Which meant I needed to get my ass there right away, since I couldn't even send Gabbie a text letting her know I was okay.
Just as I'd expected, the phone powered back on just as I was pulling into the driveway. I waited until I'd parked to look at it, then winced. There were a handful of missed calls from Gabbie last night, one after another. I ran a hand through my hair and called myself all sorts of names for being such an idiot. I'd slipped out while she was asleep, leaving her to wake up and find me gone. After her first time. Of course she would panic. Fuck.
I'd just have to throw myself at her feet and grovel for forgiveness before we had our long talk.
But when I walked into the house, it was dead silent. The house was rarely quiet when Gabbie was home. She claimed she didn't like a quiet house and always had music playing while she did whatever. The only reason for the house to be quiet was if she was still asleep or if she wasn't home. I rushed up the stairs to the bedroom and found it empty. The bed was messy still, which was unusual. Gabbie almost always made the bed first thing in the morning.
My heart hammered in my chest as I pulled my phone back out and dialed her number. She probably just ran out to the store or maybe she was out getting breakfast. There were hundreds of plausible reasons for her not to be home, all reasonable and nothing to worry about. But my mind ignored each one of them and went down more sinister paths instead.
I waited until the call connected, the ringing sound echoing in my ear. Then, I jumped when a loud jingling filled the room. My eyes narrowed in on the source immediately. Gabbie's phone was lying on the table next to the bed, still plugged in. It was exactly where she put it every night.
My phone fell from my hands, hitting the carpeted floor with a thunk. My mouth went dry and my head pounded, but this time it wasn't because of the alcohol. My body moved on its own, walking over to the closet and yanking the doors open.
Gabbie's suitcase, which was always kept front and center for when we had to travel, was gone. Many hangers that normally contain shirts and dresses were empty, far more than should have been since Gabbie had just done laundry a couple days ago. Opening her dresser revealed the same missing clothes in each drawer.
She was gone.
There has to be some explanation.
But that was wishful thinking. There was only one reason for Gabrielle to pack her things and leave without even taking her cellphone. She was done with me. I'd crossed a line I never should have crossed, and she would never forgive me for it. I hadn't treated her like a real person, hadn't let her voice her own opinions about the matter.
I loved Gabriella, more than anything on the planet. For so long, I’d tried to deny it. Or ignore it. Or pretend like it didn’t matter. The difference in our age was always at the forefront of my mind. She was so young, so naïve, so innocent. She deserved to make her first mistakes and have her first experiences with someone else her own age.
Yes, women found me attractive. Yes, I had money and power. But Gabbie was in my care, and I couldn’t use my ruthless nature against her. She deserved someone tender, not a man who took what he wanted, damn the consequences. There was a reason why I was so good in business. I let nothing hinder an acquisition.
Gabbie was the embodiment of kindness. She deserved someone else who was kind. Or at least that’s what I told myself.
But now, knowing there was a possibility that she'd be with a different man?
No fucking way.
She was mine.
She’d always been mine.
I shut my eyes. It was her right to choose. I’d respect her choice. This would all have been so much easier if I hadn’t tasted her innocence. If I didn’t know how perfectly she fit my cock.
First things first: I had to apologize. She'd left her phone at the house, and I had no idea where she'd go. There were two places I thought she might go - to Aspen's or to Jack's. I knew she wasn't at Christian's, since I'd just left there. Which meant she'd either gone to Aspen, which was her best male friend, or to Emma, who was her best female friend.
I called Jack first, but his phone went right to voicemail. Then, I kicked myself, remembering Jack was out of town for work. Even though it was a Sunday, he was probably neck deep in meetings, not at his house. Instead, I shot him a text asking if he'd heard anything from Emma and if he knew if Gabbie was there.
He responded a few moments later confirming that he was in a meeting but he'd call Emma once it got out.
I didn't have the patience to wait for that. Nor did I feel in control of myself enough to get the number for Emma and call her myself. Instead, I sent Aspen a text, asking if he'd seen her since the unfortunate run-in yesterday. Knowing Aspen, he was still asleep, and I didn't want to wake him up with a phone call, especially in the state I was in.
"Haven't seen her," he texted back a few seconds later. Followed immediately by a second tax. "Why, what did you do?"
I stared at the screen for a long moment, trying to figure out what to say to him. He was my younger
