Total pages in book: 184
Estimated words: 188108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 941(@200wpm)___ 752(@250wpm)___ 627(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 188108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 941(@200wpm)___ 752(@250wpm)___ 627(@300wpm)
“Sorry, Mum.” He didn’t tell her that he’d just realized that she’d left without the coat, scarf, and hat that he’d bought her.
Because they were all sitting in the coat closet.
He hoped that she hadn’t walked far without a coat on. It was another cold day today. And he hated to think about her walking around in the cold.
She’d even left her beloved roller skates.
Perhaps she’d just left for a couple of hours to get away from his mum.
As he headed back upstairs to go check Roman’s office, his phone buzzed.
Roman: Sorry! I had a meeting. I’d forgotten about it. Where has she gone?
Salem: Back to her place, I guess. I’m just going to go find her address.
Alexei: Don’t worry. Stay with your mum.
Salem: I need to find Tamsyn.
Alexei: I can track her phone.
Salem: That won’t help much when her phone is here.
Roman: She left without her phone?
Salem: Yes. And without her coat or scarf or hat too.
Alexei: Fuck. Why would she do that?
Salem: My mum probably scared her off and she didn’t know what to do. I’m worried about her.
Alexei: Send me the address.
Roman: Wait. I remember it.
He sent through an address. Fuck, that was likely an hour away and it was peak traffic. Even on the underground, it would take a while.
Alexei: I’m not that far from there. Maybe twenty minutes away. Meet me there with the car.
Salem: Done. Tell us when you find her.
36
What the hell?
Alexei glanced down at the address on the group message and then up at the building.
The rundown building with broken windows and constructed of a disgusting brown brick.
Fuck no.
This was completely unacceptable.
There was graffiti along the lower part of the building, and it looked like no one had bothered to attempt to wash off.
A train raced past on an overbridge next to the building. He glared at the bridge. He bet a lot of illegal shit went on in there. It was dark and damp looking. The whole building looked musty and cold. And despite that, people were still attempting to dry clothes on the balconies.
Alexei glared up at the apartment building and then checked the address that Roman had sent him.
This couldn’t be right.
This was not where she was living.
Not while he was living in that fucking mansion that he didn’t really deserve.
Not while he’d been a bit of an asshole to her in the beginning.
Okay, perhaps more than a bit.
She wasn’t living here in squalor in one of the worst neighborhoods in London.
He drew out his phone and called Roman.
“Are you there? Do you have her?” he asked, sounding breathless.
“Are you sure about this being her address?” he demanded.
“What? Yes. I looked up the form she filled out to double check.”
“You didn’t check it when she first filled it out to make sure it was correct?”
“Why would I do that? What’s wrong?”
“It’s in the fucking slums,” he snarled.
“That can’t be right. I’m heading your way in a taxi. I’ll be there soon.”
Alexei grunted and ended the call without saying goodbye. He had no time for niceties.
He studied the address again. No apartment number. He stormed up to the door to take a look. At one time, it must have had an intercom system, but it looked like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it at some stage.
Oh, as soon as he got hold of her and made sure she was safe, he was going to spank her ass until she couldn’t sit for a week.
He didn’t care that she hadn’t been his when she had lived here.
And yes, he was using the word, ‘had,’ as she was never living here again.
He knew he was overprotective of the people he cared about, but he didn’t care. He’d lost his family once and that wasn’t happening again.
You should have insisted on knowing where she lived. You should have paid fucking attention.
He still couldn’t believe Roman hadn’t checked her address.
But he couldn’t blame Roman, either. That would be taking the easy way out. This was on all of them.
A taxi drew up and a harried looking Roman climbed out, nearly tripping over the curb as he stared up at the building in front of him.
Chagrin filled his face, quickly followed by horror. “I should have checked her address. I should have looked it up. I didn’t even think to check. She didn’t list the area and I didn’t think it mattered. Fuck.” He ran his hand over his face.
Things were bad if Roman was swearing.
“It wasn’t just on you,” Alexei grumbled as he walked over to the other man. “Salem and I could have asked her about her living conditions. We could have asked for the address. This is on all of us. And once she’s safe, I’m going to spank her every night for a month.”
“A month? You don’t think that’s excessive?” Roman gaped at him.