Emery held Sophie in his arms and knew the exact moment she fell asleep. She fit against him perfectly, her rounded bottom snug against his groin, her hair teasing his nose and cheeks, the scent of it faintly floral.
So sweet. He’d never known someone like her. With that button nose and her bright eyes and pink cheeks. Most of all, he was mesmerized by the hungry look she got whenever she watched him, thinking he couldn’t see. It did something funny to him. Rather than sleep with her and show her the door, he wanted…her companionship. He wanted to harness her desire for him and use it to give her blinding pleasure. But there was so much more. With her, he didn’t feel that need to be reclusive, to hide away from the world.
Insanity. This woman was driving him mad. He almost felt free enough to leave the house, to go into town with Hans watching his back.
Frowning, he pulled her closer, even though he knew that come tomorrow he’d have to push her away. He mustn’t let her get too close. She was a stranger with every intention of shining a bright light on his greatest tragedy, his greatest failure. He couldn’t forget that for even one second.
Chapter 7
SEARCH DOGS AND LOCAL VOLUNTEERS FROM SEVERAL PROMINENT FAMILIES IN THE COMMUNITY CONDUCTED A DILIGENT SEARCH OF THE VASTLOCKWOOD MANSION AND THE EXTENSIVE GROUNDS OF THE ESTATE, LOOKING FOR ANY SIGN OF THE BOYS OR THE MEN WHO MAY HAVE TAKEN THEM.POLICE BELIEVE THE SUSPECTS MAY HAVE HAD A VEHICLE WAITING CLOSE BY AND USED IT TO ESCAPE THE ESTATE MORE QUICKLY, LEAVING NO TRAIL FOR DOGS OR THE AUTHORITIES TO FOLLOW.
—New York Times, June 10, 1990
Cody Larson propped his feet on the edge of his desk and steepled his fingers. The five thirty-inch HD screens in front of him showed key locations in the Lockwood estate. The one he was staring at with the most interest was the screen showing Emery’s bedroom. Cody had witnessed the entire exchange between his employer and the hot little journalist. Emery had probably forgotten he’d had that fan camera installed years ago. There were so many cameras in the house and Cody only watched a few key points. Emery’s bedroom was hardly a target for easy access by intruders and no one ever worried about privacy because Emery hadneverbrought a woman home before. Cody knew it was only a matter of time before Emery remembered and would have that camera removed.
Cody glanced at the thick file he’d prepared for Emery on Sophie Ryder. It had been a little surprising for his boss to ask for a background check on the journalist, but he couldn’t blame Emery. Yet Emery hadn’t yet asked for Cody to bring the report to him. He and the woman were far too busy cuddling like a pair of freaking bunnies. It was so unlike the Bossman to cuddle. Cody had seen enough over the years on his monitors to know that Emery didn’t bring women home and he sure as hell didn’t seem like the type of man who would snuggle with them.
The door to Cody’s lavish office opened and Hans Brummer, Emery’s personal bodyguard, strolled in carrying a suitcase. At fifty-one, Hans didn’t look a day over thirty-five, yet it seemed like he had a hundred years of experience. The man could read a room quicker than anyone and point out threats and exit strategies immediately.
Cody nodded in greeting as Hans took a seat next to him at the large desk.
Technical gadgets were strewn over the desk like shiny space junk on a distant moon’s surface. More than one device had been stripped of its motherboard or had wires thrusting out like multicolored intestines. Cody loved delving into each piece and figuring out what made it tick. Once he’d figured out their technical mysteries, though, he lost interest.
The bodyguard set the suitcase on a table and pulled up a chair next to Cody. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees to stare at the screen showing Emery and the journalist. He flicked his glance toward Cody briefly before returning it to the screen. Hans’s brown eyes were so dark they were nearly black, and they never missed a single detail.
“You finish the perimeter check?” Cody asked.
“Perimeters clear, but…”
Hans scrubbed one palm over his jaw, eyes still on the bossman lying in his bed like some giant tiger with a housecat tucked between his paws.
Cody didn’t like the sound of that. “‘But’?”
Hans was one scary guy. He’d kicked Cody’s ass six ways from Sunday when they’d first met. Of course, that probably had to do with the fact that he’d tried to pull a gun on the bodyguard. Stupid move, that was. His body still hurt from just thinking about what had happened afterward. If Hans was edgy, that meant serious shit was going down.
“I found a size eleven hiking boot print by the main gate, only ten feet from the girl’s prints.”
“Just one print?” After a few years in Hans’s company, Cody knew what that meant. The man out there had concealed signs of his passage pretty damned well. “So the guy’s a pro. What are our options?”
Hans shut his eyes, rubbed his closed lids with his thumb and forefinger before he sat up sharply, alert once more. “We wait. No need to worry Emery.” He picked up the file on the journalist. “So what did you dig up on her?”
“Believe it or not, this girl has led an apple pie life. Except for one incident in her childhood, she’s squeaky clean. Boring, in fact. Well, besides her current job, that is. She’s had a few nasty run-ins with criminals she was trying to write about, but she’s proven useful to the police and solved a lot of cases.”
“Really?” Hans’s brows drew together. “No wonder she fascinates Emery. What happened in her past?”
Cody hesitated, then flipped open the file and pointed to one article.
Hans picked up the printed copy of the fading article. “Girl witnesses abduction of friend— No help to police in identifying suspect.” He faced Cody, his mouth a grim line. “You understand what this means?”
Cody’s mind was blank. “Not really. She saw her friend get taken by some perv and the police never recovered a body or made any arrests.”
With a weary sigh, Hans returned his gaze to the monitor on Emery’s bedroom.
“She wants more than his story. She wants answers he doesn’t have.”
“Thank you, Captain Cryptic. Care to explain?”
Hans flashed a smile.
