Page 101 of Wed to the Devil

I take a deep breath and steel myself as I approach Remy. He glares at me, looking like an angry thundercloud about to burst into a hurricane.

"So glad that you made it, Remy," I say. I police my tone and try to keep my face completely neutral.

Remy snorts derisively. "I'm not here for your charade, Dare," he says gruffly. "I heard the news already."

I take another deep breath and try to keep my temper in check. I don't want to get into an argument with my grandfather tonight.

"It's still nice of you to come, Remy," I reply calmly.

"I'm not even sure why you and that girl need a gala to announce her pregnancy. I told everyone about it already!"

"I thought you might feel that way," I say, as a way of not saying anything at all. "If you don't mind, I'm going to announce it right now."

I turn around and make eye contact with the event planner. She is ready and quickly brings me a microphone. I take a deep breath and try to center myself. I can feel the energy in the room shift as Remy steps back and allows me to take center stage.

I clear my throat and look around the room. All eyes are on me. The crowd shifts anxiously, whispers rising in volume.

"I want to say a few words as to why we are all gathered here tonight. Not just to give our money to Hope House, which is a worthy cause. But..."

My phone vibrates in my pocket, but I ignore it and keep going. There is a smattering of polite applause as I smile.

"I'm here to tell you that Talia..." I swing my gaze around the ballroom. "Where are you, darling?"

My heart sinks as I realize Talia isn't in the room. The crowd starts to whisper, and I feel my face flush with heat. I take a deep breath and scan the crowd for her familiar face.

"Just a moment..." I tell the crowd. My pulse starts racing. "Has anyone seen my wife?"

The crowd bursts into whispers. This is really not going as planned.

Talia is nowhere to be seen. Was she really so angry that I kept telling her that we could talk later?

Maybe she really had to use the restroom. Or maybe she texted me where she went? I fish my phone out of my pocket to check it for texts.

Time slows down. My heartbeat is ear-splittingly loud.

I see a single text from Talia. Opening it, I'm surprised to see just three digits.

911.

My mouth opens. What does911mean?

It means that Talia's in trouble.

My heart pounds in my chest as I yell out for all the security guards to search for Talia. They scurry off, but a few minutes later they return without her. I feel the air in the room grow heavy with disappointment and worry.

The guests start murmuring to themselves, shooting me sympathetic glances. I try not to think of what could have happened to her. What if she's hurt, or worse?

The only thing that matters right now is finding Talia and making sure she's safe. I take a deep breath and focus on the task at hand.

I turn to my security team and give them their orders. "You'll need to split up into groups of three and look everywhere you can think of. Alleyways, side streets, parks… Any place where someone might be hiding or in trouble."

The team nods and hurries away. My mind races as I worry about where Talia could be. Did she just need some time alone? Or was it something sinister?

I try calling her phone, but there's no answer. Then something occurs to me.

The text message that said911. Could it mean something more than just an emergency number? Tristen runs over to me, trying to see if he can help.

I scrub a hand through my hair, trying to think.