Lochlan

I drummed my fingers on the glass surface of my desk while I attempted to read my newest email for the third time, but I never made it beyond the third sentence before my eyes drifted to the blacked out screen of my cellphone. Logically, I knew no updates were a good thing, but I hated relying on anyone else to watch over Mrs. R and Millie.

My plan had been to come into the office for a couple hours to sign paperwork and tie up the handful of loose ends no one else could before the weekend, but as usual, the moment I appeared, every issue needed my direct input regardless of how big or small.

Luis had taken one look at my face, noted Millie's absence, and did his best to stay out of my way unless called, only coming in around lunchtime to deliver the news that the Pritchard contract had been successfully renewed. It was the one bright spot in this long day, but even it failed to truly excite me because my first thought had been to tell Millie she was a fucking genius. Only, she wasn't here, and last night, after I had a moment to myself, without her presence igniting my hormones on fire, I'd decided it was best to approach our arrangement more professional until the matter of her identity was solved. It was why I got the hell out of the house before she woke up this morning.

Did I still have plans to get her into my bed? Yes. Did I still want to put hands on any man who dared look at her? Certainly. And had I come with my cock in my hand last night while replaying the face she made when my fingers were inside her? Absolutely.

But I was in control, not my cock, and until I knew for sure she wasn't another con artist after the Reed's money, I couldn't risk muddying the waters. Maybe if I told myself that often enough, I would believe it.

The door to my office swung open, banging against the wall as Alex Reed sauntered in, amusement etched in the golden lines of his face. His cell phone was in his hand, text messages visible on the screen, and he handed it to me with a chuckle.

"I think my mother is drunk."

"What?" I snatched it from his hand and stared at the message thread.

Darling, do you dsfjk new ties? The one you had on yesterday was terrible. I'm going to get you sldkfjsldkf

Oops. Sorry. Hahaha. Too many inglorious berries. Millie likes them too.

The timestamp was from an hour ago. I looked at my phone, frowning when I saw no recent update from Troy, the bodyguard I had tailing the girls. His last message had been that they left lunch and were headed to E 59th St. I'd relaxed a bit at the news because that only put them around the corner from our offices on 3rd Avenue.

"It's the middle of the day. Your mother always limits herself to one drink when she drinks."

Was Millie drunk? The woman got turned around in the city sober. Not to mention she would draw attention from every single person interested in women. Troy had sent me pictures throughout the day, and while her outfit was far tamer than yesterday's blazer, it was almost more of a turn on. She looked confident and comfortable.

Alex pocketed his phone and dropped into the chair in front of my desk, propping his shoes on the glass. "I think she was nervous about being with Millie today. She really thinks this girl might be Marianna."

"What about you?" I asked.

There was no venom in the question. My rage from the day she showed up had petered out to rational cautiousness. I could admit there was something to her story. Maybe she wasn't Marianna, but she was someone's missing child. It made sense for her to come looking here when she saw the video.

Alex glanced at me. His green eyes were steady and somber—an unusual look for him. "I don't know that I believe she's Marianna... but she's the first one I'm not immediately sure isn't Marianna."

"I'm surprised you didn't join them today." I almost wished he had. Maybe they both wouldn't be drunk. I shot off a text message demanding an update.

"Meh, I wanted to let them have some time together, and I've been busy." He didn't look at me, but I'd known him long enough to know exactly what kind of business kept him sober and silent.

"Is the lucky guy or girl someone I know?"

"Back to our original topic," Alex said, scrubbing the back of his head and mussing his dark blonde hair. "I'm shocked you let Mom spend the day alone with Millie, considering you were so adamant she's such a dangerous person. What happened in twenty-four hours that changed your mind?"

"Nothing." Even I could hear the lie—almost as clearly as I could hear her hot little moan in my ear as I finger fucked her.

"Shit... I feel like I should be mad or something, especially if she ends up being my sister. That's what I'm supposed to do, right? Like punch you in the face for touching her?"

"Let's keep the punches to a minimum, yeah?" I joked, uncomfortable with his suggestion. I hadn't even considered that if Millie was Marianna that I would commit one of the worst sins against my best friend—sleeping with his sister. "Besides, I told you. Nothing happened. I just realized she's a nice girl, and your mom is probably safe taking her to lunch."

"Troy or James?"

"Troy," I admitted.

"Mom hates it when you put your men on her like that."

Mille would be pissed, too. "It was Troy following them around, or me going with them everywhere. I'm pretty sure they preferred option A."

My phone buzzed. I let it ring only once before I hit answer and pressed it against my ear, ready to tear into Troy for not updating me sooner. Only it wasn't Troy.

"Boss, we might have a problem," James said.

My reaction must have been physical, because Alex straightened and leaned forward, his jaw tensing. I shook my head and asked, "What's going on?"

"Melnyk is on E 59th street, and according to Troy's location, he's there. He still tailing the Mrs. R and Millie?"

The clatter of my chair hitting the floor as I jumped out of it echoed in the office. Alex followed me, not asking questions as I hit the stairs instead of taking the elevator. "How long have they both been in the same spot? You heard from Troy recently?"

"Not in a while—"

"Hold on. Someone is beeping in." I pulled the phone away and let loose a string of curse words when I saw Troy's name and hit the button to accept the call. "You better tell me you've got eyes on them, and then you better get them off that street now."

Troy's words were barely audible over the blaring horns. Someone screamed. The unmistakable sound of metal crashing into metal drowned out everything else, until all I could hear was the sound of my heart thundering in my chest.

"Tell me what's going on," Alex demanded as we reached the street level and took off at a full sprint, shoving past pedestrians, though the crowd moved in the direction we were headed, likely lured toward whatever disaster I'd heard happening on the phone.

"I don't know." Please God. Please don't let it be either of them.

As we rounded the corner, I spied the Reed's car and the driver, Neil. His crinkled face was twisted in horror, and I doubled my pace while Alex fell behind. The increased speed was only effective for a few yards as the crowd grew in size, but against a building beside a coffee shop, I spied Mrs. R. Her face was a white canvas streaked with black.

"What happened?" I asked, reaching her after nearly starting a fight with a man who didn't want to get out of my way.

"I don't know. I don't know," she wailed, pointing into the middle of the fray. Flashing red and blue lights reflected off all the windows. "I went into use the bathroom and get another coffee. Millie was waiting for me out here. I was standing in line and someone said they saw some creep drag a woman into the street. Before I could get outside, there was a crash, and I haven't been able to see anything. Too many people. But I can't find her, Lochlan. I can't find my Marianna."

The name slip up might have ripped my heart in two if my mind wasn't whirling in panic. Telling Alex to stay with her, I muscled my way back through the crowd, finally getting a clear view of the street, only to stumble I saw Millie on the ground, curled around a large red handbag. An EMT knelt beside her.

"Is she okay?" I demanded, ignoring a cop's command that I stay put.

"Lochlan?" She gasped, sitting up when she heard my voice. Shaking off the EMT's hands, she launched herself into my arms, trembling enough to rattle my teeth.

"I've got you, now. You're safe. I've got you."