I need to get a grip. Calm down. Remain steady.
Methodical.
“Here you go. Hurry up and eat.”
Seamus sets the water down on the table.
I swallow hard, glancing up at him.
Just before my hands curve around the smooth ceramic and I fling the entire bowl of soup at his face.
Chapter Four
Perry
“You’re a worthlesshusband with shit for brains,” Grant Lancaster spits out at me, his anger obvious thanks to the tone of his voice and the deadly scowl on his face.
I glare at him, counting down before I actually respond. This asshole means business and whatever I say to him could set him off further.
Which right back at him because I’m on edge and about to lose it all over this dick who just so happens to be my wife’s oldest brother. My brother-in-law.
Welcome to the Lancaster family. Just love this bunch.
“Accusing this guy of being a terrible husband isn’t going to fix the problem,” Finn Lancaster says, his gaze quickly shifting to mine, a hint of apology there, which is surprising.
Both of them treated me like absolute shit at our engagement party and at least Grant is staying consistent. I can sense, though, that I might have an ally in Finn.
And I need an ally right now on the Lancaster side.
Desperately.
“I agree,” I say, hoping Finn can sense my gratitude. “You can insult me all you want later. After we’ve got Charlotte back.”
AfterI’vegot Charlotte back, is what I want to say. But I’m trying to gain their help and trust, so I can’t make it all about me and what I want.
But the ache in my chest hasn’t eased. It’s only intensified the longer I go without her, and not knowing if she’s all right. Is she safe? What if she’s hurt? What if that asshole did something to her?
I can’t fathom the thought.
Worse, what if she’s laughing with him right now? Thrilled that she got away from me and is now back in his arms? What if it’s all a ruse to get away from me and our arrangement?
No. I don’t believe it. Before he abducted her, things were good between us. And getting better.
Those same thoughts keep running through my head though, intensifying as time goes on. It’s tearing me up inside, but I gotta keep my shit together.
For Charlotte.
Yet those darker thoughts won’t fully leave my mind either. That she could’ve planned this with McAsshat just about kills me. I absently rub at my chest, trying to rid myself of the pain, but it’s no use.
It’s still there, a throbbing beat in my blood. My heart. My head. That constant reminder that I don’t know where my wife is and there’s a chance that she won’t come ba—
Fuck. I can’t even fully think it.
Grant sneers at me, his expression shifting when Winston walks into the room. We’re all at Winston’s place currently, where we asked to meet the Lancaster brothers and break the news to them about Charlotte’s abduction. Upon discovery, they immediately agreed their parents shouldn’t be involved—not yet.
“If it goes much longer and we still don’t hear from her, we’ll have to notify my father,” Grant says, scowling at all of us though his gaze keeps returning to mine. I can see the blame there, and I want to tell him I get it. I blame myself just as much as he blames me, but I won’t give him the satisfaction. “I have resources, and plenty of them. They’ll be discreet. But our father has even more resources. He might be able to find her easier than I can.”
Finn makes a scoffing noise. “Give me a break. You’ll find her.”