Heartless

Chapter 20

Reed's POV

Torturing Lorenzo was just another day in my life.

You soon become detached and senseless to these tasks when you're in this business.

I'd used multiple different torturous devices on him and on any normal day, I would've kept going for longer.

Today, however, I just wanted to get home as soon as possible. Truthfully, I wanted to see Julia.

I knew that she'd be safe and sound, asleep in her bed when I got home...but I wanted to see that for myself.

She was so innocent and pure, I couldn't understand how she didn't hate me.

I'd come to accept the fact that I had some kind of feelings for her, no matter how much I tried to deny it. But it'd only be matter of time until I slip up and act on it. I couldn't let that happen.

I just have to block it out and protect her from afar.

After having her stuck on my mind most of the day, I decided to just kill Lorenzo after a few hours.

Tris seemed shocked that I didn't go on for longer but knew better than to question me.

I ordered a few of my men to clean up the mess and then drove Tris and I back to the house.

I would never admit it, but I enjoyed sharing the vacation with my friends for the week. It was fun and they all deserved this break.

I raced home, probably collecting speed tickets on my way, but I just felt the need to see Julia.

To see her perfect self fast asleep in the safety of my home. It'd put my mind to rest.

When we reached the house, the boys were still awake, playing a game of poker together.

Tris walked straight to the indoor bar and grabbed the bottle of whiskey from under the table. She'd never admit it, but I knew that work sometimes took a toll on her.

"Where are the girls?" I asked blankly.

"Good to see you too. Yes, we are having fun, thanks for asking." Blaze said, rolling his eyes.

"They all went to bed a couple of hours ago." Cyrus replied, keeping his gaze fixed on his cards.

"Thank you."

Tris grabbed her glass and jogged up the stairs, into the room she shared with Kayla.

She was a lot more introverted than her girlfriend and rarely liked to spend time with us outside of work. I fully understood that, but it was nice to see that she had someone.

I slowly made my way up the stairs, turning the corner to where Julia and my rooms were.

I planned on staying up for a little while, but wanted to check that she was okay.

I carefully turned the door handle to her room and opened it up, attempting not to make a noise. Her room was dark and I could barely see a thing as I walked around to her large bed.

However, my heart stopped when I saw that she wasn't in it. The bed was empty.

I quickly turned on the lights, being confronted with a completely empty room.

"Julia?" I yelled.

She wasn't in the en-suite or the walk in closet.

I noticed my written note lying on her bedside table, meaning that she'd read it but was far too distracted by her disappearance.