“It’s okay, Addie. He doesn’t scareme.” Tori smiled. “Your mother was a little harsh.”
She filled us in on my mother’s abhorrent words, and I watched my brother’s expression harden.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, and walked into the bathroom. A few women milled around, but no one I knew. “Dylan?”
Nothing. I turned to one of the women at the sink. “Have you seen a redhead in a green gown?”
She shook her head.
“I did.”
I turnedto see Gwen Wolcott walking into the stall area. “About five minutes ago, speaking with an older gentleman near the front door.”
“An older gentleman?” I asked. “Can you describe him?”
“Around six feet tall, big man, brown hair, in his fifties. I’m sure you know him, though. He owns Bridge City Property Management. I can’t remember his name, but he was on the news the other night when one ofhis employees was found dead.”
“Randal White?” I asked.
“Yes, that’s the man,” Gwen confirmed.
Randal White was among the Portland’s rich and powerful and, despite a small PR cameo on the six o’clock news, he’d managed to stay out of the spotlight. Wondering what the heck Randal White wanted with Dylan, I rushed back out to the hallway and right into Jake and Asher.
“Whoa, you okay?” Jakeasked, as he steadied me.
“No. She’s not in the bathroom. Apparently, she was seen talking to Randal White by the front door. I have a weird feeling, Jake. Something’s not right.”
“All right. It’s okay. We’ll go find her together.”
I took a deep breath and let him guide me toward the entrance. So Dylan was talking to the owner of her old company. No big deal, yet my insides were churning. Ihurried, forcing Jake to do the same.
Asher was hot on our heels. “She’s not answering, Jake,” he said. When I glanced over my shoulder, Asher held up his phone. “It goes straight to voice mail.”
“She probably turned it off for the event,” Jake reasoned.
But my stomach twisted in knots. Maybe she was so upset about what my mom had said, she was avoiding Asher’s calls. Just to be sure, I pulledmy own phone out and tried. It didn’t even ring before voice mail picked up.
We scoured the entryway and found Randal White speaking to another businessman by the door. Dylan was not with them. I made a beeline for the tycoon, but Jake grabbed my arm and tugged me back.
“Let me handle this, Addison,” he said before marching forward.
I tried to follow him, but Asher put his hands on my shouldersand pulled me into a hug. “Give him a chance,” he whispered.
We turned to watch Jake ask Randal about Dylan.
“That poor girl,” Randal said, frowning. “I pulled her aside to tell her I was sorry about the security guard attacking her, but she was pretty upset about something. She said she had to leave and took off. I’m sorry, but she didn’t say where she was going.”
“Mom,” I seethed. My stupidmother and her stupid mouth.
Asher squeezed my shoulders again, but his full attention was on Randal. Without looking at me, he said, “I’m sure Dylan’s just upset somewhere, Addie. Why don’t you go find Mom and Dad and recruit them to help us look?”
I wanted to argue, but when Asher looked at me, his eyes were heavy with worry. “We need to find her, Addie. We need their resources. Please. Youcan get Dad to help us. I know you can.”
I forced back tears and nodded. He gave me a quick hug and sent me on my way. I found my mother and father speaking with the Murphys and marched right up to them.
“Oh, there she is now,” my father crooned, reaching a hand out to me. I took it and let him kiss my cheek.
Struggling to keep my tone civil, I said, “Mr. and Mrs. Murphy, it’s lovely to seeyou both.”
