She smiled back a little shyly. “It’s okay.” She stood up. “I’ll just tell him you’re here.”
He kept his smile in place, softened it even more, kept his eyes on her face, making her blush. He had skills when it came to women. He was good-looking and he knew how to be charming. Add to that, he had money and plenty of it. Women fell all over him. As long as he stayed in control, he knew exactly how to handle them.
He checked her name on the sign on her desk. “I appreciate that, Amy. But I’ll just tell him myself.” Before she could stop him, he’d pulled open the frosted half-glass door and walked into private investigator Marvin Phillips’s office.
Phillips swung his feet down from the top of the desk. He was about the same height as Damon, a little over six feet, but older, in his midforties. He was balding, while Damon had a thick head of wavy black hair. He preferred hiring people who were physically inferior. It gave him a little edge.
“Get off the phone,” Damon demanded.
The detective’s features tightened. “I’ll have to call you back.” Phillips hung up, but didn’t rise from behind his desk. “I thought you were coming in this afternoon.”
“I’m tired of waiting. I want results. Where is she?”
“I don’t know where she is. Not yet. I told you that when you called. I’ve found her for you twice already. I can do it again—if you’re sure that’s what you want.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means chasing this woman all over the country is not a good idea. Surely by now, you realize she isn’t coming back to you.”
“What the hell do you know? She’ll come back. It’s just a matter of time.” He didn’t tell the detective he didn’t plan to give her any choice. Victoria belonged to him. He’d bring her back whether she wanted to go with him or not.
“She was in Carlsbad a little over three weeks ago,” Damon said. “You must have found something since then.” He didn’t mention what had happened to him in New Mexico. Every time he thought about how Tory had tricked him, humiliated him, made a fool of him, he wanted to wrap his hands around her pretty neck and squeeze.
It had taken him hours to drag himself into the kitchen, get his bound hands on a butcher knife, and cut himself free. When he found her, she’d pay for that, along with everything else she had done.
“Did you talk to Lisa Shane?” he asked. “They were best friends. She must know where Tory is.”
“I talked to her. She hasn’t heard from Victoria since she left Phoenix. I’m working a couple of other angles. Sooner or later she’ll turn up again.”
“I’m paying you a small fortune. The longer it takes, the more money you make. That better not be what’s going on here.”
Phillips rose from his chair. “I said I’d come up with something and I will. Sooner or later everyone makes mistakes. She’ll turn up somewhere and I’ll find her.”
“I’m tired of waiting.” Damon strode to the door and pulled it open. “You’ve got a week. Then I’m done with you.” Turning, he stormed out of the office.
A week. Then he’d do it his way.
The thought sent a rush of adrenaline through him. He wouldn’t waste time. He’d do what had to be done to get the answers he needed.
He almost hoped the detective failed.
* * *
Josh worked the rest of the afternoon. One of the mares was ready to foal. He had brought her in from the pasture and put her in the barn, then gone back to work on the cow barn, which, as the oldest structure on the ranch, was practically falling down.
He was gutting the interior, knocking out the old rotted boards that made up the stalls. As he slammed the hammer against the wood, splintering it and sending pieces flying, he thought of his encounter with the redhead working in the other barn.
She was a handful, that was for sure. Stubborn to a fault, and prickly even when he was trying to help her. Since she was only going to be there one more day, he’d wanted to make things a little easier, give her a less difficult job, something that wouldn’t make her hands bleed and her back ache.
He shook his head.Bullheaded woman. If she weren’t such a pain in his ass, he might admire her. At least her word was good. She’d said she’d give him three days’ work as a stable hand and she was determined to do it.
The hell of it was, it wasn’t going to matter. The last thing he needed was a sexy little redhead distracting him from the goals he’d set for himself. And Tory Ford was a definite distraction. Soft curves in all the right places, high full breasts, lips the color of strawberries.
Every time he thought of her, he remembered the way she looked in those blue denim stretch jeans, bending over to shovel out the stall. The rhinestones on her back pockets flashed like beacons, pointing to her perfect little ass.
He’d wanted to move up behind her, drag those fancy jeans down over her hips, wrap his hands around that narrow waist, and—
Josh clamped down on the thought. Tory was a nice young woman, the mother of a sweet little girl. She deserved to be treated with respect.
