As the shower’s warm water cascaded over her body a few minutes later, washing away the residue of her mad dash through the alleys, Talia found herself thinking about what kind of effect staying with Lennox might have on her job. It might be the twenty-first century, but au pairs for the elite families were still held to some rather archaic standards when it came to their personal lives. So much so that it was rare to see a married au pair or even one in a serious relationship. Wealthy people seemed to want the women they hired to watch over their children to be purer than the driven snow, not partaking in any behavior they deemedunacceptable,regardless of how the parents behaved.
Talia loved the Rybak family, especially Maria, her six-year-old charge. She didn’t want to think they’d fire her for seeking safety at Lennox’s apartment, not after the night she’d had. At the same time, she’d had friends let go for lesser things.
Telling herself there was nothing she could do about it, Talia dried off, then pulled on her pajama pants and tank top.
Lennox was in the living room on the couch, scrolling through his phone while watching SportsCenter. He looked up as if sensing she was there.
“Is the TV too loud?” he asked, grabbing the remote from the coffee table. “I can turn it down.”
She shook her head. “It’s fine. I just wanted to say thank you again. For coming to the police station tonight and letting me stay here and for agreeing to help me find Anna. For everything, really. I can’t tell you how much all of this means to me.”
His mouth curved. “Anytime.”
Talia wondered what she’d done to deserve such generosity, especially since she hadn’t given him any reason to help her. Whatever it was, she was grateful. Because without Lennox on her side, she wasn’t sure what she’d do.
She returned his smile. “Goodnight, Lennox.”
“Goodnight, Talia. Sleep well.”
With him as close as the next room, she might.
CHAPTER THREE
“Do you guys know if Wes and Kyla are on their way?” Lennox asked, leaning back against the counter in his kitchen, a mug of coffee in hand.
Colt glanced up from the cream cheese he was spreading on his bagel. With his perpetually tousled dark blond hair and California tan, he always looked like he’d just spent the day surfing. “Wes sent me a text right before we got here to say that Kyla is checking on some stuff so they’re running a few minutes late.”
“Hopefully, she found something,” Darwin Sutton, another one of their SEAL Teammates, said as he sipped his coffee. Tall with brown eyes and dark hair, he’d only recently started working with their platoon but was already one of the guys.
Lennox silently agreed. He’d called Colt last night after Talia had gone to bed, wanting to fill him in on what had happened after he’d left the party. He’d also asked if his buddy had any ideas how to find Anna. Colt had promised to make some calls, saying he had a few ideas. A couple hours later, he’d called back saying that Kyla Wells had agreed to help.
Kyla was the girlfriend of another one of their Teammates, Wes Marshall, and worked as a senior analyst for the Office of Naval Intelligence. Of course, the reason Navy Intel had hiredsomeone so young and right out of college was because Kyla was also a scary good hacker and had been since she was fourteen. With her help, things were definitely looking up.
“Mind if I join you?” a soft voice asked from outside the kitchen.
Lennox looked over to see Talia standing there in her pajamas looking like the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, her long dark hair down around her shoulders. She still seemed tired but not nearly as exhausted as last night.
“Of course.” He pushed away from the counter, motioning her in. “I hope we didn’t wake you.”
“You didn’t,” Talia said, glancing at Colt and Darwin as she walked over to grab a mug out of the cabinet. “I was already up. I didn’t sleep very well last night.”
“You should have woken me up,” Lennox said. “I could have made you more hot cocoa and we could have hung out and talked some more.”
Over by the table, Colt snorted as he set his plate down. “You definitely should have taken Lennox up on that offer. Boring women until they fall asleep is one of his better-known talents.”
Lennox shot daggers at his friend, but Talia only laughed.
“If I’d known that, I would have,” she said, dark eyes dancing as she glanced at Lennox while pouring coffee into the mug. “I could have used the rest.”
Since Talia had already met Colt before, Lennox took a moment to introduce Darwin before telling her to help herself to whatever she wanted to eat.
“Do you guys always get together for breakfast?” she asked, glancing over the fresh-baked bagels Colt had brought with him.
“They didn’t come over specifically for breakfast,” Lennox explained. “They’re here to help us figure out what happened to Anna.”
Talia abandoned the box of bagels to stare at Colt and Darwin in surprise. “Seriously? You guys are willing to do that for me?”
Colt grinned. “Of course, we are. We’re SEALs. Helping people in trouble is sort of our thing.”
