Beastly (Phoebe Reede: The Untold Story #3)

by Michelle Irwin

  Please don’t make me say it. The silent prayer ran through my head. How could I tell her daddy the things we’d done the night before it all went south? Not that we’d done anythin’ wrong, but he no doubt thought of her as his little princess, and I didn’t wanna be the one to spoil that image.

  His eyes widened as he realized, and for a moment, I thought he was gonna take a swing at me again.

  I set my stance just in case he did. I mightn’t have fought back before, but that didn’t mean I was gonna let him push me ’round over and over.

  “You took advantage of her?” Rage sent a chill through his gaze, the cold fury of a father learnin’ of the loss of his daughter’s innocence.

  A jolt raced through my teeth and into my jaw, warnin’ me I was clenchin’ them too hard. “No, sir.”

  I didn’t elaborate because there wasn’t much more I could say without steppin’ onto ground neither he nor I wanted to discuss in detail.

  When he continued to stare at me, his jaw flexed as well, I continued, “I love your daughter. More’n I can say. Everythin’ that happened was mutual.”

  “I—” He huffed and pinched the bridge of his nose. His body sagged as he leaned against the edge of my desk. Another sigh left him. “I guess I’d better speak to this Xavier and the police.”

  A deathly silence fell between us. It was clear he mighta been willin’ to accept what I was sayin’ for the moment, but he wasn’t gonna leave it be.

  My concerns were confirmed when he added, “If I find out you’re lying to me though, about any of this, you’ll fucking pay.”

  He swept out of the office and slammed the door behind him.

  AS SOON AS Mr. Reede had left my office, I slumped against the wall. It was clear he’d leapt to a similar conclusion I’d made in the seconds after I’d seen him charging through the door. Phoebe hadn’t run anywhere. Whatever had happened, it wasn’t her choice.

  My mind raced as I considered what that might mean. Where she might be. Who she might be with. I pushed myself off the wall, needin’ to move so I didn’t go stir-crazy. As I paced around my office, I considered the possibilities and circumstances. The first question that needed to be answered: why was she missing?

  An accident might have been a possibility, but the fact that she’d made the calls to me and Mr. Reede to say she was leavin’ made it less likely. Unless she’d genuinely wanted to run from the things we’d shared and somethin’ happened after . . .

  I didn’t want to consider that option. It was easier to imagine there was someone else involved. The timing seemed too coincidental. She’d disappeared the weekend before the first race of the new season. Her first race, ever. It made me think someone hadn’t wanted her at that race.

  But why not?

  The more I stalked across my office, the smaller it felt. I needed more room to move, more room to think. I longed for the Lake Retreat, for the open spaces and forest trails. That had been my comfort after Phoebe left the first time, walkin’ the woods and heading out onto the lake. The instant I thought about the lake, the memory of the last time Phoebe and I were out there assaulted my mind, remindin’ me of the way she’d drawn away as I reached for the sanity she provided me.

  I yanked open my door and strode into the garage. Every eye in the place turned to me, curiosity burning in their gazes. I scanned around for Mr. Reede and Xavier, wonderin’ if Phoebe’s daddy would have gone to Xavier or the police first. If Mr. Reede had already left the building, I wanted to talk to Xavier again to see if he’d learned anythin’ new.

  When the curious gazes remained fixed on my path, I huffed. I couldn’t see Xavier near his team, so I figured Phoebe’s daddy must have already pulled him aside. I just hoped he was discreet enough not to mention what I’d shared about our union the day before she disappeared. If Phoebe genuinely wanted to be with Xavier like she’d apparently told him in her phone call, then it wasn’t my place, or Mr. Reede’s, to try to convince Xavier otherwise.

  I spun away from his workstation and was greeted once more by upturned faces and blatant interest in my every action. “What are y’all lookin’ at? Git back to work!”

  The outburst was uncharacteristic, but had the desired effect. Downed tools were collected and they all grew intensely fascinated with their work. I found the path to Jackson’s office, hopin’ that there might be some clue in amongst his paperwork about her preparation for the race.

  It was when I reached his office door that it hit me. There was someone with a vested interested in ensurin’ Phoebe didn’t turn up for her first race. Someone who would no doubt blame her for the loss of his position.

  Jase. Her former team manager. The one who’d been fired after he sexually assaulted her. My heart raced and my blood boiled as I recalled the scene I’d walked in on the day I’d heard her cries from the meeting room. He’d had her pinned against the wall, had worked her skirt up to her hips, and wasn’t backing down even when she said no. A chill raced through me as I wondered what might have happened if I hadn’t been there to pull him off her.

  And it was my fault.

  I’d confided in Cash, tellin’ him about the things Phoebe and I had shared. When things had gone wrong, he found hilarity in the fact that I’d waited so long just to “give it up” to someone who was sharin’ her love with everyone else. I didn’t start the rumors about her, or tell anyone where to find the photos that made their way online, but I didn’t put a stop to them as they spread neither.

  At least, not at first.

  Of course, I hadn’t known then that it was all a great big misunderstandin’. I should’ve realized it, but I didn’t.

  Still, even if Phoebe was everythin’ she’d been accused of being, that didn’t give Jase no right to attack her the way he did. It didn’t give nobody the right to take advantage.

  The way Jase reacted after Dale told him he was out filled my mind. The rage that had burned behind his eyes as he swore he’d make the team pay. I’d thought he meant he was gonna sue, but maybe he’d planned somethin’ else. Maybe he’d . . .

  It was the sort of information Phoebe’s daddy would need if he was goin’ to the police. I raced up to the offices to talk to Mary-Lou, see if she had any contact details for him. Although I doubted he’d left her anythin’ before chargin’ down to my office, it was my best lead.

  I stopped cold when I passed the lunchroom door and heard sobbin’ from inside.

  Followin’ the sound, I pushed the door open to find Phoebe’s daddy and Xavier locked in conversation. Although his eyes were dry, Xavier’s body shook as sobs rocked him. Mr. Reede sat back, lookin’ unsure about the situation.

  “She said she was going down to Georgia to help a friend,” Xavier said, before adding in a voice filled with venom, “Beau.”

  Mr. Reede nodded. “I’ve already spoken with him, and he’s confirmed she was down there with him.”

  “I don’t know why she kept trying to be friends with him,” Xavier continued. “He hurt her. Over and over again. He told everyone here she was . . .” He trailed off with a frown. His gaze was focused on his hands. “That she wasn’t pure,” he whispered. “And that she was free with her affection. He tortured her every day.”

  His words hit me like a punch in the gut. Phoebe had said the same, and of course I’d believed her, but I never expected that she would’ve told him about it all. Perhaps they were closer than I’d thought. Part of me had been hopin’ she’d only been with him to wake the green-eyed monster in me. Seein’ the two of them together had certainly always stoked the fires of jealousy that burned in me.

  “He’s made her life hell on earth, and she couldn’t free herself of him, no matter what she tried.”

  My gaze found the side of Mr. Reede’s face. His jaw was tight, the irritation that coursed through him clear even in profile. He thought I’d lied to him. It was clear in his expression.

  I couldn’t change his mind without proving to him that I loved Phoebe, and I couldn’t do tha
t with Xavier in the room. Not without breaking her trust, and makin’ him see she came to me, but I couldn’t do that.

  “It wouldn’t surprise me if he . . .” Xavier trailed off.

  Before either of them could spot me, I withdrew and stood in the hallway where I could watch the door but wouldn’t be seen by anyone coming out of the room. As much as I wanted to hear what Xavier was going to say, I didn’t need to listen to it. If Phoebe had told him I was hurtin’ her, he’d likely believe the worst of me, just like her daddy did.

  I rested my head back against the wall and tried to figure out the best way to prove to Mr. Reede that he could trust me when it came to Phoebe. If I couldn’t, he might not believe what I had to say about Jase. He might think I was tryin’ to throw up another potential suspect to pass the attention off myself.

  But I had nothin’.

  I didn’t even have Phoebe’s “I love you” to cling to because she hadn’t said it to me since last October—since before our relationship failed. The only thing I had was the certainty in my heart that she wanted me. That she loved me. Even the photos of us from the Fun Spot were back in Georgia, taped to the back of my wardrobe so I’d never lose them. The message she’d sent me that she was safe in North Carolina was destroyed along with my phone. All I carried around with me of her was her note. The one she’d left before she walked away, and that was too personal to share with her daddy.

  While I was lost in thought, Xavier came out of the lunchroom. His face was still dry and his sobs had stopped before he passed me. He ran his fingers through his hair and took a calmin’ breath as he headed away from me. Without glancin’ around, he headed back to his team.

  Knowin’ that Mr. Reede was by himself in the lunchroom, I took my chance to speak to him. Pushin’ through the open doorway, I stopped when I heard his voice.

  “I don’t know what to think, Lys.” He was at the table, facin’ away from me, talkin’ into a cell phone. “I just want my little girl back. We shouldn’t have helped her do this. I mean, what if she doesn’t have her medication? What if she’s alr—”

  He cut off, no doubt interrupted by whoever he was on the phone with—Phoebe’s mama, I guessed.

  “Fuck, maybe. I wish you were here with me, Lys. You’d help me make sense of it all. I can’t do this alone. I—I can’t lose her.”

  I was certain he wouldn’t want me witnessin’ his weakness, but I couldn’t back away. I’d never seen such an outpourin’ of grief. Sure, Mabel had made sure I felt wanted, and included, but it was nothin’ on the raw emotion in Phoebe’s daddy’s words. Theirs was a true family, and it made me long for Phoebe to walk back in the door more than ever, but not for me.

  If somethin’ untoward had happened to her, it’d break my heart, but it’d destroy the man in front of me. That would be the last thing Phoebe would want. I made a vow that I’d do anythin’ in my power to bring her back to him, and I would do whatever it took to ease his sufferin’ until then.

  With that thought in my head, I backed away until I reached the door so he didn’t know I’d overheard him. As soon as I hit the door, I came back in, makin’ more noise to alert him to my presence.

  He spun on the spot and then glared at me with such hatred it stole my breath. When Phoebe’s blue-green eyes had flashed with anger, there was always somethin’ buried underneath it—somethin’ akin to either love or longin’—that tempered the worst of it. With his, there was nothin’ but unfettered rage.

  “I’ve gotta go,” he said before hangin’ up his cell and droppin’ it on the table. “You’ve got some damn explaining to do!”

  “Before ya say anythin’, I need to speak.”

  “Why should I let you say anything?”

  My next words were going to be a low blow, but it was all I could come up with while staring at the blind hatred he showed. “Because Phoebe would.”

  “How dare you speak her name after what you put her through!” He launched himself at me. Because he’d surprised me once before, I was ready for his attack and deflected his punch. Durin’ the time before landin’ in Mabel’s house, I’d learned how to defend myself well enough when I had to. Still, I only did enough to avoid havin’ him land any punches rather than fightin’ back.

  “This isn’t what she’d want,” I countered as I ducked underneath another swing.

  “How the fuck would you know what she’d want?”

  “Because I know her. I know she’d want her sister Beth to stop cryin’ herself to sleep because her big sister ain’t at home.” I guessed at the way Beth woulda reacted to losin’ Phoebe based on what I knew of their relationship

  He froze. “How did—?”

  “She’d want her brother Brock to step up and be the man o’ the house while you’re not there. Not that her mama can’t handle it herself, but because your family comes together when they have to.”

  He staggered back a step.

  “She’d want her mama to wrap Parker and Nikki up in a hug and tell them that Phoebe’ll be home soon.”

  “You’re a sick bastard!” he sneered. “Why would you say those things?”

  “Because you might not think I do, but I know your daughter, sir. I know that family is the most important thing to her. That she’d take any sufferin’ in the world if it could save y’all from feelin’ it. That no matter where she is, or what might be happenin’ to her, y’all will be at the very front of her thoughts. She always talks about y’all in every interview she—” I cut off as a thought struck me.

  Interview.

  Ya idiot!

  There was a way to prove she’d left Georgia. A place to start to get more clues, and maybe even a way to see how she’d truly felt about me.

  “The interview,” I murmured. Before I could think it through any further, I tugged my cell out of my pocket. If Mr. Reede wondered what I was doin’, he didn’t ask anythin’. I scrolled through my contacts, knowing I had the producer’s number because we’d worked together plenty of times.

  “Jessica Loveitt.” Her tone was no-nonsense, ready to deal.

  “Jess, it’s Beau Miller. I need a favor.”

  “Okay?”

  “The interview y’all recorded with Phoebe Reede the other day. Is there any chance I can get a copy of it?”

  “What do you need it for?”

  I couldn’t tell her that it was to see if there were any clues about Phoebe’s disappearance on there. The fact that she’d missed a race mighta been common knowledge, but the fact she’d disappeared wasn’t known, and it wasn’t up to me to announce it.

  Phoebe’s daddy held out his hand for my cell. “I have someone here who wants to talk,” I said before handing the cell phone to him.

  “This is Declan Reede. I believe you interviewed my daughter for a feature recently?” He nodded. “Uh-huh, and when was that?” He nodded before turning his back on me. “I need to see the raw footage.” After a moment, he added, “Well, I’m sure you’re aware of the clause in Phoebe’s contract that allows her or her management team access to any and all footage and photographs and to revoke any permissions based on noncompliance.”

  I was surprised by the clause, but then perhaps I shouldn’t’ve been. I’d seen slick, well-oiled publicity machines before, but nothin’ that reacted as rapidly or with so much of a united front as Emmanuel Racing appeared to. When Phoebe had mentioned me not knowin’ what it was like, her bein’ Phoebe Reede, she hadn’t been wrong.

  With the thoughts of what that footage might contain, secrets that I’d refused to listen to before lettin’ her walk away, I wanted more than anythin’ to see it. My heart longed for her. I needed to see her again. To hold her. To apologize for doubtin’ her at the first test, even after I sworn I’d never hurt her again.

  Mr. Reede continued to talk to Jessica on my cell. I sighed and stared at my feet, wishin’ there was more I could do. By takin’ the cell out of my hands, he’d taken the one thing I had control of.

  “Yes, and a delivery to R
ichards Racing will be fine. That’s where I’ll be based for the short term.”

  When I heard him sign off, I lifted my gaze to find him starin’ at me.

  “That could’ve been a foolish move,” he said. “You risked bringing a reporter into this before the police are even involved.”

  I hung my head and trailed my hand over the back of my neck. Somethin’ about bein’ near Phoebe’s daddy reduced me to a schoolboy in trouble with the principal. I even felt like I should be starin’ at my shoes and toein’ the floor while he spoke.

  “But she confirmed that Phoebe was up here in North Carolina like you said. She’ll send the footage over.” He sighed and his jaw ticked. “Thank you for getting her on the phone.”

  His gratitude sounded forced, but I didn’t care. At least he wasn’t tryin’ ta land a punch no more.

  He moved to push past me, but I grabbed his arm. “I know I ain’t family, and I’ll respect your decision if ya tell me no, but I can’t tell ya how much it would mean to me to be able to watch that footage.”

  “I’m sure you’ll appreciate that—”

  “Please? I just need to see her ag’in.” Even though I’d tried to keep everythin’ in check, my voice broke as I said the words. The more I thought about gettin’ an insight into her mind after she’d left me, the more I needed it. Maybe she’d said nothin’ about me, but what if she had?

  Maybe even somethin’ was in the interview that could provide a clue about where she might be. Somethin’ I’d see based on what I knew of her time in the States that maybe her daddy might miss.

  He met my gaze and for a second, I was certain he was gonna say no. Then his eyes pinched and the corners of his mouth turned down. “Why should I let you?”

  I couldn’t tell him the things that were burning my tongue—they were words Phoebe needed to hear. Unable to meet his eye while I was bein’ a coward, I broke away from the intensity of his stare and moved to lean against one of the chairs. When my fingers found a grip around the back, I let go of a sigh. “Never mind.”