As a preview of what my life would be like without Rachel in it, the next two days are excruciatingly lonely. The silence of my apartment is no longer comforting. It just feels empty without her.
The third day of her absence, I head to San Francisco. I have a lot to discuss with the management team at the Gold Dust, and it takes up most of my morning. I spend lunchtime visiting with Cameron and Jules then arrange an early dinner with Ava.
I didn’t tell Rachel I was meeting with her, but now, as I wait in my suite for Ava to arrive, I consider that I should have. But then, I’d have to tell her why. I still don’t see why I should ruin her time in Barbados with the news that Evans is walking around, probably looking for ways to hurt me.
The door opens and Ava walks into the suite, trailed by Claude. She’s dressed demurely in white silk, and though perfectly made up, her eyes are filled with concern.
“Oh Landon!”
She comes in for an embrace, and I extricate myself after a quick hug.
“I’m so sorry,” she continues. “I really thought he’d stay in rehab until he got better.”
My smile is tight. “Obviously you were wrong.” I motion for her to sit. “Claude, why don’t you arrange to have dinner sent up?”
Almost reluctantly, he leaves me alone with Ava. She settles on an armchair. “Are you going to try to find him?”
“I have to know where he is, Ava.”
She sniffs. “I understand how you feel. When I heard he tried to hurt you, I swear, Landon…I…” Her voice breaks.
I watch her wipe her eyes. A hotel staff member arrives, wheeling in our food, and he lays it out it in the dining room.
“Why don’t we eat,” I suggest. “We can talk about Evans later.”
She follows me to the table. With the food and wine, she is soon relaxed and regaling me with stories of her last trip to Europe, including running into two exes at a party. I feign interest. I think she knows where Evans is, and I need to get that information out of her.
After dinner, I refill her glass. “When was the last time you saw him?”
“Evans?” She’s taken aback by the change in subject. “I…um…”
I don’t take my eyes off hers. “You can’t protect him forever.”
“You don’t understand.” She pushes the glass away. “He’s unstable. My uncle is suing for conservatorship—did you know that? He’ll lose access to his money, his independence… His accounts are already frozen, all because of…”
“Of me?”
“I didn’t say that.” She sighs. “He blames you. He thinks if he hadn’t lost the hotel—”
“That’s bull and you know it. He’d have lost the hotel anyway.”
“I know that.” She rises gracefully to her feet and walks to the windows. Through the sheer curtains, the sunset paints the sky in many vibrant colors.
Rachel would love this sunset.
Rachel.
I miss her.
“I need to know where he is.” I’m losing my patience. “It’s bad enough he wants to hurt me, but I can’t let the people around me be in danger too.”
“The people around you.” She spits out the words. “It used to be me you cared about, Landon. All these years, I thought if I waited long enough…”
The words trail off, but I know what she was going to say. Her flirting, her interest in my relationships…all of it should have told me she was still deeply invested in the idea of us.
Slowly, I rise from my seat. “I’m sorry to have disappointed you, but my main concern at this point is finding out where Evans is.”
She exhales. “He came to see me. He wanted some money…”