Chapter Twelve

Ronin did a double take when he thought he had spotted Courtney in the elevator at the hotel where he had his last meeting of the day. It could not be her. Her hair was different, and it appeared she was with an older woman.

He opened the car door for his friend. “Tell your ugly husband I said hi,” he said.

She laughed. “I will certainly tell him that.”

Ronin grinned because her husband was a top model. Hell, they both were. Besides being friends for years, they were some of the nicest people he knew.

“Thanks again for your help with the benefit. I hate meeting those men by myself.”

He laughed. “I thought one was going to swallow his tongue when you walked in the room,” he said. It had always been like that when men, hell, even some women, first met her, and he always teased her about it.

She waved as the car drove off. He walked to his car, ready for the day to be over. He knew it had been rough on Courtney, but he knew she would be okay because she had him and the others.

Ronin pulled out his phone.

“Marsh Residence. How may I help you?” Elder asked.

Ronin grinned. “Hello, it’s Ronin. Is Darian able to take a call?”

“He is not home yet. Would you like me to have him call you when he gets home?” Elder asked.

“No, I’ll try him on his cell phone.”

“Very good, sir. Have a nice evening.”

“You too,” Ronin said.

Ronin relaxed in his car seat and rubbed the back of his neck as he waited for Darian to answer.

“Hello.”

“Hey, it’s me, Ronin. I just wanted to check on Courtney.”

The way Darian paused made his stomach tighten.

“She’s not at the house anymore,” Darian said.

Ronin sat straight. What the fuck. “Where is she?”

“We don’t know. She took an Uber to her lawyer’s office…”

“By herself?”

Darian sighed. “Unfortunately, the girls asked her to wait until I got home, but she wanted to go right then.”

“Do the girls know anything else?”

“Just that she was going to get into her bank account but needed the lawyer because she doesn’t have any way to prove her identity.”

“Why the fuck did she not wait for me?” Ronin asked.

“She doesn’t think you want her. She thinks you were helping her.”

“Why?”

“Because you left so quickly after we got home. I could tell she was disappointed. I made a reservation at a restaurant for them to celebrate her freedom with some other littles. Larkin said she seemed happy then.”

“What did I do wrong?”

“From what I saw and heard, you went to say goodbye without saying anything about seeing her again and just kissed her on the top of her head. You must remember that littles are very sensitive and emotional. She’d just been with her mother, whom we both know she was afraid of. She needed some cuddling and reassurance.”

“And I didn’t do anything,” Ronin said and pinched the bridge of his nose. “They have no idea where she is?”

“No, and I can tell when they’re lying,” Darian said. “They are all easy to read.”

Ronin had seen that a few times. They had such sweet souls that the real world confused and sometimes scared them. It didn’t help that regular people didn’t understand them and often abused them in some way. Sometimes, without knowing, they did.

“I’m not sure what to do. I’ve never been in this situation before,” he admitted.

“Go home. If I hear anything, I’ll call you right away. Don’t worry, we’ll find her.”

“I just hope she’s somewhere safe,” Ronin said.

“Me, too. Get some sleep.”

“Hey, thank you. I appreciate all your help.”

Darian chuckled. “It’s no problem. It’s like I’ve said a hundred times that we daddies have to stick together, or our littles would drive us crazy.”

Ronin laughed. “I can see that.”

“Yeah. We can, too. Talk to you later.”

Ronin sat back and closed his eyes. He knew he should head home and get some much-needed sleep, but the thought of her out in the world on her own terrified him.

He glanced back at the door to the hotel. He needed to see if she was checked in there before he could go home, or he’d never be able to sleep. He walked up to the counter.

“May I help you, sir,” the young man said.

“Could you check and see if Courtney Warner has a room here?”

The man automatically shook his head. “No. I’m sorry. It’s our policy not to give out information. We never know if the person asking is good or bad.”

Ronin sighed. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, sir. Have a good evening.”

Ronin made it home and didn’t remember the drive there. His thoughts were so full of Courtney and her safety that he couldn’t concentrate. Fortunately, he didn’t cause any accidents.

He showered and fell into bed. He thought he’d have trouble falling asleep, but he was so tired he was out within a few minutes. His sleep was not restful. He couldn’t get Courtney from his dreams, which turned into nightmares.

Ronin vowed to find her, and when he did, he’d make sure she knew where she stood with him. He wasn’t going to take the chance that she’d disappear again.

By the time daylight crept through the curtains in his bedroom, he was up, showered, and ready to go with a plan on how to find his little one.

He’d slowly go insane if he didn’t find her soon.