let her go without a fight. I was willing to break a few laws if I had to.