Longing For The Beach Billionaire Daddy
Chapter 67

*Michael*

The cabin felt incredibly quiet after watching Shelby drive away. I couldn’t get the image out of my head of Shelby staring at me; clear hurt etched into all of her features. I hated myself for the pain I caused her, but deep down, I knew it was the only way to keep her safe.

I tried to fill the last two hours with anything to distract myself from the pain of sending her away, but nothing was helping. I tried to finish the movie we started, but I was only able to focus on the lead actress’s eyes and how they looked so much like Shelby’s. I ended up pacing the kitchen with a glass of whiskey held tightly in my fist.

Maybe once I made sure Blaine was behind bars for good, I could reach out to Shelby and explain everything. I didn’t know if she would even want to see me then, or ever again for that matter. I wouldn’t blame her after my whole speech about how she would be better off without me. It stung me to realize that she really would be better off if she had never met me in the first place.

I let out a pent-up breath as my phone rang. I had been fielding calls since we found out about the break-in. Bruce was still in my grandfather’s study, trying to sort everything out before we returned. I would have to spend the night here, but the thought of sleeping alone in the bed Shelby and I shared just the night before seemed unbearable.

Seeing the number across my screen belonged to the private line at the airport hanger, I picked up the call instantly.

“Hello,” I answered, expecting to get news that the jet had left, and Shelby was on her way home. Soon she would be hundreds of miles away from me and anyone else who could hurt her.

“Hello, sir. I am not sure what is holding your guest up, but the storm is getting so bad that we will not be able to take off. I suggest telling them to turn around, and we will try this again tomorrow,” the pilot said.

“What do you mean? Have they not arrived yet?” I asked panic flooding through my veins. I had sent Shelby in the car so long ago, they should’ve been in the air by now.

“No, sir,” the pilot responded.

“They left over two hours ago. Are you sure they haven’t arrived?” Is it possible they are waiting at the wrong hangar?” I asked.

I was desperate to replace any explanation as to where Shelby was. If something had happened to her, I would never be able to forgive myself.

“They are not here, sir. It could be possible that the driver mistook another hangar for ours. The snow would make it very easy to get things turned around out here,” the pilot said, giving me a flash of hope.

“I’ll check and get back to you. Thank you,” I said, hanging up the phone.

I immediately dialed the driver’s number. Pressing my ear hard against my phone, willing him to answer. After several rings, the call went to voicemail.

“Damn it!” I yelled, immediately redialing the number.

Again, the phone rang but was not picked up. I pulled up Shelby’s contact, a picture of her sitting across from me at her favorite restaurant in Cambridge smiling up at me. I’d taken the picture on my last trip to see her. With shaking hands, I pressed call, but instead of ringing, her phone went straight to voicemail.

True panic hit me like a ton of bricks, and I found it hard to catch my breath.

“Bruce!” I bellowed down the hallway.

Bruce appeared moments later, concern in his eyes. He had known me long enough to recognize when I was truly fearful.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his eyes searching my face for any clue.

“They have not arrived at the airport. That drive shouldn’t have taken this long. I’ve called both the driver’s number and Shelby’s. No one is answering.”

Bruce nodded and, seconds later was on the phone.

“Yes, I’m inquiring about any accident reports on the highway between Vale and the Airport,” Bruce said into the phone.

I could hear a voice on the other end of the phone call, but I was unable to make out what was being said. I watched Bruce for any kind of reaction, but his face remained like stone.

“Mmmhmm I understand. Thank you for your time, sir.”

Bruce hung up his phone and gave a small shake of his head before elaborating.

“The storm rolled in fast, and the snow plows haven’t been able to keep up. There are accidents up and down the highway. They didn’t have information on all of them. He said if we were looking for someone in particular, our best bet is to contact hospitals in the area. I’m so sorry, sir.”

My stomach sank at the news. How could this be happening? I was just trying to keep her safe, and I ended up putting her in more danger by sending her away.

“I’ll start making some calls,” I said, though my head was spinning.

“I’ll start with the hospitals closest to the airport and work my way down the highway. You start in the opposite direction. We are going to replace her. I promise you, Michael.”

It was a rare moment for Bruce to use my first name, but at that moment, I needed a friend, not the head of my security team. Bruce knew that.

Bruce and I spent hours on the phone with different hospitals in the area. Most of them were barely able to give us any information as to whether or not Shelby was being treated there. After yet another hospital told me they had no record of Shelby or my driver, I wanted to throw my phone through the window.

Bruce ended a phone call a few seconds later.

“Anything?” I asked.

“Nothing,” Bruce said.

A long stretch of silence filled the room.

“I am so sorry, sir. I should have offered to drive her to the airport myself. Lance is a good kid, but in this kind of weather, anything can happen so fast. If I was behind the wheel, maybe none of this would have happened,” Bruce said, massaging his temples.

“Stop, Bruce; there is no one to blame but myself. I let Blaine get the better of me again. He set the trap, and I took the bait, just like before. I came here to avoid him and left my penthouse empty. I should have known he would follow us here. I should have waited to send Shelby home in the morning, but I thought the safest place for her would be as far away from me as possible,” I said miserably.

“There are still a few more hospitals to call. Don’t give up hope just yet,” Bruce offered.

I nodded and dialed the next hospital on the list.

“The woman’s name is Shelby Hatton; she was with a personal driver; his name is Lance Lenwood,” I said to the receptionist at one of the hospitals on the route to the airport.

“I’m so sorry, sir, but I don’t have any patients registered under those names.”

“They may have been brought to the emergency room after a car crash. They were in a black SUV. Shelby is wearing a grey sweater with a silver snowflake pattern, a pair of blue jeans, and a white winter coat. Lance would have been wearing a black suit and tie. “

“The records of our patients are confidential; I cannot share our patient’s information without their consent,” the receptionist responded.

“You don’t understand. They were on their way to the airport but never arrived. We can’t get any information from the police, and every hospital I have contacted tonight gives me the same rehearsed response. Please….please, I am begging you to tell me anything you can.”

“Let me put you on hold,” the receptionist said before the line started playing calming elevator music.

I slammed my fist into the kitchen countertop just as Bruce got off the phone with another hospital. With a sad shake of his head, I knew he was having just as bad of luck as I was.

“Excuse me, sir?”

“Yes! Yes, I’m still here,” I said into the phone, praying that she came back with some kind of news.

“We checked in a John and Jane Doe about an hour ago for injuries sustained in a car crash. This is all the information I can give you at the moment. I’m so sorry, but I hope this helps.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” I choked out, my throat tightening.

“Bruce!” I shouted as I hung up the phone.

“Did you replace them?” he asked urgently.

“I’m not sure. They weren’t checked in under their names, which likely means they are both still unconscious,” I said; I couldn’t bring myself to acknowledge the truth that it could be much worse. “It might be them. I am going to go there now and see if I can get any more information from them. If it isn’t, then I will just keep driving until I replace them.”

“Sir, the snow is still coming down hard. I don’t know if it is the best idea for you to go out there alone. As the officer said, there have been several accidents caused by the storm. It might not be them.”

“I have to try, Bruce. I don’t know if I could live with myself if I didn’t at least try. It’s my fault she was out there in the storm anyway. I’m going to do everything I can to replace her.”

Bruce nodded, clearly knowing he was not going to win this argument with me. He let me go.

I grabbed a set of keys off the hook in the back hallway and slipped my coat on, ready to brace against the cold. Just as my hand wrapped around the doorknob, my phone beeped with a text message.

“Did you really think breaking up with her would stop me?”