MATT
Five hours ago, Matt had been wrestling with a crisis in the Asian markets, making calls and pulling strings until the situation stabilized. Now, at three a.m., he was still staring at spreadsheets, though for entirely different reasons. If financial reports could kill, he’d have been six feet under hours ago. The Vegas skyline winked at him through his office windows, as if mocking his dedication to responsible business ownership.
His phone buzzed. Scott Maxwell’s name lit up the screen, and Matt’s stomach dropped. A Maxwell calling this late meant someone was either dead, dying, or wishing they were dead.
“Scott,” he answered, already dreading whatever chaos was about to enter his perfectly ordered world. “Please tell me James hasn’t bought another island.”
“Matt.” Scott’s voice could have frozen hell. “It’s Mia. She’s been taken.”
Well,fuck. The spreadsheet suddenly looked as insignificant as his last board meeting. “Taken as indecided to take a spontaneous vacationtaken, or?—”
“Kidnapped, Matt. James is…” He paused. “Let’s just say I’ve never seen him like this.”
“Christ.” Matt was already shutting down his computer, mind racing.Andy. Sweet Jesus, Andy. His boy was going to implode. “I’m on my way. Try to keep James from declaring war on anyone until I get there.”
The penthouse was quiet when he entered, peaceful in a way he knew wouldn’t last past the next five minutes. The irony wasn’t lost on him.
“Andy?” he called softly, like he was approaching a sleeping tiger.A very cute tiger in his clothes,he amended, finding Andy curled up in their bed wearing one of Matt’s dress shirts. Any other night, that sight would’ve led to much more entertaining activities than delivering devastating news.
“Matt?” Andy blinked up at him with those eyes that usually spelled trouble for Matt’s self-control. “You’re still wearing your suit. Did your spreadsheets finally stage a revolt?”
God, give me strength. Matt sat on the bed, reaching out to brush Andy’s messy hair from his face. “Andy, pet, I need you to channel all that Donovan stubbornness right now, okay?”
Andy’s eyes sharpened, sleep vanishing faster than Matt’s patience at board meetings. “What happened?”
“It’s Mia,” Matt said gently, watching Andy’s face like a bomb timer. “She’s been taken.”
The color drained from Andy’s face so fast Matt wondered if he should’ve brought smelling salts.
“Taken?” Andy’s voice cracked like fine china. “No, that’s—she was with James; she was supposed to be safe. She—” His breathing hitched, panic rising like a tide. “Oh God, Matt, what if they hurt her? What if—like they did to me— I can’t?—”
“Hey.” Matt caught Andy’s face between his hands, forcing those wild eyes to meet his. “Focus on me, firecracker. We’re going to find her. If I have to buy half of LA and turn it upside down, we’ll bring her home.”
Andy’s entire body trembled like a leaf in a hurricane. “We need to go; we have to find her. Please, Matt?—”
“Already handled. The jet’s being prepped as we speak.” Matt pulled Andy against his chest. “James has his best teams mobilized across California by now. Trust me, when James Maxwell wants something found, it gets found.”
“Promise?” Andy’s fingers twisted in Matt’s jacket like a lifeline. “Promise me we’ll find her?”
Matt pressed his lips to Andy’s temple, breathing in the scent of his shampoo and fear. “I promise you, Andy. We’ll find her. I won’t rest until we do.”
“I can’t lose her, Matt. She’s all I have.”
“Hey.” Matt pulled back just enough to meet Andy’s eyes, his voice fierce. “She’s not all you have anymore. You have me. You have us. And trust me, whoever took her just made the biggest mistake of their life.”
Andy nodded, suddenly bursting into action. He scrambled out of bed, nearly face-planting as his feet tangled in the sheets. “We need to go. Now.”
Matt watched with equal parts concern and amusement as Andy turned their closet into a war zone, clothes flying everywhere. “Pet?—”
“Don’tpetme, we need to— Why won’t this stupid shirt—” Andy was trying to put his head through an armhole.
“That’s because it’s backward. And inside out,” Matt pointed out, moving to help. “And those are my pants.”
Andy looked down at the suit pants pooled around his feet. “Why are they so long?”
Matt efficiently helped Andy into proper clothes and fix his shirt buttons, which he’d somehow managed to misalign completely.
“Nearly done,” Andy said, hopping on one foot as he fought with his sock and grabbed the first jacket he saw—whichhappened to be Matt’s favorite—and practically swam in it. The sleeves dangled well past his fingertips.
