Rundown (Curveball Book 2) (3 page)

I
try to talk myself out of reading the article, but it’s pointless. 
I’ve tortured him enough; I might as well torture myself too. 
The article described Drew’s night in great detail and it makes me
wonder how they got the story in the first place, and if any of it is
actually true.  The author was so kind as to list several of
Drew’s past conquests, in case readers weren’t familiar.  In
the past, it would have been completely like Drew to take someone
home from the bar.  I’d like to think he’s progressed past
that, but maybe I’ve caused a relapse.  

I
toss my phone on the bed, finding that I’m getting more agitated.
 It’s like I’ve created my own personal hell.  I can’t
admit to myself that he’s moving on.  Call it denial or
stupidity, but after three days I can’t accept that, and I can’t
stop thinking about him either.  I tap my foot against the floor
in frustration.  Sleep is definitely not an option right now so
I throw on my bathrobe, grab my phone and quietly head downstairs.  I
round the corner to head into the kitchen, when I slam into Sarah.

“
Ahh,”
I quietly yelp, clutching her by the shoulders as warm liquid oozes
down my front. 

“
Oh,
I’m so sorry, Breanne.  I didn’t hear you coming.  Did
I burn you?”

“
It’s
ok.  I’m fine, just wet.  What are you doing up?” 

Sarah
retreats to the kitchen and quickly returns with paper towels.
She gives me a handful before she crouches down to clean up the
floor. When she stands back up, I notice how tired she appears.  In
the midst of all my drama, Sarah’s had quite a bit herself.  Her
youngest son, who is a sophomore in college, decided to live on
campus this year instead of commuting from home.  Without
children of her own to keep her busy, there was no longer a buffer
between Sarah and her husband.  They both decided last week that
it was best to separate.  Sarah is keeping the house for now,
but while her husband looks for an apartment and packs his things,
she’s going to be staying with me and the kids.  

“
I
couldn’t sleep so I came down and fixed some tea.  I thought I
heard crying and was just coming up to check on the kids.”

“
The
crying was actually me.  I had a nightmare.”

“
Do
you want to talk about it?” she asks, rubbing my arm.

I
shrug.  “I think it’s all the stress with the
investigations, and how I left things with Drew.”

“
Have
you heard from him?”

I
shake my head.  “No, but I just came across an article about
him enjoying a night out on the town with some bimbo.” I open the
browser on my phone and pull up the article.  Once it loads, I
hand Sarah my phone so she can read it herself.

“
He
looks…wasted.”

“
And
happy.  I think it’s a hint.  If he hasn’t already,
he’s at least trying to move on.”  

“
Love
doesn’t just evaporate in a matter of days, Breanne.  Take it
from me…it takes much longer than that.  I’d say he’s
trying to numb the pain.”

“
I
doubt that.  It’s not like we’ve been in love that long.
 Maybe it was just infatuation.”

“
Your
heart doesn’t care if you’ve loved him for days or years, what
matters is how you feel.  As I’ve told you before, it’s
obvious that you two are in love.”

“
Maybe,”
I mutter.

“
You’re
not really going to give up that easily are you?  That’s not
like you.”

“
I
don’t want to give up, but I don’t know what to do.  He
won’t return my calls and I’ve exhausted every option for getting
ahold of him.”  

Sarah
raises her eyebrow and smirks.  “You’re not thinking hard
enough, my dear.  You two are linked in more ways that you
realize.  Use your connections.”  

“
My
connections?” I ask, confused by what she’s implied.  

I
ponder this for several moments until I grasp what she means.  Once
I do, a shit-eating grin spreads across my face.  
Why the
hell didn’t I think of this before?  
For the first time in
days, I feel a renewed sense of hope.

“
Are
you going back to bed?” I ask, suddenly feeling energized.  

Sarah
smiles at me and shakes her head.  “Not likely.  Tell me
what you have in mind.”  

Every
inch of my body is drenched, a combination of my profuse sweating and
the rain. The fire that’s raging inside my lungs is getting
momentary reprieve with each blast of cold air, though it’s not
enough to be soothing.  My body is exhausted and it’s
painfully obvious that I’ve run too far.  Every muscle, even
ones I didn’t know existed until 57 minutes ago, pleads with me to
stop.  But I can’t…or rather I won’t.  At least, not
until I get what I want.

After
speaking with Sarah I realized she was right about two things.
 First, it’s not like me to give up.  I decided then and
there to stop feeling sorry for myself and to put on my big-girl
pants.  I’m done using Mark’s death as a reason to avoid
living.  I’m done trying to convince myself that I don’t
deserve to feel or be loved.  I need to stop denying what my
heart wants out of fear that someday I might lose it.  I’m
ready to be the woman who deserves Drew, and I’m not going down
without a fight.  Second, I’ve had access to Drew right at my
fingertips this whole time.  All I had to do was figure out my
approach.  

“
Ms.
Sullivan,” Agent Jackson calls out through labored breaths. 

I
slow down and turn to face her.  “Yeah?” I ask while jogging
in place. I have a feeling that she isn’t too happy with my
need to get out this morning, especially since she clearly knows my
motivation. 

“
Are
we about done?” she asks.  She’s bent over, resting her
weight on her knees. 

I
shrug, waiting for her reaction.  “I could be persuaded,
Corinne,” I say pointedly, and watch as her narrow eyes darken. 
If looks could kill, I would have just taken my last breath.

After
narrowly escaping death following the plane crash, Drew and I were
both assigned two FBI agents for our protection.  I’m not
exactly used to it, although, sometimes it has its perks.  We’ve
spent so much time together that I’ve even grown to think of them
as friends; particularly Agent Corinne Jackson.  At first, I
wasn’t sure about her.  She can be abrasive, though I’ve
come to admire her no-nonsense attitude.  I’d like to think
she’s even rubbed off on me a bit, especially now.

Corinne
takes a moment to catch her breath.  I can tell from looking at
her that she’s spent, which is surprising.  All five foot,
seven inches of her dark physic is perfectly sculpted.  She’s
beautiful, in an intimidating way, and there is no questions that she
could single handedly take me out if needed.  She’s clearly an
athlete, which is why I’m amazed that our run is affecting her. 
I’m not a runner, but then again I’m not doing this for the sake
of exercise.  My endurance is being fueled by my restless mind
and broken heart…as well as a little bit of desperation.

Corinne,
who hates when I call her by her first name, has information that I
need.  My brilliant plan is to torture it out of her.  Due
to the nature of her job, she has to be with me, and I don’t plan
on stopping until I get what I want.  Somehow, I’ve convinced
myself that despite whatever special ops training she’s gone
through, it’s no match for my determination.  

At
first, I outright asked her to contact Drew’s security detail for
information.  She brushed me off, saying that she wasn’t at
liberty to share even if she did know of his whereabouts.  I was
so frustrated until she accidentally let it slip that she had contact
information for Drew’s sports agent, Brett Wheeler.  When she
refused to hand it over, I decided I’d torment her, which is why at
the crack of dawn, we’re both running in the freezing rain.

“
Not
going to happen, Breanne.”

“
Let’s
keep going then,” I say and dash back into the darkness. 

Several
minutes later, Corinne grips my arm, effectively forcing me to stop.

“
I
won’t give you the number, but I’ll make a call.  Just let
me catch my breath.”  I nod and rest my back against a tree. 
I try to keep my composure, but my inner happy dance is in full
swing.

Thank
God, I thought she’d never cave.
 

I
wipe the perspiration from my forehead and fidget with my necklace as
I impatiently wait for her to place the call. 

Corinne
walks several paces away and finally takes out her phone.  She
presses a button, lifts the phone to her ear and waits, glowering at
me all the while.  She turns to walk several more steps into the
park we’re near, and I start doubting that she’s actually placed
the call.  She probably just said that so she could call her
partner and buy herself some time before he could pick us up.  I
might be paranoid, but I can’t chance that scenario.  Before
Corinne knows what hits her, I’ve lunged forward and grabbed the
phone from her ear.  I’m actually shocked when she doesn’t
react.

“
Hello?”
asks a deep, sleepy voice.

“
Brett,
it’s Breanne.”

“
Breanne? 
What’s wrong?” Brett asks, panicked.  I’ve no doubt caused
him a minor heart attack by calling this early in the morning.  I
don’t have time to feel too bad though, because I’m somewhat
surprised it’s actually him.

“
Drew,”
I gasp, still trying to get my breathing under control.

“
Is
he hurt?” he asks anxiously.  There’s rustling of some
sort and his breathing has changed.  
Shit, I really should
have planned what I wanted to say beforehand.

“
No…I
don’t know.”

“
What’s
happened?  Is he backing out of the meeting?”

“
I’m
not sure.  That’s not why I called.  I just—” I stop
talking and start wondering what meeting he’s talking about.

“
Look,
if this is about the flight, I can get him a prescription to help
calm his anxiety.”

“
What
do you mean his flight?  Where is he going?”

Brett
sighs.  “He didn’t tell you.” 

It’s
not a question, and the tone of his statement make it clear that he’s
just figured out that this news shouldn’t have been shared with
me. 

“
Look,
I don’t know what Drew has told you, but we had a fight a few days
ago.  I was stupid, Brett.  I said some horrible things. 
I’ve tried to get in touch with him but he won’t return my
calls.  I don’t know where he is but I have to speak with
him.”

“
I’m
not getting involved in his personal life, Breanne.”

“
I
wouldn’t ask you to if I could contact him on my own.”

“
Breanne.” 
The way he says my name, it comes out as a warning.

“
I
love him, Brett.  After everything Drew and I have been through
I cannot let him get on a plane w
ithout
telling him.  Please, Brett,” I plead.