“We’ll do everything we can to find her.” Emmett’svow was deep and unwavering. “In the meantime, you should try to go back to your hotel and get some rest.”
Any other time, Janie probably would have taken the suggestion as a thinly veiled insult. But she was too exhausted to even pretend she didn’t at least show it in her eyes.
“You’ll call the minute you find something?”
“You have my word.” His rugged chin lowered in a slight dip.
Under different circumstances, she would have found the courage to ask him out for a drink. But she wasn’t about to screw up Echo Team’s offer to help in her search for Amy.
Instead Janie looked up at Emmett with a smile and a polite, “We’ll talk soon, then.”
Relief from knowing she wasn’t alone in her quest came crashing down. Between that and suffering through three sleepless nights in a row, she couldn’t deny her body was begging for a few hours of peace.
Janie drove back to the hotel in the rental car she’d procured the day before. The entire ride home, her mind whirled with a slew of different thoughts and plausible theories.
By the time she was back in the comfort of her hotel suite, she could hardly keep her eyes open for longer than a few seconds at a time. She didn’t bother to undress, aside from kicking off her jacket and shoes. Her purse landed on the floor next to the nightstand with a dull thud before Janie crawled into bed, jeans and all.
The last thought she had before falling asleep minutes later was a silent prayer that the cops who’dblown her off were right. She genuinely hoped Emmett would call soon to tell her Amy Weaver had been found alive and unharmed.
I’ll take being an idiot tourist if it means that scared young woman is okay. After all, I’ve been called worse.
CHAPTER FOUR
The next afternoon . . .
“Your girl has good instincts.”
“She’s not my girl.” Emmet shut his laptop and glanced up as the team’s tech guru made his way into the office.
Blake plopped down into one of the two chairs facing Emmett’s desk with his blue eyes looking as if they wanted to roll. “Fine. Ourclienthas good instincts.”
Client. Exactly.
That’s what Janie Reynolds was. It wasallshe was. Hard stop.
Shewasn’this girl.
A sexy journalist with stunning eyes, gorgeous hair, and a smile that had made his heart flip at first sight? Oh, yeah. The woman was all those things and more. But they didn’t matter.
Janie had hired him and his team to help in thesearch for a missing White House intern. Period. Not only that, but she was also Echo Team’s first official client.
So no, he wouldn’t let the unusually strong attraction he felt toward the gorgeous brunette interfere with the ability to do his job. Leading R.I.S.C.’s newest team was an opportunity he had every intention of honoring.
“What did you find?”
Blake huffed out a breath as he sat back in the chair and put an ankle over one knee. “A whole lot of waving red flags, for one. And I’m pretty sure we’ve just scratched the surface.”
Red flags?
Emmett rested his elbows on top of the smooth surface of his desk and linked his fingers together. “Like what?”
“Draven just called. He and Gwen went to Amy’s apartment building, just like you asked. They knocked on a few doors and talked to some of her neighbors. About half of the people who live on her floor didn’t answer, so they’re going to meet up with the landlord at one of the guy’s other properties now and then swing back by for another try afterward.”
“And the ones who were home?”
Blake shifted his body against the chair’s pristine leather. “According to D, they all pretty much said the same thing. Amy’s a sweet girl who does things like opening doors and holding the elevators for others. She always offers to help carry groceries if she’s around and is almost always wearing a smile.” He paused. “They also haven’t seen or heard from her since the day she and Janie met.”
Definitely not a good sign.
