"Trace..." Edward's concerned voice could be heard on the other end of the phone.
"What is it, dad? You know I don't have time right now." Trace exclaimed; irritation evident in his voice.
He had limited time to figure out what in the hell had happened to Mercy and he could not afford any distractions. He felt badly for snapping at his father but was too stressed to worry about anything else. Mercy was his one and only priority until she was safely back in his arms.
"I am sorry, I know you're busy..."
Trace had not even taken the time to inform his father about Mercy. He simply assumed that someone else within the organization would. Whether they had or not, he had no way of knowing. But he was not going to take the time to ask.
"I was just wondering if you have seen or heard from your mother?" Edward questioned, almost sheepishly.
"What?!" Trace responded in surprise.
That had been the last thing that he had expected his father to ask. He had assumed that his mother was home with his father as she always was. Why should today be any different than every other day?
"Well, I have not seen in her in a couple of days and I have tried to contact her, but she is not responding." Edward explained.
"Why didn't you say something sooner?!" Trace demanded beginning to grow frantic.
Mercy was missing and now his mother was missing as well. What if there was a connection? Maybe this had been a coordinated attack to get at the women who held power within the Waterford Family. Taking either one of them would damage Trace emotionally and professionally; taking both would be devastating.
He could hear his father sigh rather loudly on the other end of the phone.
"Your mother...well...she does this sometimes."
"What do you mean?" Trace pressed.
"She has disappeared on me before..." Edward admitted. "I always told you kids that she was away on a shopping spree or a girl's weekend. I did not want to make a fuss of it and I could usually reach her on her phone, so I did not worry."
"You don't find it a little suspicious that she takes off without any explanation?" Trace could hardly believe what he was hearing.
Ignoring these warning signs from his mother went against everything his father had ever taught him. He did not want to believe that his mother was doing anything nefarious, likely the same thing his father had been feeling. But given the nature of their lifestyle, they could not simply ignore these kinds of behaviors either. What if she was in danger? What if she had a lover and was betraying his father? What if she had been acting as a double agent? What if...what if she had taken Mercy?
"Of course, I found it suspicious. I have confronted her about it many times."
"And?"
Trace could hear his father sighing in defeat. A sound he rarely ever heard.
"There is a reason that they say, 'love is blind,' son."
That answer was not good enough. His father could have put everything at risk by allowing this to continue. Who knew what kind of business his mother could be involved in? Maybe it was entirely innocent. But experience with his mother told Trace that it was likely anything but.
YOU ARE READING
A Woman Like Me...
Romance~*~*~ "I am the spy in the shadows; the thief in the night; a seductress in the dark; the fist that you never saw coming; and, when absolutely necessary, the bringer of your final breath. I am good at what I do, I am damn good at all of it. As a...
