Chapter 25

ELODIE

A few days passed. I hadn't heard from Mac since I'd left his house. Roy also hadn't called me again, which could be a good or a bad thing. The morning I decided to go into the office, I took a hot shower but only ended up crying again.

I'd been crying off and on since Mac had told me to leave. I'd decided to give him space, but it'd been difficult not to contact him to see how he was doing.

Was he still angry? Would he hate me forever now?

The guilt was going to eat me alive. What was worse was that I deserved to feel like this. I'd lied to Mac. I could've had the courage to be honest, but I'd avoided it. I'd just naively hoped that it would all work out in the end. Now Mac hated me, my boss was pissed at me, and I was probably close to getting fired.

I forced myself to get dressed and go into the office. As I drove onto the freeway, I got another phone call, this time from my coworker Darren.

"Roy assigned me to follow that hockey guy," Darren was saying. "The one you were seen with."

My blood ran cold. "Roy assigned you to Mac?"

"Roy is sure that there's a story there. He also gave me the address you gave him. I'm staking it out. It's this ugly office building. Is this really the place you saw Mac go in? Because there doesn't seem anything interesting to me here."

"It's a dead end," I lied, wincing internally. "I already looked into it."

Darren was silent. "You sure about that?" He sounded skeptical.

"Yes, I'm sure. It's one of the reasons I told Roy there was no story there. I don't know why he would've assigned you to Mac."

"Probably because you were out with the guy, so now there's a conflict of interest." Darren sounded amused.

"There's not. I promise you. We just got to know each other. He's a really interesting guy."

Darren made a noncommittal noise. "Elodie, you know I like you. I also know you pretty well."

"I like you, too," was all I could think of to say in reply.

Darren said nothing for a long moment. Then I heard him sigh. "Well, okay. I'll keep staking out this building for another day or two until Roy is convinced there's nothing here."

I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin once I got off the phone. Darren wasn't stupid. He could probably tell I wasn't telling him the entire truth.

If he figured out that Mac was a member of an exclusive sex club and that I'd signed a contract with Mac . . . my career would be over. Roy would never let me write another story again. And knowing my boss, he'd also make sure I didn't write again in this city. Because what good was a reporter who got personally involved with her stories?

I knew it was a long shot, but I called Mac. I needed his advice. I also wanted to hear his voice, because I missed him. Desperately. To my frustration, he didn't pick up. I wound up leaving him two voicemails.

Before I could think about it, I did something rash. I got off the freeway, turned around, and went straight to Mac's house instead.

When I arrived an hour later, I was able to get through the security gate with the code Mac had given me. I knocked on the front door, but there was no answer. I peeked inside Mac's garage, and his usual car was gone.

"Fuck," I muttered to myself, at a loss. I called Mac a fourth time, but he still wouldn't pick up.

"Mac, I need to talk to you," I said in my third voicemail. "I know you're mad at me. But this is important. I wouldn't be calling you if it wasn't."

I stood in Mac's driveway, staring at the asphalt, my brain moving a mile a minute. What if Darren got into The Scarlet Rope tonight? And what if Mac was there?

I had to warn him. I didn't care if he hated me. I wasn't going to sit around and wait for shit to hit the fan if I could prevent in.

I heard footsteps. Looking up, I saw one of Mac's landscapers. I waved him over.

"Have you seen Mac?" I asked.

I'd only spoken to Josh one time when I'd had trouble getting through the security gate. He'd barely said two words to me. Now, he shaded his eyes and looked me up and down, like he didn't recognize me.

"I'm Elodie. Mac's friend," I explained.

Josh grunted. "Yeah, I know."

"Have you seen Mac?"

"No."

I stared, waiting for any more information.

"Okaaay," I replied, frustrated. "Do you know where he could be?"

Josh shrugged. "Nope."

I restrained myself from throttling the guy. "Well, if you see him, tell him I need to talk to him ASAP. It's important."

I was about to get back into my car when Josh said offhandedly, "Rosa saw him."

Rosa was Mac's housekeeper. "She did? Is she here?"

"Nope." Josh paused. "She told me she saw Mac with a bunch of suitcases."

I froze. "She did? Do you have her number?"

"Yeah, but she lost her phone. Dropped it in the pool, so you can't call her."

I gritted my teeth. "Okay. Well, thanks. Can I give you my number?"

Josh agreed, although I doubted the guy would message me again. He sauntered off, clearly not distressed that Mac had up and left LA without telling anyone, at least as far as I knew.

I got back into my car and drove to The Scarlet Rope. When I arrived, I circled around for Darren's car, but to my relief, I didn't see him. All the same, I parked a few blocks away and wore my hoodie and sunglasses just in case.

I got inside and ran into Serena. She raised an eyebrow at my attire.

"I know, I know. I'm looking for Mac. Have you seen him?" I asked.

Serena furrowed her perfectly waxed eyebrows. "Mac? No, I haven't. He hasn't been here for a week. Maybe longer." She shrugged. "We don't keep tabs on our regulars."

I sincerely doubted that, but I took Serena's word for it. I returned to my car and tried to gather my thoughts, wondering who else I could call.

I ended up calling Brady. He picked up on the second ring. "Well, isn't this a nice surprise?"

"Brady, it's Elodie. Mac's . . . friend."

"Yeah, I know. Caller ID and all."

"Have you seen Mac? Or talked to him?"

"No. He wasn't at practice today."

"I've called him a bunch of times and went to his house, but he's not there." I decided not to mention that Mac had also not been at The Scarlet Rope.

"Shit. Let me go ask Coach something."

I waited, tapping my foot with impatience, when Brady finally returned to the phone. "Okay, sorry. Coach says that Mac didn't call in sick or anything. Just was a no-show. We have an away game tomorrow, and he's supposed to be here in the next two hours."

I felt anxiety make my gut twist. "Shit. That's not good. His housekeeper saw him leaving home with a bunch of suitcases. Would he have gone to your away game early?"

"No, and he never misses practice. We get fined if we don't show up without an excuse. Hell, Mac came to practice once with a raging fever. Nearly passed out on the fucking ice."

"I'm worried about him. Can you call him? He might pick up for you."

Brady was silent for a long moment. "Did you guys have a fight?"

"Kind of. It's complicated. Can you just call him? And let him know I need to talk to him?"

"I don't like getting involved with couples' spats but . . ." I could almost hear Brady shrugging. "I'll try."

I thanked him and hung up, my heart pounding. Now I knew something was wrong.

Was Mac okay? He wasn't the type to disappear without telling people. The fact that he hadn't shown up for practice today was deeply concerning.

Had I pushed him over the edge?

I forced myself not to panic. Mac was a grown man who was more than capable of taking care of himself. This wasn't some macabre true crime case either.

Even as I tried to keep my panic at bay, I also felt so guilty that I almost threw up. None of this would have happened if I hadn't lied to Mac in the first place. I should've just had the courage to be honest with him.

I took a few deep breaths. All I could do was hope that Mac would contact me or, at the very least, talk to Brady.

Please be okay , I prayed.