Riley couldn’t say the same in return. Liza had never mentioned anything about her assistant.
“I hear you’re a wedding planner,” Taylor said. “I would love to pick your brain sometime. I just got engaged.” She flashed a nice-sized round diamond at them.
Riley didn’t want to be rude and ignore Taylor’s interest in wedding planning, but they weren’t there to talk shop. “Liza told me last night she would be working this morning.”
“She was due in over an hour ago,” Taylor said. “But I can’t seem to get her on the phone.” She tossed a look over her shoulder one way then the other. “I shouldn’t be telling you this.” Her voice was barely audible.
Josh inched closer to her with his right ear facing her.
“There were two men here yesterday, dressed in suits, looking for Liza.” Taylor rubbed her lips together. “When I asked them who they were with, one of them said, ‘We’re friends of Liza’s from Boston. We can’t say much more than that.’”
Riley’s muscles tightened as nausea settled in her stomach. All she could think about was that the men were from Liza’s old place of employment.
Before Riley had left Boston, the news had been reporting that Stefano Moretti, Liza’s former employer, had been arrested on tax evasion and money laundering. Riley’s mind was going down a lane that was making her pulse climb.
Liza had been questioned by the FBI after the raid on her former employer, Moretti Retailers, but she’d claimed she had never witnessed anything illegal while employed there.
Maybe the mafia family was trying to shut up all past and present employees so they wouldn’t testify against their patriarch. Riley had to admit she’d watched a mafia movie a time or two, but it wasn’t unheard of for someone like the mafia to shut up anyone who threatened their livelihood.
Taylor touched Riley’s arm. “Riley, you look pale. Do you know the men I speak of?”
“No.” She didn’t sound at all convincing.
Josh raised an eyebrow, those green eyes appraising.
Riley kept her thoughts to herself. For one, she didn’t want to scare Taylor, who already had fear in her blue eyes; and two, Riley didn’t want to come off as a crazy woman.
Josh whipped out his phone, tapped on the screen, and raised it to his ear. Riley imagined he was calling Liza.
Edging back from Taylor, Riley gulped down some air to clear her mind. “You told me on the phone that Liza was stuck in a meeting with a client yesterday. Is that true? Or was she in a meeting with these two men?”
“She’s not answering her phone,” Josh added. His tone was laced with concern. “What did they look like?”
Taylor considered Riley first. “I told you the truth. And she never spoke to the men I mentioned. When I told them she wasn’t available, they hesitated, exchanged some kind of look, and then left.” She turned to Josh, clasping her hands in front of her. “Both were tall. One was bald with a goatee. The other had thick black hair—handsome if you ask me. That’s all I can tell you.”
“Did they leave a card?” Mafia didn’t leave calling cards. Their idea of a calling card was a dead person. But Riley asked just the same. Maybe they weren’t who she was thinking of.
Taylor shook her head, and a stray blond hair came loose from behind her ear. “Nope.”
The whoosh of the elevator doors sounded. An older gentleman wearing a pinstriped suit waltzed in, carrying a briefcase.
“Look, I’ve got to run. As soon as she comes in or I hear from her, I’ll call you,” she said more to Josh than Riley. Then she darted off behind the man in the suit as though she were in trouble.
Josh threaded rugged fingers through his hair. “Something is wrong. I can feel it.”
Riley agreed. If Liza had to work, then she would be there. She was never late, but if she were, she would’ve called her assistant at least.
Riley gnawed on a nail, a habit of hers when she was nervous or thinking. “I say we check her apartment. Maybe she overslept.”
Josh closed the short distance between them and gently grasped her wrist. “No need to worry.”
Riley raked her gaze over him, angling her head. His tone earlier had hinted he was concerned, but he appeared calm, cool, and collected. She shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, he’d been on deadly missions, and Riley suspected he’d been trained not to panic.
He guided her hand down then laced his fingers in hers. “I do have a key to Liza’s apartment. When she travels, I’m her cat whisperer.”
Riley giggled. He was handsome, a pure gentleman, compassionate, and he was slowly becoming a woman whisperer with the way he began tracing lazy circles on her palm with the tip of his finger.
Charlie wormed in between them, almost as if he wanted to hold Riley’s hand. Josh took the dog’s leash with his free hand, steering Charlie to walk on Josh’s left.
The entire trek to Riley’s rental car, Josh kept his hand in hers. She swore if he let go, she might whimper. The last time she’d held anyone’s hand was when she was with the guy before her ex. John hadn’t been a hand-holder. She found the act intimate, warm, and tingly.
Once they were in the car and the engine was running, Josh said, “Liza’s fine.”
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Riley asked.
He engaged the gearshift. “Let’s not think the worst. Sometimes Liza hangs out at a coffee shop near her place before she goes into work. She told me that she likes to catch up on emails before she hits the office.”
Riley would’ve believed that if Taylor had heard from her.
