Chill: Trillionaire Shifter Club Book Two

by Rosette Bolter

  CHILL

  Trillionaire Shifter Club: Book Two

  Rosette Bolter

  DECLAN (TRILLIONAIRE SHIFTER CLUB BOOK THREE) IS NOW AVAILABLE!

  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0195I4JOK

  CHAPTER ONE

  The air outside in the city that night was freezing cold. Cordelia and her boyfriend Marshall weren’t prepared for it at all. The sun was still out when they’d gone into the cinema complex. Two and a half hours later the sky was black, and Marshall’s sleeveless tank top was just as out of place as Cordelia’s tight skirt. They clung to each other for warmth as they walked across the road and up along the footpath. Cordelia’s building was only ten minutes away so they didn’t bother calling a cab.

  The conversation initially was a little stiff and muted. Marshall it seemed was still trying to process the complicated mess of the film. Although she’d been sitting beside him throughout, Cordelia hadn’t been paying much attention to it. Her mind was adrift, concerned about her best friend Harper. The Sunday before last she’d spontaneously gotten married to a bear shifter named Bane, and the pair had gone on honeymoon together. The night before the wedding, Harper had said they wouldn’t be away for more than a week. It had been eleven days now, and she hadn’t responded to any of Cordelia’s texts.

  As they walked together, Cordelia took out her phone and switched it back on, holding it in front of her.

  “Is something the matter?” Marshall asked after a break in conversation.

  Cordelia glanced at him. Her eyes shifted back to the phone.

  “You still thinking about Harper?”

  “Yes,” Cordelia snapped. “What else would I be thinking about?”

  “You said before you hadn’t called her yet,” Marshall said.

  “Yeah, I know,” Cordelia said. “I just want to see if she’s replied to my texts yet.”

  “The ones you sent two days ago?”

  Cordelia scrolled through her notifications.

  “Just bleeding call her if she hasn’t replied,” Marshall said. “You have every right to be concerned.”

  “Shit,” Cordelia cursed.

  “Just call her.”

  Cordelia stopped and motioned for Marshall to stop as well. Her eyes scanned through the message sent to her.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s Josh,” Cordelia said. “He’s … He says he wants to talk about something. He can’t get through to Harper. Something else is going on…”

  Marshall stretched his shoulder muscles.

  “He like, tried to call me seven times,” Cordelia said. “He’s … freaked out.”

  “About what?”

  “It doesn’t say. And he didn’t leave a voice message. Just the text.”

  “Want me to talk to him? Find out what he wants?”

  Cordelia shrugged. “I don’t know.” She started walking. “I don’t fucking know.”

  Marshall caught up with her. “I had no idea it was getting to you this much. You know just because she hasn’t gotten back to you, that doesn’t mean anything right?”

  “Right,” Cordelia nodded.

  “Bane probably locked her phone away in the drawer or something. I know if it was our honeymoon, I’d want you all to myself.”

  Cordelia forced a smile. “That’s sweet.”

  “Alright,” Marshall laughed. “Be that way. You’re gonna feel pretty stupid when we sort this whole thing out though.”

  “I thought you said I was right to be concerned.”

  “Okay. I’ll shut up.”

  Cordelia glanced at her boyfriend, aware the tone in her voice had finally gotten to him. She squeezed his hand tightly for the rest of the way.

  They made it into the building without incident, passing the front desk and a series of chairs parked outside the elevator. A figure behind them stood up as they did so.

  “Cordelia.”

  They turned.

  “Jesus Christ, Josh,” Cordelia shrieked. “What are you doing here?”

  “Let’s go up,” Josh said nodding to the elevator.

  “Why don’t you answer her question?” Marshall demanded.

  “Don’t be angry with me,” Josh snapped. “I’m here because I need your help. It’s about Harper.”

  “Look, you had your chance,” Cordelia snapped back at him. “You cheated on her and now it’s over! She found someone better than you! So fuck off to wherever you came from!”

  Josh shook his head. “This isn’t about that. I think something’s happened to her.”

  “What do mean?” Marshall asked putting a hand on Cordelia’s shoulder.

  “I mean something bad’s happened to her,” Josh replied. “And the three of us need to figure out what’s going on. Tonight.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Cordelia stood by the kettle with her arms folded, waiting for it to boil. Marshall was out of sight, looking for the jacket he’d brought over earlier. Josh was in the centre of the lounge area, pacing.

  Marshall walked in from behind her, zipping up his jacket.

  “You want a coffee?” Cordelia asked.

  “Is that what he wants?” Marshall replied with a nod to Josh. “I think he’s had enough.”

  “I just thought … to help us warm up…”

  “Okay,” Marshall murmured. “I’ll take a small one.”

  He approached Josh. “Do you want to stop moving around?”

  Josh faced him, looking disorientated. “Sorry.”

  The kettle’s switch flipped off. Cordelia poured the drinks.

  “Sit down,” Marshall ordered, pointing to the sofa.

  Josh shook his head. Then complied.

  Marshall accepted a mug from Cordelia.

  “I shouldn’t give him one?” she muttered.

  “Do you need something?” Marshall fired at Josh.

  “I haven’t had dinner yet, but –”

  “You’re not eating dinner with us,” Marshall snapped. “You say your piece and then get the fuck out.”

  Josh nodded. “Alright.”

  Cordelia pulled up a stool and sat down with her mug. Marshall remained standing.

  “Okay, I won’t lie to you,” Josh said. “Last week after I found out she got married – I freaked out a bit. I messaged her, I did all this shit on Facebook … you probably saw some of it.”

  Marshall glanced back at Cordelia.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” Cordelia moaned. “I told you already what that shit did.”

  “Oh right,” Marshall reeled. “The whole bestiality thing.”

  “I was upset,” Josh went on. “Dumped for a bear, you know? I’m sure she didn’t want me to know who he was and everything. It’s not like those freaks of nature come out in the open that often. I hardly believed it myself.”

  “He used Photoshop and manipulated private photos of Harper to make it look like she was … using a teddy bear as a sex toy,” Cordelia chimed in. “Disgusting.”

  “I took all that shit down already,” Josh whined. “That’s not even the point. I’m just saying –”

  “Hurry the fuck up,” Marshall said.

  “Okay. Like … I’m really sorry about all that stuff. And I did more too. I was trying everything I could to find out where they’d gone to. Short of asking you, Cordelia.”

  “Did you find anything?” Cordelia asked.

  “Oh, no,” Josh said. “I gave up eventually. She wasn’t responding to any of my texts or answering her phone so… I just tried to move on.”

  He looked up after a pause. “I’m not here because of any of that. I’m here because this afternoon, whilst I was in bed waking up from a late n
ight, I could hear someone had broken into my house.”

  Cordelia took a sip from her mug. The liquid went down.

  “I was … a little freaked out at first. I grabbed a bat from the cupboard and moved slowly through the hallway. The intruder was at the front of the house still. I could hear them pulling books and things off the shelves. I quietly moved in and peered round the corner.”

  “Who was it?” Marshall asked.

  “No one I recognized,” Josh answered. “It was a woman. About Harper’s age, Harper’s height. Her figure. She even had the same shade of red hair. It was freaky.”

  “But it wasn’t Harper?” Cordelia said.

  “No,” Josh shook his head. “Unless. Well, here’s the thing. When I approached her, demanded what she was doing in my house, she said ‘I’m just getting my things.’”

  Silence.

  “And?” Marshall prompted.

  “And I said, ‘What the hell are you talking about, your things?’ She said, ‘I’m moving out.’ And I shit you not, when I looked down at what books, and what DVDs and what photos and other junk this woman was putting in her suitcase, it was all Harper’s shit.”

  “But it wasn’t Harper?”

  “I don’t think so,” Josh said.

  “What happened next?”

  “You know, I, lunged at her,” Josh confessed. “She somehow dodged me and then the next thing I knew I was on my back. I was paralyzed. But I was still awake. I heard her moving through the rest of the house, but I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t move. I was just … frozen there.”

  Josh stood up from the sofa, his hands concealed in his jumper. His eyes on the floor.

  “I must have been there for two hours. It felt like six. But … about five minutes after I last heard the woman moving around, I could stand up again. I was so freaked out I just went into the bathroom and closed the door. I was in there for another hour, shaking. I mean, I was fucking frightened. That wasn’t normal. Not at all. That was … something evil…”

  “Hey,” Cordelia called from her stool. “Hey, emotional.”

  Josh looked up.

  “You expect us to believe that line of crap?”

  “It’s the truth,” Josh said. “It’s the truth.”

  “Alright, alright, settle down babes,” Marshall interrupted. “Let me … deal with this.”

  He approached Josh face to face.

  “Look at me, pal,” Marshall said.

  Josh looked.

  “We don’t know where Harper is. We don’t know anything about your crazy story. If you’re really worried about her, I suggest you go down to the police station, and tell them everything you say that happened. If you are telling the truth that is.”

  “One phone call straightens this all out,” Josh said. “I need to speak to Harper. I need to tell her what’s happened. She could be in danger. At the very least she can tell me, I’m not going crazy.”

  Marshall glanced back to Cordelia. “Call her.”

  “What?”

  “Call her, for heaven’s sake. See if she answers.”

  Cordelia bit her teeth together. She realized, she was afraid to call.

  “Put it on speakerphone,” Marshall said walking over. “Here.”

  He took her phone from her.

  “Is that her number?”

  “Yeah,” Cordelia said.

  Marshall turned to Josh.

  “We’re going to call Harper, okay? Then you can hear it for yourself. And leave us the fuck alone.”

  Josh straightened himself up.

  Marshall pressed call and placed the phone on the glass table to the right side of the room.

  The three of them stood there, hardly breathing, listening to the dial tone.

  Ring, ring…

  Ring, ring…

  Ring –

  Someone had answered.

  They could hear the air.

  “Hello?” Marshall said. “Harper, are you there?”

  Nothing. No response.

  Just the gentle wind, sailing by.

  “Harper, please,” Cordelia wailed. “Tell us you’re alright.”

  A sharp breath inhaled. They all heard it.

  Someone was there…

  “Harper!” Cordelia shouted, moving past Marshall. “Answer me, Harper!”

  “Harper’s gone,” a girl’s voice stated on the other end. “And you’re next.”

  Click.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “What the fuck?” Cordelia whispered. “What did she say?”

  “I think that was her,” Josh muttered.

  “Harper?” Marshall said.

  “No, the woman at my house today,” Josh replied. “She has all Harper’s other things. Maybe she got a hold of her phone too.”

  “Did she say Harper was gone?” Cordelia questioned. “What does that mean?”

  “I’ll try her again,” Marshall said.

  He went to the table and picked up the phone.

  The three of them listened eagerly as the phone rang again.

  Ring, ring…

  Ring, ring –

  “The number you have called has not been connected,” came an automated reply. “Please try again at another time.”

  “Give it here,” Cordelia said, snatching her phone away from Marshall. He walked to the far end of the apartment and sat down on her bed by the door.

  She tried Harper’s number again.

  And again.

  And again.

  “Shit!” Cordelia squealed.

  “Babes,” Marshall murmured behind her.

  “This is fucked!” Cordelia snapped, glaring back at him.

  “Just calm down,” Marshall said. “Think this through logically.”

  Cordelia shook her head. Then she suddenly got off the bed.

  She raced past Marshall into the lounge where Josh was.

  She promptly shoved his chest. “What have you done to her?”

  “What?” Josh barked back.

  “What have you done? What have you done? What have you done?!”

  Marshall pulled her kicking and screaming away from Josh. She tried her best to fight him, but he was too strong for her.

  “Please,” Cordelia sobbed into his chest. “He’s done something.”

  “I haven’t done a thing,” Josh said defending himself. “I’m not a psycho. I cheated on her and I said some shit on Facebook, but there’s no way in hell I would have hurt her.”

  “What do you think?” Cordelia whispered to Marshall.

  Marshall looked down at her skeptically. “I think he’s telling the truth.”

  “You bastard, how dare you –”

  “Fucking calm down,” Marshall hissed. “We don’t know what’s happened to Harper. That doesn’t mean something has. Only that someone else has her phone –”

  “Nope. Nope. No fucking way…”

  Cordelia pushed her way out of Marshall’s clutches and raced back to the front room. She grabbed her handbag and opened the closet to get a coat.

  “Where are you going?” Marshall asked, blocking her path.

  “I don’t know! Somewhere!”

  She went to go past him. “Move.”

  Marshall put his hands in the air.

  Cordelia went to the door and opened it. She looked back at the guys.

  “Get the fuck out.”

  Josh moved slowly down the hallway.

  Marshall stood by the door. “You’re upset, I know. But you’re overreacting.”

  “I don’t want to hear it,” Cordelia snapped. “I won’t. I won’t, I won’t –”

  “Well, I’m fucking disappointed,” Josh hollered from down the hall.

  Marshall glanced back at him. “Shut the fuck up, dude.”

  “No, I’m glad you all finally believe me when I say something’s happened to Harper,” Josh said. “But how about a little bit of cooperation –”

  “Cooperate this.”

  Marshall left his stead by the do
or and advanced towards Josh. His hands went to Josh’s throat while Josh’s went to his.

  “You fucking idiot,” Josh choked. “Brain-dead piece of fucking –”

  “Stop it,” Cordelia cried rushing back to them. “Get off him!”

  They moved into the lounge and a quick exchange of blows followed. Josh was knocked to the ground, with Marshall bearing over him. He went to punch Josh in the head again, but Cordelia managed to pull him away.

  “Just stop it!” she screamed.

  “I thought you hated this guy,” Marshall muttered.

  Josh put his hands on the sofa, trying to stand up.

  “You’re fighting over nothing,” Cordelia scolded.

  “He wouldn’t leave.”

  Josh managed to regain his feet. He took a tissue from his pocket and wiped a patch of blood away from his lip.

  “I’m going to go now,” Josh said. “But I have one final question for you first.”

  “Ask it,” Marshall barked.

  “Are you absolutely, one hundred percent sure you don’t know where Harper is? Do you really, really not know of any way you can reach her?”

  “That’s what we’ve been saying this whole bloody time,” Marshall snarled.

  “Then I’ll get out of your way,” Josh said trudging past them. “See you down at the station.”

  Marshall looked down to Cordelia. “Are you alright?”

  She swallowed. Something had just occurred to her.

  “Wait.”

  Josh stopped in the hallway. He turned to them.

  “What is it?”

  “I know someone,” Cordelia said. “A friend of Bane’s. He probably knows where they are.”

  “Then why didn’t you bloody say so,” Josh seethed. “Call him!”

  “I don’t have his number,” Cordelia murmured. “All I have … is this.”

  Cordelia bent down and opened up her handbag. She sifted through it and took out her purse. Inside there she found the card she was looking for.

  She handed it to Marshall.

  “T.S.C.?” he said reading off the card. “What’s that?”

  “I told you already,” Cordelia murmured. “Trillionaire Shifter Club. That’s where we met Bane.”

  “So what?”

  “There was another guy there. He … was Bane’s best man at the wedding.”