At the pinnacle of her career, orthopedic surgeon Ava King conquers the lucrative medical field of London.
A wild and intimate night with competitive Formula One driver James Ellis ends with Ava being stood up. The rejection leads her straight into...
⚠️ triggering, mature content in this chapter. I'll provide a summary at the end of the chapter if you'd rather skip it ⚠️
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Our little honeymoon romance died the second I saw Iris. She looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep; eyes bloodshot and almost-purple baggies beneath them.
It was just too much of a coincidence that the Damon incident preceded Maya's disappearance. According to the parents of the friend she was staying at, Maya left early Sunday morning, saying her dad is picking her up. The parents didn't think twice, knowing that Damon served in the Navy and assumed he surprised everyone by coming home early.
We're on a private plane back to London. James made a few calls and instead of waiting for the evening flights, he chartered a plane for us which meant us arriving in London just before dusk.
It was an abrupt end to a weekend that was honestly just too good to be true.
James was awfully helpful. He distracted the kids while important phone calls needed to be made and he asked the security company, which his team is contracted to, to escort us to the airport.
He hated the idea of Adam and I going back to London without him.
"Come with me to Bahrain. The police can help Iris out. Let the authorities deal with it," James pleaded with me quietly as I hastily packed our bags back at the hotel.
"I can't leave Iris alone. Not like this. Damon will only be able to be home around Tuesday or Wednesday." Damon got permission to come home as it was a family emergency. He has raised Maya as his own and apart from their inner circle of family and close friends, no one knows Maya isn't his biological daughter.
"I know, love. But there'll be plenty of people to help her. I just... I need to know you're safe." James pulled at my hand, cupping it in both of his, looking at me with urgency. "I've got a bad feeling about all of this and I'd feel much better if you and Adam were with me this week."
"Me too. But I need to help wherever I can. She's one of my best friends and if the roles were reversed, Lord forbid, I know she'd do the same for me." I shudder to think about the shear panic coursing through Iris at this exact moment.
James insisted on keeping the security detail close by, paying for the guards himself and promising they won't get in the way. He made sure they take care of Iris, too.
"You're being a bit much, Jamie." I called when the security detail collected us from the airport.
"Am I? You haven't heard from your deranged ex-boyfriend, who you conveniently forgot to tell mewas previously accused of sexual assault. And suddenly your best friend's daughter goes missing after Iris was tricked into believing that her husband was lost at sea."
