Til Debt Do Us Part (Married At Midnight #4)

Chapter 1

One

Dare

I swing my gaze around the packed living room of the Morgan Estate, sipping my tumbler of whiskey. Clusters of men in suits stand around, talking about their new crypto investments. Women in elegant cocktail attire bend their heads close together, whispering about their handsome tennis instructors. I take in the crowd, absorbing how self-centered and shallow they must seem to an outsider.

Talia could probably take them down a peg or two, given the chance. Or maybe it’s just me that she accuses of being an out-of-touch rich asshole. Lucky me, I guess.

Sweeping my eyes over the burbling crowd once more, I sigh and look at my watch. Talia excused herself to find the bathroom quite a while ago.

I can’t help but wonder what is keeping her from returning to my side like a good little wife.

I’m distracted for a moment by a woman falling over with a yelp. She’s giggling and holding up her wine glass, expecting someone to refill it. As I look on, her red-faced husband helps her up and forcefully steers her out of the room, muttering angry words into her ear the whole time. Everyone else is happy and drunk, seemingly having forgotten that only fifteen minutes ago, they were watching a showdown.

My twin brother, Burn, and I stood in the middle of a large circle of people, parrying and thrusting, trying to cut each other to pieces with our words. It was a surprise to me that this whole party was even taking place. Burn threw it together at the last minute, to dig in the fact that he is marrying the girl he stole from me.

But I got the last laugh. When I pulled Talia close and announced that we had been married this very day, Burn gave me a look that would turn any other human to stone.

I smile to myself and slide the melting ice cubes in my glass of blond whiskey with a faint clink. It was a very satisfying moment and I’m still floating on a cloud of satisfaction.

My Uncle Felix cuts through the crowd with his sharp elbows. A concentrated little frown is on his face and he shoots one lady a disdainful look as he shoves his way past her, brushing off his hands where he manhandled her shoulder.

“Damn bartender says that they are out of scotch,” he grouses.

“Did you hear anything more from the lawyers about the site where we plan on drilling? From what the lawyers have told me, the state of Maine is being an extraordinary pain in the ass about giving us a fucking inch.”

I arch a brow and shake my head. “No. I haven't heard anything from them all week. Then again, I've been pretty distracted with Talia.”

My eyes rove around the gathering. The crowd ripples and a swell of laughter bursts free from a large group of men in the corner. Talia is nowhere to be seen and I can only hope that she hasn't been waylaid by a distant cousin or something. All of my extended family are a bunch of grasping, greedy vultures and Talia doesn't know that makes her vulnerable to their invasive insinuations.

My uncle is not even looking out at the crowd at the moment. He has a slumped posture, his arms crossed, his expression rather dour.

“You need to get your head out of your new wife's pussy and pay attention to what is going on. The lawyers have to be reminded that they work for us. You wouldn't think that they'd need a reminder that a big paycheck is waiting for them at the end of this journey, but you would be surprised at how lazy they can be.”

I glance at him, my eyes narrowing. Try as I might, I can't find my usual vim and vigor for venting my feelings about the millions of dollars wasted on lawyers. I just nod and shrug, adjusting my tie as I look around the room again. “Have you seen Talia? She left almost twenty minutes ago. I'm afraid that Daisy has gotten ahold of her or something.”

A brief moment of anger flashes over Felix’s face. I'm not sure whether he is angry about Talia or something to do with Daisy, but in the next second it's gone from his expression. He shrugs and spreads his hands wide, gesturing around him. “I have been standing here with you. I'm sure that your new wife can hold her own.”

I squint and run my tongue over my teeth. “I'm not sure about that. She isn't hardened like us. She's still a soft touch.”

Felix rolls his eyes. “If you can't trust your wife to go to the bathroom by herself, you don't have a wife. You have a child.”

A derisive snort leaves my nose. “Helpful. I should go look for Talia.”

Felix looks like he is about to say something else but I turn and shoulder my way through the crowd toward the door. I head out into the crowded hallway, looking left and right. All I see is a sea of blondes and brunettes. Not a single flash of coppery red hair to be seen. I turn left and head down the hallway to the library. Talia could have gone to any of the restrooms on this floor, but this was definitely the direction that I last saw her heading in. Turning the corner toward the library, I immediately see Frick and Frack. Their dark heads of hair stick out above the crowd, their shoulders ending at the top of everyone else's heads. They are facing away from me, moving silently through the crowd, their eyes scanning every face. But I see no sign of Talia anywhere near them.

Where the fuck is my wife? My pulse starts to speed up.

I head toward them, my eyes narrowing, my expression as serious as a fresh grave. Frack turns around, his face in profile looking like it was carved from granite. His dark eyes find me and he stops, muttering something out of the corner of his mouth to Frick. Her ponytailed head swings around and I see that they are moving toward me. It's funny because I have long thought that my size made people in a crowd nervous enough to move away from me automatically. But watching Frick and Frack approach me without so much as having to touch another suited or gowned partygoer is nothing short of amazing in a crowd this size. It takes less than a minute for them to be in earshot.

“Where's Talia?” I demand.

Frack scowls and Frick narrows her eyes. They are both impeccably dressed this evening in a pair of dark suits and starched white shirts. Frack moves towards me, his brow creasing.

“We were just searching for Mrs. Morgan. We thought perhaps she was with you.”

My heart squeezes inside my chest. I give them a dirty look.

“She is not with me. And she's not with you. So where the fuck is she?”

Frick takes a deep breath and gives me a steadying look.

“We've been looking for her since she headed out of the living room without telling us. She's been gone for…”

Frick looks at her watch, flicking the cuff of her shirt back.

“Almost half an hour at this point. I think it's advisable that we consider her missing now. We need to examine all the security footage from the house's entrances and exits and try to determine if she left or was taken. Then we can figure out if we just have a search of the house to do or if we need to expand our options.”

I grit my teeth. “How could you let this happen?”

Frick and Frack simultaneously bow their heads, the closest that they will come to admitting fault.

“We’ll find your wife.”

“You better fucking hope so,” I snarl. “One of you, go get the security tapes from the security closet near the front door. The other one, go look for her outside. I will corner my father and uncle, herd them into the library, and try to ascertain whether either of them knows anything about Talia's whereabouts.”

Frack nods and starts toward the front of the house. Frick immediately heads for the side door, exiting into the back gardens. My heart bangs against my ribs as I turn, looking for my father or uncle. I find my uncle standing very close to where I left him a few minutes ago. He is nursing a glass of whiskey and looking as grouchy as ever. I head straight toward him, pushing people out of my way. Felix sees me coming and takes a large swig out of his glass, hissing at the burn of the whiskey sliding down his throat.

“Felix, where is Talia?”

He arches a brow, managing to look completely expressionless.

“What do you mean?”

I stalk right up to him, grabbing his tie and yanking it up. His head snaps backward, his carefully combed silver and black hair flopping. I glare down at him, my aqua eyes probing him. His hands flap uselessly at his sides when I give his tie another yank, threatening to choke him.

Felix looks stunned. But that could easily be an act. It's impossible to tell whether Felix knows what is going on or not, though he seems perfectly innocent. His hands come up to my chest, pressing against it in a fumbling attempt to free himself. That only makes me double down and I pull his tie straight up, stepping his head back further, strangling him.

“Where is she?” I demand to know. “Did you have someone take her?”

All I can see in my mind's eye is a dark man wearing a balaclava and gloves with his suit, hauling a frightened looking Talia out of the back door of the estate. The thought worries me so much that I drive a fist into my uncle's stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

He gasps for air and writhes as I maintain my grip on his tie. Felix is roughly my size but gaunt, years of drinking and smoking making his muscles weaker than they should be.

I lean close to his ear and spit out the words. “If you touch her, if she so much as says you looked at her wrong, I will fucking gut you. I'll run you through and wipe your blood off on your own shirt.”

Felix grits out, “I don't know where she is. I swear. I've just been standing here the entire time.”

His distress is starting to make him break out in a fine sheen of sweat.

“Mr. Morgan!”

I whip my head around and see Frack waving at me, motioning me over. “We found her. Come see.”

The way that he says the phrase ‘we found her’ makes my blood cold as ice in my veins. Releasing my uncle, I turn and move through the crowd, which has now mostly turned to gawk at me. Everyone moves back, parting a wide aisle between me and Frack. I open my mouth to demand to know where she is, but Frack shakes his head.

“Not here,” he says. “Come to the security room.”

He turns and heads towards the front hallway. I am right on his heels, my thoughts running wild. Talia has been taken. That's the only thing that I can think of that Frack would need me to see for myself.

Or… Or an unknown assailant has wounded her or knocked her unconscious and then dragged her body away from the Morgan Estate and put her in a car.

No one but Talia and I know that she is pregnant, so some harm could come to the baby without the assailant even realizing it. I trudge forward, trying to steel myself for whatever I'm about to see. By the time that I step into the security room, nothing more than a closet really, I swear that every nerve ending I have is on high alert. My hands are clenched into fists, my lower back is sweating through my crisp linen shirt. I look at the wall ofcomputer screens, seeing that each one covers a different angle of the security cameras inside and outside the house. One appears to be the upstairs hallway. Another shows a view of the inside of the multi-car garage, every one of my grandfather's precious collection of rare cars still in their bays. Most of the cameras capture footage of the exterior doors. I noticed just then that there is a nervous looking, young Hispanic man in a dark blue blazer, a white polo shirt, and a pair of dark brown khakis.

Frack moves toward him, gesturing. “This is Carlos. He is going to show you the footage.”

My heart pounds. My mouth is dry. Carlos moves forward and gulps as he presses a button on a remote in his hand. Frick taps the top of a particular display to draw my attention to it and I see that it is the feed showing the outside of the back exit into the garden.

“This is from forty minutes ago,” Frack says.

I watch as the door opens and Talia emerges from the building. At first, she just stands near the door, leaning against the bricks and looking out at the gardens just beyond. But then she fidgets a bit and pulls her cell phone out of her tiny purse.

She tosses her hair, looking at her cell phone. I don't know exactly what she is reading, but her eyes widen. Her hand flies up over her mouth and she looks horrified. She fidgets again and shoots an angry look at the house. Then she looks down and reads some more. When she's done, she drops her hand, her cell phone still loosely grasped in it. She leans back against the house and closes her eyes for a moment.

She just stays like that for the longest time. Then apparently, she makes up her mind and starts heading towards the front of the house.

The video jumps, suddenly showing the front door footage. I see Talia stalk out toward the front door and then she stops, looking around. She waves to one of the waiting chauffeurs, who is perched on the bonnet of his black Lincoln town car. He straightens and she says something to him. But though the security camera does record sound, it is too far away to make out what she says.

The young man that she called to bows, doffing his hat. He is a fit looking guy with sandy blonde hair and he is just a little taller than her.

He says something unintelligible and then she hurries over to the car, popping open the passenger side door and sliding in. He climbs in, too, and turns the car around, giving us a good view of his license plate. He pauses before he drives off, his brake lights soon the only thing visible in the darkness.

My whole body goes rigid as I watch the video. I don’t know what Talia read on her phone that made her run away without a word. A million thoughts pour into my brain, tumbling over one another. It could be some sort of threat to her well-being. Or some kind of lie about me, I guess.

Whatever it is that made her run, I have to track my wife down and bring her back, whether she likes it or not.

My future hangs in the balance.

“Fuck,” I mutter. I run a hand through my hair, gritting my teeth.

“She obviously left of her own accord,” Frick says. “That’s a pretty good thing, as far as I’m concerned.”

I shoot her a sour look. “I need you to hunt down that chauffeur. She’s not stupid enough to run off alone. She had help, that I am sure. Find out everything he knows about where Talia could have gone.”

“Of course.” Frick bows her head and leaves the security footage there with Carlos, who looks as though he is trying to blend in with the wall. I stroke my chin and stare at the darkened screen in the surveillance room.

What do I know about Talia and where she would run to?

I know that she has an aunt. I know her friend Olivia is heavily involved with her day-to-day life under normal circumstances. And I think she said she volunteers at some charity… For the life of me, I can’t remember exactly which one or even what type of organization it was. Dogs and cats? Sick old people? Breast cancer awareness?

It honestly could have been any of those or a million other bleeding heart sad sack charities.

I pull out my phone and call Rob. My personal assistant picks up on the second ring, sounding more than a little perplexed. “Dare? Do you need something?”

“Remember the background check I had you run on Talia and all her known associates?”

I hear a sharp intake of breath. “Yes… I hired your usual private investigator to run down all the people in her life. There were many.”

“I need to know everything you know. Including any locations that she would run to if she were in danger.”

There is silence for a few moments. “And is she in danger?”

“Maybe,” I growl. “Or maybe she is just trying not to be found. Who the fuck knows what goes on in her mind?”

“But she’s gone missing,” he says, his voice puzzled. “That’s what you’re saying?”

“I have security camera footage of her sneaking away from the estate. Talia stole off into the night without a word.”

Something crackles on Rob’s end of the phone line. “What the fuck?” he asks. “Why would she just leave like that?”

“I don’t fucking know!” I explode, gnashing my teeth. “All I know is that we have to get her back. So I need you to look up places that she’s been associated with in the past. I will send my security team to each and every location you dig up.”

“Of course,” he says. “I have the folder that the private investigator gave me right here. I’ll compile the list and send it to you shortly. Do you need anything else from me?”

“No. Or… I don’t know. Let me call you back. Right now, I can hardly think of anything but where Talia could possibly be. I am going crazy trying to remember if she ever mentioned any people or places to me. I can’t believe that I don’t even know where she would run to for safety.”

“Well, you’ve only been married for a few hours…” Rob says. I can hear the uneasiness in his voice, though.

“I’ve got to go.” I hang up the phone without another word because I realized that I am literally shaking with rage and no small amount of fear.

What the fuck is Talia thinking? There’d better be a damn good reason for this little rebellion.

Olivia and Aunt Minnie. Those are two names that I have heard Talia repeat over and over again. I have the vaguest sense of who Olivia might be. A quiet blonde with oversized glasses and an ill fitting dress swims up in my vision.

But I know next to nothing about her. I have no idea what her phone number is or where she lives and while I can have my security team look into it, it will take some time. Talia’s Aunt Minnie though…

I certainly know where she works. I try to remember if Talia said that they lived together. I think that they did, before I proposed.

I text Rob and ask for the address of their little house. He responds fairly quickly with the address and I am out the door as soon as possible. I leave instructions with the security team to coordinate their efforts with Rob. I feel sweat pooling at my back, running down my spine.

The rev of the Porsche drowns out the persistent thumping beat of my heart. I clench the leather wrapped wheel and peel out, glad that I have a stick shift. It allows me some measure of control, a feeling that I desperately crave just at this moment. Working the clutch and speeding up or slowing down in response to the curves in the road takes my mind off of the sick cycle of racing thoughts. In minutes, I speed through downtown, running red lights recklessly and barely avoiding collisions with other vehicles. I am certainly not new to speeding or switching lanes heedlessly. But by the time I pull up in front of Aunt Minnie’s bookshop with a squeal of tires, my engine practically roaring, I’m having heart palpitations. What if Talia is not here?

She might have run here because she didn’t think it through. But a sneaking suspicion comes over me that she wouldn’t be so thoughtless. I bound out of the Porsche the second I can throw it into park. I leave the keys in it in my rush to get inside.

I stalk up to the storefront, noting the weathered brick and the wide glass display window. To the right is a plate glass door laid into a wood foundation. Stepping close to the display window, I notice that it is covered in gold and silver sparkling glitter. The words ‘enchanting’, ‘fairytale’, and ‘happily ever after’ are written in white cut out letters and taped in the corners of the window. Bending down to see through the sparkles, I cup my hands around my eyes to seal out the intruding light. Right in front of my face is a white shelf covered in glitter with several fairytale books displayed nicely. I can make out several dark, shadowy blobs just beyond it that might be bookshelves. But though I strain to see more, nothing beyond that appears to me in the gloom.

Pushing off the thick window, I head over to the glass door. Though it's obvious that the store is closed from the quaint sign that has been turned to ‘closed’, I still try to see in. I can only make out vague and shadowy shapes, possibly another bookshelf on my right and a cash register beyond that. But again, nothing clearer. I shape my hands into fists and bang on the door, rattling it.

“Fuck!” I swear. “God dammit, Talia. Where the fuck are you?”

The bookshop looks back at me as I stagger backward, holding my arms out wide. I grimace and turn my face up, beseeching silently.

I don't believe in anything more powerful than money. There is no God that can save me now or deliver Talia to me. But still, I bring my hands together, folding them and bowing for just a moment. Genuflecting, if you will.

Then I turn on my heel and stalk toward my car. A few seconds later, a cold voice stops me in my tracks.

“Dare?”

It's a woman's voice, much older than Talia’s. I whirl to face it and there is her Aunt Minnie, glaring at me from the doorway of the bookshop. She is dressed in a flowing violet robe and her hair falls around her shoulders like a cloak, gray and wild, bordering on scraggly if it weren't quite so thick. Her eyes glint blue and I see the resemblance in her proud nose as she tosses back her hair.

“Are you Dare?” She asks.

I cross my arms. “I am. Are you Minnie?”

Aunt Minnie looks me up and down, her mouth puckering slightly. “I am. What are you doing here? And where is Talia?”

I spread my hands wide and shrug. “I came here to ask you the very same thing. I thought she might have come here.” I watch Aunt Minnie closely, expecting her perhaps to fidget or act as though she is hiding something. But she merely seems perplexed.

She raises a hand and beckons me closer. “Come here.”

I stride closer, glaring at her. She doesn't even flinch, just sizes me up.

“Talia left without saying where she was going?”

I feel a flash of heat spread across the back of my neck.

“That’s why I’m here.”

“Ah.” She leans against the door frame and considers me for several long moments. Her silence seems to crackle in the still air as I wait, heart thumping in my chest.

I need her to say something, to tell me where Talia is. I crack my knuckles.

“Where is Talia?” I ask.

“Hm.” She straightens, pushing off the doorway. “I don’t know. She’s not here.”

“Did she call you?”

Aunt Minnie looks down her nose at me. “If she had called me, I don’t think she would want you to know it. You seem to have a short fuse. Maybe her disappearing is a sign. Maybe you should give her a little bit of space.”

“Fuck that,” I snarl. Leaning closer, I expect her to shrink back. She’s much smaller than me, her weight much more slight.

But Aunt Minnie doesn’t budge. She narrows her eyes and manages to look completely unimpressed by me.

“Don’t.” She puts up her hand, stopping me in my tracks. “What are you going to do? Huh? Are you going to beat me up?”

I feel a flash of heat on the back of my neck once more.

“I’ll do whatever I have to do to find Talia,” I rasp out. “I will search everywhere for her. She can’t hide from me.”

Aunt Minnie gives me a wry chuckle. “I have no doubt that you believe that. You are very much your father’s son. You know that?”

“That isn’t exactly a compliment,” I grit out.

“I didn’t mean it to be one!” She fires back, as sharp as a honed blade. “You Morgans are all the damned same. When Talia told me she was marrying you…” She clamps her mouth shut, her chin wobbling as she whips her head from side to side. “I tried to tell her.”

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about!” I snap. “I’m just trying to find Talia. I’m worried about her!”

And furious with her, but there is no need to get into that just now.

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you,” Minnie bites off. She scowls at me and crosses her arms, withdrawing at last. “She hasn’t called. And if she had, I wouldn’t tell you. You won’t find Talia by darkening my doorstep, you big bully.”

“A lot of help you are,” I hiss at her.

Turning, I start pacing toward my Porsche again. I hear Aunt Minnie’s voice call out as I am rounding the trunk, my eyes locked on the driver’s side door handle.

“Give her space! I raised her for twenty three years. If Talia is mad, the worst thing you can do is invade her privacy.”

I fling the car door open and shout at Aunt Minnie as I climb in.

“Talia gave up her privacy when she agreed to wear my fucking ring. She’s mine now. My little wife, carrying my fucking baby.”

Aunt Minnie gapes at me as I slam the door to the car. I realize belatedly that Talia probably hasn’t told her aunt about the baby yet and I probably just ruined any chance at a special moment between them.

But it’s not my fucking fault.

It’s Talia’s fault for running away.

I’m going to find her. And by god, I’m going to punish her for this little stunt. I’m going to put her across my lap and spank her plump ass until it glows red as a cherry.

And then I’m going to fuck her until she knows that I own her, body and soul, for as long as we both shall fucking live. Every inch of Talia is long since bought and paid for.

The engine roars to life as I gun it, heading off into the darkness to find my wife.