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“Someone tampering with the brake lines on my car.”
Lacie’s hand flew to her mouth. “No!”
“We, meaning my uncle, the police, and the FBI, kept it quiet. With the threats escalating, the FBI said they couldn’t guarantee my safety or others who were close to me. So, they gave me a choice. I could stay and hope for the best or disappear while the authorities searched for the bastard. But deep down, I knew I didn’t have a choice. Lacie, if something happened to you, myfamily, the employees at the firm, or Mac, I couldn’t live with that.”
Lacie was quiet for a moment, processing it all. She took a sip of her wine before she finally spoke. “I get it. I do. But Jessie, you were gone for almost two years? Where were you?”
Jessie smirked. “That is the only positive in this whole fiasco. I got a new yacht out of it.”
Lacie’s eyes widened. “You lived on a yacht?”
“Yep. It was my only request, and the FBI agreed. So, a few FBI agents and I played house. I was still somewhat running the company in the shadows. Uncle Cliff knew I was safe but didn’t know where I was. He was sworn to secrecy.”
“Holy shit!” Lacie muttered. “I still don’t know how you handled it all.”
“I know.” Jessie took a sip of her wine. Her heart was heavy. “It was torture. They took my phone and my computers. I missed everyone. Every day, I wanted to reach out. But I had to be smart about it. I couldn’t risk it.”
Lacie leaned forward. Her voice was soft. “What about Mac? You never spoke with him? Have you tried calling him now that you’re back?”
Jessie’s stomach twisted at the mention of his name. She stared down at her food, suddenly not hungry anymore. “I haven’t…not yet. I don’t know where we stand. It’s been almost two years, Lace. That’s a long time. He could’ve moved on by now.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lacie scoffed. “Mac practically tore the city apart trying to find you when he returned from his trip and found out you had disappeared. I even heard a rumor that he threatened some high-ranking FBI officials trying to get answers.”
Jessie’s heart clenched at the thought of Mac still searching for her after all this time. She had never stopped thinking abouthim, but what if he had moved on? What if the time apart had changed things between them? Not that she could blame him for wanting to move on. She’s the one who upped and left without a trace. Granted, she had no way of contacting him before she left.
“I just need a little time,” Jessie said quietly. “Time to get settled, handle some office stuff, and figure out where my head is at. I’ll reach out to him eventually.”
Lacie studied her for a moment, then nodded. “I get it. But don’t wait too long, Jess. The man’s been through hell for you. Though I haven’t seen or talked to him in about eight or nine months.”
Jessie smiled faintly. “Yeah…I know. But I need to make sure that I’m ready. Because if he has moved on, it’ll be tough because my heart still belongs to him.”
Lacie reached out, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Something tells me he’s still waiting.”
Jessie leaned back into the plush sofa, her mind full of memories of her and Mac. She hoped it wasn’t too late.
Chapter Two
Mac Ramsey leaned back in his office chair, his fingers tightening around his phone as he listened to the man on the end of the line talk.
After almost two years of radio silence, the woman who had stolen his heart before vanishing without a trace had resurfaced.
His FBI contact called him moments ago to let him know she returned to New York just yesterday. When he pressed for more information about her whereabouts, the guy had no answers, claiming he couldn’t access her case file. But the agent didn’t realize that he had just admitted that Jessie had a case file with the FBI. He always suspected they knew more than they let on, but he could never prove it, even with all his high-up contacts in the government.
“Thanks for the heads-up, man,” Mac muttered before ending the call. His chest tightened with a mix of relief and frustration.
She was safe. That was the most important thing. But the endless questions he’d wrestled with for the past year and a half now flooded his mind. What had driven her to just up and leave without a word to anyone? Why hadn’t she reached out? Was it her choice, or had something forced her into hiding?Shit!Had she been in danger?Dammit!He needed answers, but only one person could answer them—Jessie Marchand.
He ran his fingers through his dark, short hair in frustration.
Before he could even think about hopping on a plane to New York, he had a business situation he needed to take care of. If a five-million-dollar contract weren’t on the line, he’d send one of his employees to deal with it.
However, he wouldn’t let that stop him from getting things rolling.
Picking up his phone, he dialed Adam, his tech guy.
“Hey, bossman,” Adam answered, and Mac rolled his eyes. Everyone called him that, and he hated it. But they knew that, so they kept calling him that. They were lucky that he considered everyone on his staff like family.
“Adam, I need you to look into something for me,” Mac said.
