Forbidden Heat novel Chapter 97

The next morning when I returned to my room, Reiner was there leaning on my door. The last thing that I need right now is to explain why I wasn’t in my room and where I went.

“Where have you been?” Reiner asked without looking at me.

“I went to find something to snack on in the kitchen,” I replied. Yes, I lied. I hate it, I’ve been lying so much lately.

“Since 2AM? Did you fall asleep in the kitchen as well?” Reiner shot back with narrowed eyes.

“Have you been standing there since 2AM?” I asked in shock.

“Long enough to figure out that you were gone practically all night,” Reiner replied as he faced me.

“I don’t think I have to explain myself to you. Step aside, please. I want to be alone,” I said softly as I tried to walk past him into my bedroom.

To my surprise, Reiner did not try to stop me, and he didn’t ask anymore questions. Once inside of my room, I closed and lock the door behind me.

Edward…I need to see Edward.

…

Reiner sighed loudly after Natalia entered her bedroom. Since he couldn’t go to sleep last night, he had a sense of foreboding which was confirmed the moment he came to Natalia’s room and found it empty. He spent the next hour looking all over the mansion for her but to no avail. He looked everywhere except for Lucien’s wing. That wing was off limits to all other staffs except those exclusively granted to enter to serve Lucien. Things are getting messier than I thought possible.

I guess leaving the tracking device intact in the pendant was the right move after all. After checking the pendant, it was evident that there was indeed a tracking device inside. At first thought, I was going to remove it right away but on second thought…no one should underestimate Edward’s foresight. If he put it there, then perhaps it served another purpose than just to find Natalia on that rainy day.

Guess I’ll give it back to her as is. Natalia’s been pestering me to find it ever since that day…

…

“Princess! I thought you’d never call,” Edward’s cheerful voice greeted me over the phone. I haven’t spoken or seen him for weeks.

“Hi. I need to see you,” I said briefly as I got straight to my point.

“I’ll pick you up. 5pm? Use my exit,” Edward replied in a serious tone.

“Ok. See you then…Thank you,” I replied back softly before I hung up.

I’ll talk it over with him when I meet him.

…

This red dot on the screen here is Natalia. However, the red dot is now located at the building of my office. It’s been less than five minutes since I got off the phone with Natalia, which means that there’s no way that she is here. There’s also no reason for her to show up here to meet me since I’ll be picking her up later today. The most reasonable conclusion is that the red dot on the screen now is no longer Natalia.

“Let’s see which devil is here to see me today,” Edward mumbled to himself with a knowing smile on his lips.

…

Pushing open the secret trap door at the end of the dark and cold underground tunnel and I was now in the middle of the woods in the garden. I’m a little earlier than my appointment time with Edward. I guess, I’ll wait for him if he’s not here yet, I thought to myself as I closed the trap door behind me and disguised it with dried leaves.

Phew! I made it.

This is the first time that I’ve used that passage again since going through it with Edward. It was so dark and damp down there. I will forever be grateful that I did not run into any spiders or other similar creatures. Looking up, I spotted a dark blue Porsche 911 parked where I was supposed to meet Edward. Why did I go and expect a red Bentley, I should have known that Edward must have other cars as well. Lucien for sure had a bunch…these brothers.