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Chapter Sixteen
Tyson
Elliewasn’tatourtable when I returned. My brow furrowed as I glanced around the area quickly. There was no sign of her. I’d been longer than anticipated after running into Clara, but I hadn’t taken that long. I sat down the drinks, scanning the crowd on the dance floor. She wasn’t there either.
Something squirmed in my gut, a feeling of dread I couldn’t explain. I circled that ballroom twice. I searched every face in that room. She wasn’t there. Ellie wasn’t someone who blended in. She stood out.
I strode out into the entryway, wondering if she was at the donation tables. She wasn’t. My pulse spiked.
Atlas and Wren waved at me as I waded through the throng of people that seemed to be everywhere. When I ignored them, Atlas caught my arm, frowning.
“Is everything all right?” he asked.
I blinked at him, then glanced at Wren whose face quickly fell from a smile into a worried pucker. I cleared my throat, trying to put on an easy grin. “Yeah, it’s fine.” I paused, scanning the room again. “Have either of you seen Ellie?”
Atlas shook his head and looked at Wren. “No, I haven’t.”
Wren chewed on her bottom lip. “I haven’t seen her.”
“Maybe she’s in the ladies room?” Atlas suggested.
Wren shook her head. “I was there not long ago and didn’t see her. Is she okay?”
I nodded, not wanting to scare them. Besides, I didn’t know if anything was wrong. I wasn’t completely sure why I was so concerned. She had just…disappeared so fast.
“Yeah, of course. There’s just…so many people here it’s easy to lose someone.”
Atlas nodded, but Wren still looked unsure.
“We’ll let you know if we see her and will tell her you’re looking for her,” Atlas said.
I clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks, bro. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” I left them and I slipped through the crowd to continue searching. I was almost certain she wasn’t in either of the main areas open to guests.
I’m not sure what brought the idea to me, but if she wasn’t in the ballroom or the entrance area, maybe she went somewhere private.
I went back into the ballroom, heading toward the far wall where a second entrance was hidden behind a white curtain. This house was big, but Ellie and I spent many years here growing up. We knew all the special places.
I tossed back the curtain and squeezed behind it where a set of double pocket doors were. I opened one side quietly and slipped into the hallway beyond. My steps on the shiny marble floor echoed off the tall, white walls. The place was eerily silent compared to the bustle and music of the ballroom. Hardly any of the noise could be heard back here. Near the end of the hallway, on the left side was a tall, heavy door that led to a private study. It was ajar and I pushed it open all the way, stepping inside.
Ellie leaned against a majestic, mahogany desk in the center of the small, but grand room. She gazed at the floor to ceiling bookshelves filled to the brim with old, leather bound books.
“Do you remember when we were kids and we would hide in here to get away from the party?” she asked the question without looking at me. Something about her tone sounded off, and I noticed she had tears in her eyes.
Why did she always seem to be crying when we were alone?
I stepped deeper into the room, closing the door. “We used to sneak bottles of booze and get drunk in here away from the adults.” I smiled at the memory of when we were stupid teenagers who thought we knew something about the world.
Ellie pressed her full, perfect lips together and stared down at her feet. I tried not to stare at the portion of her leg peeking out from the slit in the side of her dress. When I’d told her she looked stunning earlier, that was an insult. Her dress looked like it was made for her. The blue sparkles complimented her skin and made her absolutely shine. Even though most of her body was covered by the long sleeves and the skirt went all the way to the floor, she was incredibly sexy. It clung to her curves in a way that had every man in that ballroom staring at her.
But I shouldn’t be focusing on such things. I shook my head, prying my eyes away from her with difficulty. “Is something wrong?” I asked. Why was she hiding out here?
There was a pause so long I didn’t think she would answer. “Do you remember when we were fourteen? When my mom’s then-boyfriend…” She sucked in a breath, pulling back her shoulders as if trying to draw in strength. “When he…touched me and my dad finally took me away from her?”
I tensed. Of course I remembered. My hands balled into fists at my sides. Ellie had long dealt with her mother’s sleazy, dead-beat boyfriends. She was smart and knew how to stay away from them even when they lived under the same roof as her. Until the one night she forgot to lock her bedroom door and…I squeezed my eyes shut, hating the memory, but knowing she hated it even more. I had wanted to kill that fucker, but I was just a kid then.
“Yes,” I rasped. “I couldn’t forget.”
She nodded, her eyes trailed up my body, meeting mine. “Do you remember what you told me after that happened? What you promised?”
