at my
father, straining to see the man I still wanted to believe that he had been.
I couldn’t find any trace of him. The man in front of me was
a stranger. Courteous and sincere on the surface, but underneath--? I wasn’t
sure what was there but I suspected that I would be better off not knowing.
“You won’t need to bring very much with you,” he added. “Just
make sure that you don’t leave behind anything that you really care about.”
I nodded quickly, anxious to be gone. “Of course.”
As soon as I got out of the SUV, one of the guards got in, riding
shotgun next to the driver. The others got into the vehicle parked nearby.
I stood on the sidewalk, watching as they pulled into
traffic, turned a corner and disappeared from sight.
Only then did a low moan escape me. Sagging against the nearest
wall, I dragged in air as I struggled against the wave of combined anger and
grief that threatened to drive me to my knees.
Chapter Nine
Lucas
Emma wasn’t in the apartment when I got there. Late
afternoon sunlight flowed through the high windows into the empty living room. I
could hear the faint drone of traffic from below but otherwise there was only
silence echoing in a space that felt far too big without her.
I frowned. Why wasn’t she back yet? Were the girls still at
lunch? If they were running this late, more than a few mimosas or whatever were
likely to be involved. Maybe I should pick her up.
I pulled out my phone and hit her number. The call went
straight to voice mail. Damn! Why hadn’t I put security on her the moment she
agreed to go the gala? I’d known that there would be photographs. They could
have drawn the attention of any number of weirdos. Not to mention the potential
danger to her if her father really was back in the city.
I speed dialed Caroline. My sister answered on the second
ring.
“Hey, bro’. Whazzup?”
I hesitated. Caro had that in-the-zone tone that she got
whenever she was deep into a heavy duty coding project. Usually, she didn’t
bother to pick up then but apparently she was making an exception for me.
Quickly, I said, “I’m at the apartment. Emma isn’t here. Any
idea where she went after lunch?”
“Nope… Walk? Shopping?”
“Maybe…”
Something in my own voice must have alerted her that my
curiosity was more than casual. She was a lot more focused as she asked,
“What’s going on?”
I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “Probably nothing.
I’m just a little anxious, that’s all.”
“You? Mister Has-Ice-Water-In-His-Veins? You never let
anything get to you.”
That wasn’t true. I was just good at hiding it. Especially
from a younger sister who I’d never wanted to have to worry about anything.
“Yeah, well, things change. I’m just concerned about her,
that’s all.”
Silence for a moment as her razor-sharp brain processed
that. “She seemed fine at lunch. A little pre-occupied maybe but nothing more.”
“She’s had a lot of practice concealing her emotions.” Pot.
Kettle. Maybe I should have tried opening up to her more. If I had, she might
have trusted me enough to tell me whatever was bothering her.
“Because of the thing with her father a few years ago? That
must have sucked but she seems to have come through it okay.”
My sister paused again, then added, “She’s a smart,
gorgeous, funny, genuinely nice human being of the female persuasion. And she’d
got real feelings for you. I hope you’re smart enough to realize that.”
Relationship advice from my baby sister? Coming on top of the
same from Feeney the Tattooed Fed? How had I fallen this low?
But I was smiling despite myself. “I’m glad you like her. I
figured that you would.”
“I really do…which is why I really hope that I didn’t say
anything out of turn.”
Caro say something she shouldn’t have? Only every other time
she opened her mouth. My sister was nothing if not candid but she didn’t have a
mean bone in her body. I’d never
father, straining to see the man I still wanted to believe that he had been.
I couldn’t find any trace of him. The man in front of me was
a stranger. Courteous and sincere on the surface, but underneath--? I wasn’t
sure what was there but I suspected that I would be better off not knowing.
“You won’t need to bring very much with you,” he added. “Just
make sure that you don’t leave behind anything that you really care about.”
I nodded quickly, anxious to be gone. “Of course.”
As soon as I got out of the SUV, one of the guards got in, riding
shotgun next to the driver. The others got into the vehicle parked nearby.
I stood on the sidewalk, watching as they pulled into
traffic, turned a corner and disappeared from sight.
Only then did a low moan escape me. Sagging against the nearest
wall, I dragged in air as I struggled against the wave of combined anger and
grief that threatened to drive me to my knees.
Chapter Nine
Lucas
Emma wasn’t in the apartment when I got there. Late
afternoon sunlight flowed through the high windows into the empty living room. I
could hear the faint drone of traffic from below but otherwise there was only
silence echoing in a space that felt far too big without her.
I frowned. Why wasn’t she back yet? Were the girls still at
lunch? If they were running this late, more than a few mimosas or whatever were
likely to be involved. Maybe I should pick her up.
I pulled out my phone and hit her number. The call went
straight to voice mail. Damn! Why hadn’t I put security on her the moment she
agreed to go the gala? I’d known that there would be photographs. They could
have drawn the attention of any number of weirdos. Not to mention the potential
danger to her if her father really was back in the city.
I speed dialed Caroline. My sister answered on the second
ring.
“Hey, bro’. Whazzup?”
I hesitated. Caro had that in-the-zone tone that she got
whenever she was deep into a heavy duty coding project. Usually, she didn’t
bother to pick up then but apparently she was making an exception for me.
Quickly, I said, “I’m at the apartment. Emma isn’t here. Any
idea where she went after lunch?”
“Nope… Walk? Shopping?”
“Maybe…”
Something in my own voice must have alerted her that my
curiosity was more than casual. She was a lot more focused as she asked,
“What’s going on?”
I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “Probably nothing.
I’m just a little anxious, that’s all.”
“You? Mister Has-Ice-Water-In-His-Veins? You never let
anything get to you.”
That wasn’t true. I was just good at hiding it. Especially
from a younger sister who I’d never wanted to have to worry about anything.
“Yeah, well, things change. I’m just concerned about her,
that’s all.”
Silence for a moment as her razor-sharp brain processed
that. “She seemed fine at lunch. A little pre-occupied maybe but nothing more.”
“She’s had a lot of practice concealing her emotions.” Pot.
Kettle. Maybe I should have tried opening up to her more. If I had, she might
have trusted me enough to tell me whatever was bothering her.
“Because of the thing with her father a few years ago? That
must have sucked but she seems to have come through it okay.”
My sister paused again, then added, “She’s a smart,
gorgeous, funny, genuinely nice human being of the female persuasion. And she’d
got real feelings for you. I hope you’re smart enough to realize that.”
Relationship advice from my baby sister? Coming on top of the
same from Feeney the Tattooed Fed? How had I fallen this low?
But I was smiling despite myself. “I’m glad you like her. I
figured that you would.”
“I really do…which is why I really hope that I didn’t say
anything out of turn.”
Caro say something she shouldn’t have? Only every other time
she opened her mouth. My sister was nothing if not candid but she didn’t have a
mean bone in her body. I’d never
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