Conquer Your Love (2 page)

Kenny didn’t blink. “How urgent is it?”

“Major deal.”

“A good hookup and can’t find her number?” Kenny grinned. He had no idea
how close he was to the truth.

“Something like that,” Jett remarked dryly as he retrieved a brown
Manila envelope from his cabinet and tossed it to Kenny. “Here’s everything you
need to know about her. And there’s something else you need to get me.”

Kenny’s brow shot up as he flicked through the envelope and Brooke’s
details. His stare remained glued to Brooke’s sleeping face with her wavy hair
spread across the pillow like a halo. The picture had been taken with Jett’s
cellphone in his luxurious Manhattan apartment, on the last day they spent
together. Jett had been sitting in the chair opposite from the four-poster bed,
torn whether to spill his secret because she had opened up to him a few days
previously, telling him about her painful past and why she didn’t want a
relationship. He felt he owed her the truth, but in the end he decided not to
spoil the moment. It had been a big mistake because the next thing he knew they
had a fight, and she was gone.

Missing without a trail. And he never had the opportunity to explain
things.

“Hey, you still with me?” Kenny said, observing Jett, assessing him.
“Why did she leave?”

“I
dunno
. Ask me something else!” Jett
grimaced and refilled their glasses. He swigged down the golden liquid in one
gulp while Kenny stared at his, leaving it untouched this time. The whiskey
burned down Jett’s throat and probably messed with his brain.
The beauty of oblivion.
If he couldn’t find her, then that
was the state he was aiming for.

Kenny just shook his head and pointed at the now closed envelope, his
look devoid of emotion. “She’s pretty.” He had always been good at not saying
what he thought. It was the reason why he stayed out of trouble—unlike
Jett.

“Yeah.”

“When did you last see her?”

“Twenty-four hours ago.”

Kenny’s pretend frown barely hid the beginning of a sarcastic grin.
“That’s a really long time.”

Jett knew what he sounded like. Desperate. But it didn’t matter.

“I’m serious.” His voice was cold. Menacing even. He didn’t like it when
people made fun of him. “I need to find her. You have a problem with that?”

“Jesus. What happened to you, man?”

“I fucking messed up. I fucked up. I wouldn’t have called you if it
wasn’t important.”

Kenny leaned back. He didn’t seem in the least bothered by Jett’s
outburst—they had remained friends through tougher shit than that.

“Do you have any idea where she could be? Friends? Family? An ex or a
secret boyfriend?” Kenny asked.

If I did I wouldn’t be here
wasting my time with you, would I?

“I
was
the secret boyfriend.”
Jett’s hand shot through his dark hair as he tried to calm down the angry voice
inside him. No good in lashing out at the people around him. They weren’t to
blame.

“I tried calling her mother who didn’t seem particularly worried, but
claimed she had no idea,” Jett said. “The roommate’s gone with her, so I can
only assume they both took a road trip. The detective and his team called every
hotel in the state of New York.” Jett frowned at the memory. He was no
professional, but even he knew no woman and her best friend would move out of
their cozy apartment and into a hotel for no reason. Talk about wasting
precious hours. “I can only assume she’s staying with her friend’s family.”

“Your guy checked credit card companies?”

Jett nodded. “Last time she used it was at some grocery store across
from her building.”

“What can you tell me about her friend?”

Jett shook his head grimly, signaling that was a dead end. “I know
nothing about her. Only that her phone’s switched off, too.”

Kenny nodded and for a moment silence ensued. Jett’s heart began to beat
a million miles an hour, though whether it was from the amount of alcohol
coursing through his blood or from the seriousness of the situation, he
couldn’t tell.

“Maybe she’s left the country.” Kenny eventually resumed the
conversation.

Jett had thought about it and discarded the option quickly. “How could
she have paid for it without her credit card? I need you to dig deeper than
that.” He looked down at Kenny who remained silent, his displeasure clearly
visible in the frown line on his forehead.

“I’m out of the business, Jett. You know that.”

“I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important,” Jett whispered.

“You’re my best friend and I’d do anything for you, bro. But last time I
barely got away with it. I vowed to stay out of trouble.”

Kenny’s hesitation reflected in his dark eyes, and for a moment Jett was
sure his friend would leave him hanging. And then his gaze met Jett’s and Jett
knew he had won.

“You like her, don’t you?” Kenny asked.

“More than I care to admit.” It was the truth.

“Then I’ll do it. Just
promise to have my back if the
wrong people come
knocking on my door.”

Jett smiled, and for the first time since the fight with Brooke he
almost felt enthusiastic. Hopeful.
Because Kenny always knew
what to do.
He wasn’t one of the most feared hackers for no reason.

“Thanks, man. I appreciate it,” Jett said.

“I’ll call once I have a lead.” Kenny stood and Jett walked him to the
door.

***

At 11.45
a.m
the cell’s
screen
buzzed to life with an unknown caller. Jett had been stuck in a meeting for the
last two hours, barely paying attention to his father’s endless rambling about
a few new acquisitions and the consequent profits the company could make.

Jett excused himself and shot out of the room, pressing the cell to his
ear but not speaking until he reached the men’s restroom. The faint scent of
roses wafted past as Jett peered into each cubicle, making sure it was empty.

“She boarded a plane to Europe,” Kenny said as a means of introduction.

Had the private detective missed the credit card charge?

“Wait until you hear the next part,” Kenny coaxed. “You sure you were
the
only
secret boyfriend? Because it
looks like someone else paid for the tickets.”

Brooke wasn’t like that. And yet did he really know her?

“Who?” Jett’s voice was a layer of ice.

“Ken Clarkson. He’s a lawyer from London. Owns a successful firm. Not
married.”

Why the heck did he need to know the last part? Was he supposed to feel
better about the fact that Brooke might be seeing a
not married
guy? When did they meet and why did she trust him
enough to let a stranger whisk her away on vacation? Could he be an ex?

“Jett?” Kenny’s tone was strained with something. Certainly not worry.
More like humor.

“Give me a sec.”

The pressure behind Jett’s eyes intensified at the thought of Brooke in the
arms of another man, claiming what should be
Jett’s
. He moistened a hand under the
cold water
tap and ran it over his feverish nape. The cool moisture provided enough
diversion to help him gather his thoughts through all the brain fog. And that’s
when he began to put two and two together. A lawyer. Paid-for tickets. Europe.

“Where exactly in Europe?”

“Let me check.” The sound of flicking papers carried down the line an
instant before Kenny said, “Some place called Bellagio. Never heard of it.”

He had found her in—

Bellagio—Italy.

Fuck!

That wasn’t good. On a scale from one to ten, this was a hundred. A
disaster.

“When?”

“Last night,” Kenny said. “She landed earlier this morning.”

Jett’s heart began to thump just a little bit harder. If he jumped on a plane
now, he’d be there in eight hours. The actual work would begin now but he
wasn’t worried about that. He’d never been scared of giving his best—be
it working at his job or getting a woman. What worried him was that he could be
too late. He had to get to her, and quickly.

“Do you need me to find out more about the lawyer?” Kenny asked.

“I need something else.” Jett paused as he looked around to make sure no
one could hear him. The restroom was still empty, but he lowered his voice
nonetheless to be on the safe side. “Find me a gun dealer in Bellagio.”

A pause then, “You’re not going to kill her? Or the lawyer?” He could
sense Kenny’s doubt.

What the fuck?

Jett had done many stupid things in his life, but he had never been even
remotely inclined to harm a woman. He took a deep breath to steady the waves of
anger rushing through him. “Just find me the right guy, Kenny.”

“I was just—”

“Don’t,” Jett said, interrupting him. He had no time for questions. It
was getting late and he had to get the company jet ready. “Just do what I
said.”

His father’s meeting was still going strong as Jett returned to the
conference room. He wasn’t keen on wasting any more time, but as a CEO he
couldn’t just leave without notice—or without anybody noticing. It
wouldn’t bode well with his reputation. As Jett slipped back into his seat,
Robert Mayfield’s stare fell on Jett and his brows shot up. The old man didn’t
like to entertain the idea that something else might be more important. Jett
scribbled ‘business meeting in Europe—critical’ on one of the notepads
carrying the company logo and pushed it across the table toward his father.
Signaling Emma to approach, Jett instructed her to gather his stuff, get the
company pilot on the phone, and cancel all appointments for the week. He drove home
to change and get his passport, then straight to the airport where the
company’s private plane would take him all the way to the place he visited not
that long ago.
With her.

BROOKE

Love happens in
the blink of an eye. One
moment your heart is yours, and the next it belongs to someone you never
intended to give it to. There is no transition. No earning on his part. Just
foolish trust and hope for a future of happiness and emotional fulfillment. As
much as we all hope for a happily ever after, life doesn’t work that way.

Love’s a bitch. I had to learn that lesson the hard way in the form of a
green-eyed, sexy as sin, six foot two sex god.

Jett.

My first and only foray into love, and the second
biggest mistake of my life.

I smirked as I adjusted my sunglasses so my best friend, Sylvie,
wouldn’t catch the telltale signs of betrayal in my eyes. God knows I had shed
enough tears over Jett. You would have thought they were depleted by now. Fat
chance. It seemed I still had a few left, whether I wanted it or not. Not only
did I realize that love
can
grow in the absence of the
person you love, but so does the pain resulting from a broken heart.

It was funny, really, because I couldn’t figure out why I started loving
him in the first place. Was it his good looks? Or the way he made me feel? The
sex? He sure as hell didn’t deserve it.

It was barely ten a.m
.
but the
sun stood high on the horizon, bathing the
Malpensa
Airport building in a glow. Already I could tell it was going to be a hot day,
which wasn’t surprising given that we were in one of the most beautiful and
expensive vacation spots in Italy.

“Let me help you,” Sylvie said decisively, snatching my suitcase out of
my hand before I could argue. I watched her in silence as she heaved it into the
taxi trunk, ignoring the driver’s awkward attempts at helping her. She had been
protective and caring for the last two days, ever since the thing with Jett
blew up. She had been tripping over her own feet to help me ‘survive’ the
raging storm within my heart. In the last forty-eight hours I had been served
and massaged, had my hair brushed, my bags packed, and my makeup done by her. I
drew the line at having her feed and carry me. Sylvie had always been a good
friend, but being caring didn’t come naturally to her. So the sudden attention
scared the crap out of me. I didn’t know whether to run away or hug her.

“Hey, Brooke?” Sylvie tapped my shoulder to get my attention. I turned
to face her, realizing I had been spaced out. Again. My brain just switched off
momentarily like a computer on standby and needed to be tapped back into work
mode. It wasn’t natural for a twenty-three-year old. I knew it. She knew it.
The whole world probably did. I wished I could make it stop. Get my old life
back where I was just ‘Brooke’—an overworked, underpaid college graduate
naïve enough to hold on to her dreams.

Just forget.

If only I could.

“Get in,” Sylvie said, holding the taxi door open for me. I nodded
thanks and slumped onto the backseat. Sylvie joined me and grabbed my hand,
giving it a firm squeeze, while her smile said everything there was to say. My
best friend was here to support me. She’d take care
of me
until my heart mended and the pieces of my world glued back together
.