She’s not at the apartment when I get home from work and she’s not answering her cellphone.

I’m worried. I should be angry, but I’m worried. She stormed out of my office, leaving me to take care of Lacey for the rest of the day, which is no big deal. But she disappeared in the middle of our conversation and nothing felt resolved.

That’s the bigger issue here. This whole ownership thing is a huge deal. I don’t know how she could possibly be ignorant of this, but clearly she didn’t know about it. I don’t know what to think about that.

I know I need to trust her. She’s already done so much for me. She told the truth when she didn’t have to, she ran away from her parents, she protected me, and she married me. She’s given me so much of herself, and yet… I can’t help but feel paranoid. This whole situation is insane and I’m out of my depths.

I just want to talk to her. I’m not accusing her of anything, I’m not saying that she’s been on her father’s side this whole time or something like that, but I do want to have a conversation about this. Clearly we can’t do that if she’s missing.

I don’t know what to do. I take care of Lacey like always, but Erin doesn’t come home. I feed Lacey and finally put her to bed, and still Erin isn’t home yet, making me more and more worried. I try calling again, but her phone is off.

I start to think about maybe hiring some guys to go around looking for her, but that’s a little too much. I even go so far as to think about showing up at her father’s place and demanding to see her, just to check if she’s there or not. I want to make sure she’s safe above all else, and if she ran back to her family, then so be it. I’ll move on and at least she’s safe and sound.

It’s this not knowing that’s driving me insane. I want to protect her, but I can’t protect her if I don’t know where she is. I wish I could swoop out and find her, locate her with no problem, and explain everything that I’m feeling.

I pour myself a drink and force myself to wait. I can’t do anything other than that. I look over the financial records of the Fisher Consortium again, trying to figure out how Erin could possibly own so much of the company without her knowledge. The only way it happened was if Fisher had a crooked lawyer and Fisher forged Erin’s signatures himself. Which of course is entirely possible.

I’m through my first drink by the time I hear the front doorbell ring. I practically get up and run to answer it.

Erin is standing there, frowning at her feet. “Sorry,” she says.

I grab her and pull her into my arms, hugging her tight. Relief floods through me. I kept picturing the worst, seeing her washed up dead on the bank of the river or something equally morbid, but she’s here and she’s safe. That’s what matters. We can resolve the rest of this stuff later, but for now, she’s safe.

I pull her inside. “Don’t be sorry. I’m just happy you’re okay.”

“I didn’t mean to worry you.” She sighs, shaking her head. “I really messed this up, didn’t I?”

“Come on. It’s fine.” I’m surprised at how upset she seems. “I was just worried about you.”

“I’m okay,” she says. “I’m sorry I didn’t answer. I’m sorry… I’m sorry I came back here.” She looks down at the floor.

I pause and hold her at arm’s length. “Why?” I ask.

“I doubt you want me here. But I have nowhere else to go right now.”

I gape at her, shocked, and then I pull her close against me. I kiss her full and deep, because I need her to know that nothing matters to me but her.

She kisses me back, tentatively at first, but slowly she melts into my embrace. We break off eventually, but I can feel my blood flowing through my body as she looks up at me with wide eyes.

“You’re not mad at me?” she asks.

“Mad?” I shake my head. “I was never mad, not really.”

“But you thought I was playing you again.”

“No,” I say. “I mean, you have to understand why I might think that. I really just want to talk about this.”

She sighs. “I know. I understand. I totally get why this is suspicious.” She slides away from me and walks into the kitchen. She sits down at the counter and puts her elbows on the counter. “What do you want to know?” she asks.

“Just the truth.” I lean up against the cabinets. “Do you have anything to do with this?”

“No,” she says simply.

“Okay. I trust you.”

A small smile cracks her stoic face. “Are you sure?”

“We’ve come this far. I’m sure.”

“Good.” She nods once, like she’s reassuring herself. “But this is a good thing, you know.”

“Why’s that?”

“You have leverage now.”

I raise an eyebrow. “I do?”

“I own thirty percent of his company, you know. I could just sell you my stake. Hell, I could give it to you. Or threaten to.”

I nod my head slowly, a smile crossing my lips. “Well, well, well. That’s very diabolical of you.”

She grins at me. “I was thinking about it while walking around. I even went to see a movie, which is why my phone’s been off.” She shrugs a little bit. “I want revenge as much as you do, and now we can get it.”

“I guess that marriage thing is really working out.” I smirk at her and step toward her.

“I guess so.” She leans back in her chair and crosses her arms. “What do we do now, though? Should I give you my stake?”

“No,” I say. “That’s yours. When this deal goes through, you’re going to make some serious money.”

“I don’t care about that,” she says quickly.

“I care. You deserve money, and this can seriously help you get started now that you’re out from under your parents.”

“Yeah,” she says softly. “I guess so.”

“But we can threaten him with this,” I say, pushing forward. I couldn’t help but notice her disappointment for some reason. “He probably doesn’t think we even noticed this weird little discrepancy.”

“Oh, I’m sure he knows we know,” she says. “He’s too thorough for that.”

“True. Has he contacted you?”

She shakes her head. “Not yet. But I suspect it’s because he’s too afraid.”

I grin at her. “You’re one scary girl, you know that?”

“Of course I am.” She grins right back.

I have to admit, she’s absolutely marvelous. I walk over to her and kiss her again softly, not able to help myself.

“We’re still doing this?” she asks, gently pulling away.

“We are, if it’s what you still want.”

She nods slowly, eyes locked on mine. “I still want it.”

“Good. I do too.” I kiss her again, deeper this time, lingering on her lips.

I believe her. This was all that I needed. Her initial reaction was a little fishy, but I think in retrospect it’s because she was just so shocked by it all. Her father has never given her anything substantial, and to find out that he put a portion of his own company in her name is a big deal. It probably freaked her out.

But now that she’s calmer, I can see that she’s not lying. I don’t know how, but I can see it clear as day. I believe that she’s not hiding anything from me, and that she’s totally genuine about everything she’s saying to me.

I’m happy to have her back. And I’m happy that we now have a real weapon to use against her asshole father. I won’t do anything she’s not comfortable with, but together I’m confident we can destroy him.

Together, we’re going to make this happen, and I’m so happy she’s here in my arms.