Pitch Black (Romantic Thriller, Completed)

Chapter 21

At 7 a.m. on Sunday, Luke's phone rang with the theme song from The Office. At least it wasn't his mother again.

"Some bastard's attacking our biggest client's servers," he said when he hung up. "I can't leave this to anyone else."

"You want me to make you a coffee before you go?"

He already had his trousers on. "No time." He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Noon arrived, and I cobbled together a sandwich. Luke rang while I was eating.

"Can you do me a favour?"

"Sure."

"I need a file off the memory stick in my desk drawer. Could you email it?"

"No problem."

He explained what he wanted, and my breath hitched when he told me his laptop password. My name, and the date we'd met. Fuck. I was going to end up hurting him, wasn't I? Every time the sun set, my return to Virginia came closer. I wasn't strong enough to leave yet, but that day would soon arrive.

Back in the kitchen, I opened the internet browser on my phone and googled my company. How were things back home? Ticking along, it seemed. Unlike Luke, I'd been perfecting the art of delegation for years. We'd won several large contracts, and the Japanese office, a pet project of mine, had finally opened. A few more searches revealed no drama in the Richmond area. My husband's killer had held up his end of the bargain, at least for the moment. My friends were safe.

And what about me? I typed my real name into the search box. I didn't expect much—my tech guys and legal team were good at shutting down any mention of me—but it never hurt to check.

Coverage was limited to three small stories in Virginia newspapers. One speculated I'd fled to Panama. Yeah, I wished. The weather would certainly be better. Another informed me the police had no other leads in my husband's murder—good to see my tax dollars hard at work. The third article advertised an upcoming ball being held in Richmond to support a homeless charity. It listed all the projects they'd run with the $100,000 donation I'd made last year. That cause was close to my heart, and I smiled as I read.

My final search was for Luke again. Rumours abounded that he was dating Mitzi, a reality TV star famed for having her breast implant surgery live on television. Really? I happened to know he preferred the real thing. I'd got halfway through reading how Mitzi was considering an increase in her cup size when my phone rang.

This time, Luke sounded frantic. "George just called. Tia went out riding, and Gameela's turned up back at the farm on her own."

"Has anyone heard from Tia?"

"No, and she left her phone on the locker outside Gameela's stable. They've got people out searching, but there's no sign of her yet."

A teenage girl who wasn't surgically attached to her phone? Great.

"I'll go down to the farm and help look—I'll call as soon as I arrive."

"I'm getting in the car right now—should take me forty-five minutes to get there."

The snow was still thick, so I yanked on a pair of sturdy boots. Where was the first aid kit? Ah yes, in the cupboard by the back door. I shoved that in a rucksack along with a bottle of water.

Out in the garage, I eyed Luke's Porsche SUV with regret before hopping on his mountain bike. I'd told him I didn't drive, so I could hardly borrow his car. Luckily, the lanes had been gritted, and I made it to the stables in ten minutes on two wheels.