Torn (The McKerricks Book 1) (21 page)

If happily ever after really can exist… if people really can hold it together. Then I could be that with Henley. I could hold on to Henley. I just have to convince her of that.

The miles cruise by easily, and it doesn
’t take me long to reach Henley’s home. The gravel of her driveway crunches under my tires as I pull up in front of her home. In her front yard there is a lanky sort of guy with Mr. Darcy on a leash.

I step our of the car with a frown.
“I’m looking for Henley… you seen her?”  I’m a little bit pissed that this guy might be my only lead.

“
Nah man. She called and asked me to look after her dog. Honestly I wish she hadn’t. There was a reason this thing couldn’t be adopted,” he replied with a tug on the leash, which made Mr. Darcy start snarling and pulling back.

“
She say when she was going to be back?”

“
Just that it might be a while before she can pick him up.”

“
Alright man thanks,” I reply turning back toward the Maserati. Out of the corner of my eye I see Mr. Darcy lunge forward and take a huge bite out of that guys hand. He doesn’t let go until he drops the leash, and the moment he does he drops his hand and bolts up over the Maserati door, through the open window, and straight into the passenger seat.

The man is groaning and cussing as he clutches his bleeding hand, and Mr. Darcy gives me that huffing sort of superior look, like it took me long enough to come get him. And I can
’t help but think I’ve acquired myself a co-pilot.

“
I’ll take care of the dog. You might want to get that looked at.” I say as I climb into the drivers seat. The Maserati pulls out of her driveway easily as I speed down the road. That was my only option. The only other things I
know
about Henley are bits and fragments and none of them are places that she can be found frequently. Shit for all I know she could have gone back to Louisiana. Although I think that is unlikely. She didn’t seem like she was keen to go back there at all.

The numbness that Henley has left behind in me pulls away just enough for me to know I
’m starving so I pull into a drive-through. I pull apart bits of a burger and feed it to Mr. Darcy as my mind runs through ever conversation Henley and I have ever had.

The only constant. The only thing that has come up more than once is Nora. Whoever Nora is she might be my only clue into finding Henley. So as I eat my burger, I flip through my phones contacts looking for the one number that I know can find a needle in a haystack.

“Aiden, I need your help.” Aiden’s company specializes in military trained bodyguards for high profile clients, which also gives him the ability to find anyone and everyone through means the normal person might not quite have access too.

“
Sure man. You decided to look for your girl I take it.”

“
She’s worth the trouble. I need you to find someone named Nora.”

“
Someone named Nora,” he repeats lamely. I can hear typing on the other end. “There are over one hundred thousand Nora’s in the united states.”

“
Oh uh. She’s a therapist here in Washington. Maybe in the Seattle or Snoqualmie area.”

“
You’re dating a therapist?” There is more clicking coming through the line.

“
No, I’m… dating one of her patients.”

“
That’s even worse, are you sure you can’t compromise with some regular chick?”

“
I’m sure.” It has to be Henley, or no one at all.

“
Nora Castillo. Twenty-nine. Ph.D in psychology. Harvard Graduate… she’s pretty cute too.” Aiden rattles off an address that I put into the cars GPS.

“
I don’t care how cute she is Aiden.”

“
Right. Connor… you know… about earlier,” My whole body stiffens as I wait to see what my younger brother will say about my outburst. I never wanted either of them to find out like that. “It must have been tough man, holding it in like that by yourself… if you ever need to talk you know I’m here for you.”

“
Yeah I know, I just… didn’t want you two to worry.”

“
Alright. I know how you hate mushy shit so go get your girl. I can’t wait to meet your donut goddess.”

“
Right. Sunday. For sure.” I say with as much conviction as I can muster before I end the call. Because I don’t know if Henley will forgive me by Sunday. That’s only seven days to figure out what the hell I did wrong and fix it.

The address Aiden gives me is surprisingly close by, and even though it
’s around seven when I pull up there are still lights on inside the building. It looks like any standard well cared for health center. Almost like a hospital. Albeit a small one.

As soon as I pull into the parking lot, Mr. Darcy hops back out the open window, and I panic jumping out of the car to run around and catch him. Henley will kill me if I lose her dog. But when I get around the car he is sitting on the concrete looking at me like I'm taking too long.

“Listen dog,” I say snatching up the leash. “This will go a lot easier if you behave. Got me?”

He bears his teeth a little bit but otherwise doesn
’t show any outward signs that he will behave poorly, so I keep a hold on the leash as I walk in through the front doors.

There are a couple people milling around in the front lobby, as I make a beeline for the desk. The woman behind the desk and the dark haired female doctor she is talking too look me up and down as I make my way over, checking me out. Sorry ladies I
’m taken. Happily so. If Henley still wants to take me.

“
Hi,” I offer my best smile to the woman behind the counter, and she fucking melts. I’m so in. “I need to find Dr. Nora Castillo?”

The womans eyes flick nervously to the dark haired woman next to me on this side of the desk. I turn my gaze to her and she is watching me with an amused pair of ocher eyes. I frown and turn back to the woman behind the counter hoping she will answer, before I can even register what
’s happening the dark haired womans hand snakes out and gropes my dick through my pants. I let out a string of expletives that stops everyone in the room dead in their tracks.

“
What the fuck are you doing,” I manage to snap out once she pulls her hand off my dick.

She lets out a sad kind of sigh before turning to the girl behind the counter.
“Looks like I owe Henley five bucks, his dick is as big as she said it was.”

“
I don’t know why you still bet against her. She never loses.”

The two girls laugh easily, but my brain is still stuck on the fact that these two women know Henley. These women can help me find her
… get her back.”

“
Hi,” the dark haired one says turning back to me. I keep a close eye on her hands this time. “I’m Nora. You must be Angus. You came quicker than I expected. You must really love her.”

“
Connor McKerrick,” I reply stiffly while shaking her well manicured hand. “And yes I do.”

“
I’m glad you can admit it. Let’s take a little walk. Leave the mutt here,” she says with a nod of her head towards Mr. Darcy.  He bears his fangs before laying down by the counter. “He’ll be fine we leave him with Mary all the time.” The woman behind the counter gives me a reassuring smile. So I do as I’m told and follow Nora out of the lobby and into the halls.

“
So… why have you come looking for
me
of all things Mr. McKerrick?”

“
I… messed up. And now I don’t know where to find Henley. I thought maybe she would have told you something.”

“
Ah see that is funny. She told me something entirely different.”

“
You spoke to her? Is she okay? She was in such bad shape…”

“
Nah. That wasn’t so bad. Been worse. It was only a few cuts. You managed to interrupt her before it got too far.”

“
Not so bad?” I shout out, causing a few heads to turn before I lower my voice. “You didn’t see all the fucking blood don’t tell me it wasn’t bad.”

She regards me coolly before stepping into an elevator.
“Do you think she is suicidal Mr. McKerrick?”

I step on the elevator after her with a frown. My mind replays all the times Henley and I were together. All the smiles. The way she was with Hunter and Emily.
“No… I don’t think that’s quite right.”

“
Good. Because she isn’t. And shit yeah I know it’s a lot of blood but its not like it was eight years ago. She is still in her right mind.”

I don
’t know which questions I should be asking. Which ones take precedence, but one question swims at the forefront of my mind so I ask that one first as we step off the elevator.

“
Is she going to be okay? Do you think… she’ll take me back?”

“
Well. I stitched her up earlier. She should be fine. The bleeding stopped pretty fast.”

“
Wait you stitched her up? You saw her?” My panic and anxiety ratchets up another level.

“
She checked herself in a few hours ago. Right after… well… she came straight here. And as for taking you back… will
you
take
her
back?”

“
There is nothing to take her back from. I don’t even know why she tried to leave… but the place she belongs is next to me so I’m not going to let her go that easily.”

A grin pulls at the edges of Nora
’s lips as she responds, “What a good answer. Too bad Henley won’t see it that way. I can’t tell you anything really… patient confidentiality… but when Henley is backed into a corner like this… things get ugly. The desire to survive is strong enough that this is going to be a brawl. You ready for it?”

“
I’m not afraid of a little hard work.”

“
I didn’t think you would be, but I had to ask. Henley is more than just a patient to me. She’s my first patient. She’s my college thesis. My wingman. She’s there when my dates go sour. She’s the first person to volunteer to hold my hair when I’ve got a serious hangover. Even though she has problems of her own, she will always listen to mine. She is my
best
friend. That’s why if she lets you in and you let her go for it, I’m going to tear your gigantic dick off with my bare hands.”

Her face is so serious I don
’t know whether to laugh or cry, but all I do know is that I am one hundred percent scared of this chick. “I got it.”

“
Good.” She opens the door she is standing next to and motions me inside.

I roll my shoulders, trying to work the stressed kinks out as I step through. My feet are rooted to the spot when I take in the small plain room. My eyes cant focus on any of the furnishings all I can see is Henley. Henley who I thought I would never see again. Here eyes are blank, well not quite blank. That
’s not the way to say it. Rather they are glazed over in severe fucking pain, and there are dark circles around them as she stares out the window. Her hair is pulled back messily, and her arms are wrapped tight in white bandages, but you can see where a little bit of blood has bled through. It makes my stomach roil, and I think the sight of Henley covered in blood is something that will haunt my dreams.

“
I told you, I don’t need anything to help me sleep.” Her voice is soft, haunted, and if the room wasn’t so still I wouldn’t have been able to hear her whisper.

“
Good, because I’m not here to give you anything,” the scratchiness in my voice adds to the hoarseness. I don’t think I’ve ever coddled Henley’s feelings. And I don’t feel like now is the time to start. I might be sadistic, because I
like
pushing her. The shocked panic in her eyes when her head whips around to take me in pleases me. She didn’t expect to see me at all.

“
What do you want?” Her voice is quivering like the last little bit of a wick that is about to get blown out, and it scares me. My father said she would fight and yell and ignore me, but Henley just acts like she has given up. I’ve got to be careful how I handle her. I don’t want to be rough. Just honest.

“
I’m sorry… I can’t apologize properly because I don’t know exactly what I did that set you off… I don’t know how I hurt you but I did and I’m sorry for it Henley.”

“
Go home Angus, I’m not good for you.” She lets out a dark laugh before continuing.

“
I’ll go home. As long as you’re going home with me.”

“
I don’t have a home with you Angus. I
can not
have a home with you.”

“
Why not?” I growl, practically biting the words out.

“
Because you don’t even know who I am.” Henley has gone from a wick almost being blown out to a full grown blaze. She’s starting to get pissed because I won’t leave. Well good. Because I can handle Henley when she is pissed off.