“You’ve got cops following you again?” I asked as I slid into the seat across from him. After my little run-in with Ash – no matter how many times I tried to get myself to think of him as Mr. Lang, I kept reverting to Ash – I wasn't in the best of moods either.
“Happens from time to time. What am I going to do?” He jerked a shoulder like it didn't matter, but I knew him better than that. While he didn't seem to be able to completely stay away from the life, he hated the general assumption that he was up to no good. It was one of the reasons he rarely got to see his son. The judge hadn't even blinked when she'd given Rachelle full custody.
We sat in silence a moment, sipping from our respective drinks. Vic always went for the cheapest shit beer, which I'd always thought strange, since when it came to everything else, he went for the things that were out of his reach.
I was on my second rum and coke, and lamenting over my lack of foresight. I should have requested a double. I didn't care that it was barely mid-afternoon. I was going to need it, the way things were going. I was scared for Isadora. I'd missed an important final and even if I could pass my class without it, I didn't like not doing things. And, of course, there was always the looming question of my employment.
If I lost my job, what would I do?
I only had a couple more months until I finished my degree and I'd already started scouting out places to send my resumé. Hopefully, by the time I got my diploma, I'd have a job lined up. But that wouldn't do me any good if I lost this one now.
After the server put down a basket of fries, I swiped one before Victor could drown them in salt, then asked, “I guess you haven’t heard of anything.”
He shook his head. “No.” He glanced around and then asked in a low voice, “How come none of this is on the news, Toni? She’s a fucking heiress. It should be a headline story. I mean, people are talking, but not as much as they should be.”
“Her brother shut them down, I guess.” I tipped my glass in Vic's direction. “What can I say? Money talks.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Victor sighed, his face grim. “It sings, Toni. Like a fucking siren.”
“That’s almost poetic.”
He surprised me with a quick, rakish grin, the kind that had come much easier when he'd been younger.
“I’m a regular renaissance man.” He reached out and put his hand over mine. “I’m sorry, Toni. I know you want to help and I want to help you. It feels like…I dunno, redemption, in a way. But nothing's turning up.”
I wrapped both of my hands around his bigger one. “Keep your ears open?”
“Bet your ass.”
Chapter 8
Ash
“Yes, yes. I've got it.” I closed my eyes as Melody Strum, my assistant, rattled off a few more details about the upcoming takeover.
I hadn't been to work since Isadora had been kidnapped, but it had been nearly a week and things had to be done. I had a board, but I was the CEO and I was usually the one who made all of the important decisions. Except, how was I expected to work at a time like this? My brain was feeding me every horror story I'd ever heard or read about kidnappings.
This was my worst nightmare. Only it was real.
And whenever I tried to stop thinking about Isadora and find something else to distract me, that something else was always Toni. I had a tangle inside me because of her – anger, need, frustration…amusement.
I wanted to bend her over my knee and spank her until she couldn't sit for some of the things she said, but at the same time, there was a part of me that still found her anger almost cute. She was just so tiny that seeing so much rage coming from her was shocking.
Even when she was yelling at me, I’d been torn between yelling back and kicking everybody else so I could take out my frustration in another way. Between her thighs while her nails sank into my shoulders, and I felt the hot, sweet grab of her pussy again.
“Mr. Lang?”
The sound of Melody's voice jerked me back to attention. “I'm sorry.” Rubbing at my eyes, I said, “My mind was somewhere else.”
“That's totally understandable.” Her voice was apologetic, full of concern.
She'd been with me for nearly twelve years and knew me better than most. And the one thing I knew she understood was how much I loved my sister.
“If we could've waited on this, you know I wouldn't bother you.”
I nodded, and then remembered we were on the telephone and she couldn't see me. “I know that. That's why you're paid big bucks, right?” I tried to lighten my tone for the last part.
She came back with a typical Melody response. “Well, that being the case, Mr. Lang, you do know I'm up for my annual review and raise next month?”
She managed to get a laugh out of me, and we were able to finish the rest of our business. As soon as I hung up, however, I was left to my own thoughts.
And those thoughts weren't good.
Mentally, I counted off each day since she’d disappeared. Monday evening to Friday morning. I broke those days down into hours, then minutes. So many things could be done to a helpless woman in that many minutes, hours, days. Had I even tried to make sure she knew how to take care of herself if she needed to? Or had I arrogantly assumed that my money could provide enough protection? Maybe instead of trying to protect her from the world, I should have been preparing her for it.
The kidnapper still hadn't called back.
It was my fault.
Knowing it didn’t lessen my anger at Toni any, though. I’d been losing myself in a Sub because Toni had been on my mind too much, and I’d hoped I could clear her out so I could think about my sister. Toni was a distraction, and one I couldn’t afford. Especially not now.
Pounding my fist on the arm of my chair, I stared into the gloomy corners of my shadowed office. I hadn’t turned on the lights when I'd come in during the early hours of the morning. I hadn't been able to sleep. I hadn’t showered. Or eaten breakfast. I wasn't even sure I'd eaten dinner last night either. I didn't care though. I wasn't hungry.
I sat in my office and brooded about Toni, worried about Isadora. I tried to think about work, but my thoughts kept going back to the two women, alternating between them and how I could've, should've, done things differently.
Lost in my thoughts, I didn't know how long I sat in the dark. The knock at the door and the subsequent opening allowed light to spin inside, forcing me to fling up a hand to block out the glare.
Doug stood in the door, his posture rigid. He turned on the lights and I grimaced. Light and I weren’t getting along very well these days. I was pretty sure the alcohol wasn’t helping in that respect.
“I’m quite certain you're not helping Isadora by sitting here in the dark, sir.” Doug folded his hands in front of him. His face was polite, but I could hear the disapproval in his voice. It bothered me more than I liked.
Since when had Doug started to hate me? He'd taken me Christmas shopping as a child.
A lifetime ago.
“What do you want?” I demanded, wanting him to just leave me alone.
“You have a guest. A Stanley Kowalski. Are you home?”
“No.” I glared at him with one eye while I rubbed at the other. “I’m on the damn moon. What’s it look like?”
Doug’s disapproving eyebrows drew lower and tighter over his eyes. “Are you receiving visitors on the moon, sir?” He didn't even try to hide the sarcasm this time.
“Kowalski’s not a visitor.” I shoved a hand through my hair and tried to pull myself together. “He’s the investigator I hired to look for Isadora. And Doug, yank that stick out of your ass before I beat you with it.”