by M. S. Parker
Still, I wasn't in any mood to eat. “I’m not too hungry.”
Toni’s shoulders drooped slightly and my heart gave a wild thump.
When I took a step toward the table, her eyes slid up to mine and I managed a smile this time. I sat in the seat next to hers. “But I will sit down while I drink my coffee.” Giving her a sideways glance, I asked quietly, “How did you sleep?”
“Lousy.” She shrugged and went back to picking at her food. “The room’s lovely and all, but...it’s not mine.”
Isadora and Colton were quiet now and I knew they were listening. Toni must've known it too, but she didn't look up from her plate.
“I kept thinking about my family,” she continued. “My parents are worried. My brothers are mad. And it’s not like I can explain anything yet, can I?”
I was reaching for her hand before I even realized what I was doing. I didn’t stop myself, though. She jumped when I touched her, but didn't pull away. She did, however, look up.
Twining our fingers together, I held her gaze with mine. “I’m sorry.”
I felt stupid saying it, but I didn’t really know what else to say.
“So.” Isadora broke the silence and drew my attention away from Toni. “I already have our weekend activities planned.”
I blinked at her. She what? “And what's that?” I asked.
A laughing smile on her face, Isadora propped her elbow on the table and cradled her chin in her palm. “Going through paperwork and pictures. Trying to see if we can’t find something to jog my memory or a picture or something. Figuring out who the hell is doing all this, remember?”
I nodded my agreement as Toni shifted on the seat next to me and leaned forward, a frown on her face as she looked at my sister. For a moment, all I could think was that she’d managed to move closer to me. I felt the warmth of her thigh against mine, and the scent of her flooded me. A fist closed around my throat and my cock pulsed, suddenly hard and uncomfortable.
“What exactly are you looking for, Isadora?” Toni's voice was gentle, but firm. “Do you really think you’re going to find something or are you just hoping?”
Isadora’s eyes slid away.
I understood. In the face of Toni’s unwavering confidence, the newly found assurance that Isadora seemed to be relying on just didn’t seem as steady. But she didn’t back down like I'd thought she would. Lifting her chin, my sister met Toni’s gaze again.
“I’m not sure, but there’s something to find. I'm sure of it, and I’ll know it when I see it.”
“Are you sure?” And then Toni's voice trembled slightly. “I’m kind of relying on you for this, Iz.”
My fingers tightened around Toni's and she jerked as if she'd forgotten I was there. Still, she didn't pull away, and I counted that a win.
“There’s something connecting him to my parents, Toni. I know there is.” She reached for her coffee and folded her hands around the mug, staring grimly into the liquid. “Now I just have to find it.”
I felt a tug of pride in my gut at the steadfast surety in her voice. It was like she didn’t have a doubt. In that moment, I think she was more certain than I was. Usually, I was the one who knew what I was doing, the one who had a plan. I was the one in control.
Except, at the moment, I didn't have a clue what the hell I was doing.
Chapter 5
Toni
We'd been at it for two hours and it wasn't getting any easier. I'd been trying not to feel self-conscious with Ash sitting across from me, looking through his own stack of photos and scrapbooks. Every once in a while, I felt his eyes on me, and it took everything I had not to look at him.
It had taken even more strength not to hunt him down last night.
I’d felt more alone in that big, beautiful bed than I'd thought possible. I didn’t want to be alone there.
Fuck it. I didn’t want to be without him, period.
It would have been easier if he'd gone all asshole on me again, but he’d been polite, had smiled at me. Even now, he was being civil.
I didn’t want him to be civil.
I wanted him to...
Stop. I yanked my attention away from all the drama in my head and focused on what I was supposed to be doing. The newspaper articles in front of me were starting to blur together so I shuffled them off to the side. There was no use looking at them if I couldn’t pay close enough attention.
I reached for a leather-bound baby book. Isadora’s name was elegantly inscribed in the leather, making it clear this baby book had been custom made for her. When I opened it, I saw that the pictures and decorations were done by hand, and I smiled at the notes written in the margins or on the lines provided.
Isadora lifted her head today.
Isadora laughed.
Isadora seems to be recognizing her brother. She smiles when she sees Ash.
Next to the last one, there was a picture of a pre-teen Ash holding baby Isadora. She was looking up at him as if he was the most amazing thing she’d ever seen while he grinned down at her with a look that could only be described as brotherly pride.
“You were an adorable baby, Isadora,” I said.
“I’ll have you know that I'm still adorable.” Isadora shot me a grin. She put down her book when she saw what I was looking at and came to stand behind me. Her face softened as she looked over my shoulder. “My mother was big on keeping these.”
Seeing the smile on her face and how she'd relaxed, I turned the page and watched as she reached out to touch another one of the pictures. This one was of the whole family. Then, as she touched another one, her eyes strayed to different images on the page. Her gaze slid away for a moment, and then moved back. I watched as her hand closed into a fist as she sucked in a slow breath and then blew it out hard.
I tensed. Something was up.
“Dory?” Colton was at her side. “What is it?”
I reached over and touched her hand. “Isadora?”
“That’s him,” she whispered.
Ash's head jerked up and he crossed the distance to his sister in a few quick steps. Next to me Isadora swayed, her face gray, lips bloodless. She started to sway even as Ash reached over to take the book from my lap.
Dammit!
I shot up and grabbed Isadora's arm. “Calm down, sweetie. You need to breathe, okay? You’re going to be fine.” As I lowered her into the chair, I continued to talk, keeping my voice low and steady. “You’re safe, okay? You’re safe.” I crouched down in front of her, using my hands to ease her head down. “You with me?”
“Yeah.” Her voice was reed-thin.
Letting go of her head, I gave her a warning. “Don't look up just yet. Take a few more breaths and move slow, okay?”
“Yeah.” Her body shuddered until Colton came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. After a minute or two, she finally looked up at me, her eyes dark and haunted.
“You’re safe, Isadora,” I repeated.
“I know.”
The smile she gave me wasn’t entirely convincing, but I suspected she was trying to convince herself more than anything else. She flicked a look around the room before letting her gaze fall back to the book Ash now held at his side.
“What was it?” I asked, drawing her attention back to me.
“A picture. There’s a picture,” she whispered. “The man in it...I saw him there, Toni. The place where they held me. I saw him.”
She surprised all of us when she held out a steady hand and asked Ash to pass the book over. I sat back down beside her as she flipped through it, Ash pacing back and forth in front of us like a caged tiger. Colton rubbed a hand up and down Isadora’s back as she flipped through the pages. All of us seemed to be holding our breath as we waited.
When she came to the page just before the one where she'd seen whoever it was, she paused, her hands flexing wide before clenching into fists. I heard the deep breath she took in, releasing it slowly before she turned that final page.
“Him,” sh
e said. “It was him. He was there.”
I looked.
Colton looked.
Ash looked – and then he looked again.
Then he swore a long, loud line of expletives that had all of us staring at him, open-mouthed.
Isadora got to her feet and Colton's arm flew around her waist to brace her. “Ash, who is he?”
He turned away and, in a movement of sudden fury, swept his hands across the top of the elegant bar service, sending crystal and glass flying. Isadora let out a startled yelp and Colton pulled her more tightly against him. No one thought Ash would hurt his sister, but her fainting wasn't out of the question.
“His name is Daniel Trask.” Ash’s voice was lifeless. “He was...he used to be Dad’s business partner.”
“Dad had a business partner?” Isadora looked mystified.
“For a while, yeah.” Ash turned to look at his sister, ignoring Colton and me entirely. “You weren’t even in school when it happened. He was arrested, went to jail for embezzling millions from the company. Mom and Dad tried to keep it as quiet as possible.”
Isadora sucked in a breath. If Colton hadn’t been there to steady her and ease her back to the couch, she probably would have collapsed onto the floor. He wrapped his arm around her and she curled against him as we continued to listen to Ash.
“The money was never recovered. Somebody on the inside must have tipped him off. When they caught him, he was home, packing. He had his passport and tickets for some island down in the Caribbean. They barely got there in time to arrest him.”
“Where is he now?” I asked.
He finally looked at me. “Who knows?” He shrugged, but there was nothing casual about it. “He was released from prison a few years after Mom and Dad died.”
“You said his name's Daniel Trask?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Okay. That’s a start.” I grabbed my laptop from my bag. “Any idea if he stayed in New York? In the US?”
“No. He left.” Ash walked over to the window and looked outside.
I didn't need to see his face to know his thoughts had drifted off somewhere. Colton had wrapped his arms around Isadora and was talking to her softly. Every now and then, she’d nod. I turned my attention from the three of them and to my computer.
As I'd hoped, Vic was logged into Facebook and I asked him if he was still any good at tracking people down. For a while, he’d earned money on the side doing skip tracing – basically, finding people. Specifically, criminals. He hadn’t been a bounty hunter or anything, but Vic had always excelled at making money the easy way, and he’d once told me that most of the time, criminals were the stupidest people in the world, hence, easy money.
He replied with a quick, Hell, yeah.
I sent him the name and what I knew about the man. Then I added, Please don’t ask.
He wasn’t happy with my addendum, as evidenced by his lengthy internet silence, but finally, he answered with, I know you, Toni. This isn't about a dinged fender or looking for some old flame. If you don’t promise to let the cops know about anything I find, I’ll take matters into my own hands...and I'm not above going to Mom
I promised. I wasn’t about to go all vigilante. And I sure as hell didn't want Vic telling Mom. Four brothers, I could handle. Billionaire CEO who enjoys bdsm, no problem. My mom? Hell no.
As soon as I promised, Vic agreed, and in less than fifteen minutes, I had answers and some updated pictures.
Vic, you’re a wizard. Thank you.
The room was quiet, but I still felt like I was interrupting when I spoke.
“He went to Monaco.” Skimming the information Vic sent me – and was still sending – I relayed the pertinent facts. I could feel eyes on me. “Made a lot of money in construction over there. Then, no surprise there, legal troubles. One of the companies he was invested in was shut down. Corners were cut and workers got hurt. Two died. The government came after them. One thing after another. He’s broke now. Or close enough. And...”
I stopped, my heart starting to race as I saw that last bit that Vic had sent me.
“And what?” Ash asked sharply. “Where are you getting all of this anyway?”
I closed the Facebook window and cleared my browsing history as Ash came striding toward me. Ash didn't need to know that I'd involved my brother.
“You have your ways and I have mine,” I told him.
For good measure, I closed the top of my laptop, but he grabbed it anyway. Scowling, he flipped it open, but it was set to lock, and I kept it password protected.
“And what?” Isadora demanded.
“He’s back in the US right now.” I looked over at her as I said it. “He flew in last week.”
“How do you know all of that?” Ash demanded again.
“I know somebody who's really good at finding people.” I held out my hand for my laptop. He ignored me, tapping at a few keys. His scowl deepened when none of the combinations worked.
“You’ll never guess my password, so stop trying.”
He shoved the laptop into my hand, his gaze furious.
“This guy's threatening my family now too, Ash.” Moving to sit next to Isadora, I typed in my password and brought up a search, using his full name and the city Trask had listed as his current residence.
It brought up a fairly limited search and there was one image attached to a news article from four months ago. Clicking on it, I skimmed the post, only barely glancing at the image, but when I started to scroll down, Isadora stopped me.
“Wait,” she said, her voice strangled.
Her voice was harsh, her cheeks pale save for a flag of red riding high on her cheekbones.
“That’s him,” she whispered.
I looked down to see her pointing at the man standing behind the man I assumed to be Daniel Trask. He was staring grimly at something off to the side of the camera, while the man behind him stared directly into the lens, like he wanted to punch the man holding it.
Isadora's next sentence caught my attention. “That’s the man who grabbed me.”
Chapter 6
Ash
“We have to go to the cops. Call Marcum.”
Toni’s words sounded oddly loud and I instinctively glanced at Isadora. Colton was holding her, but she was still shaking. A surge of protectiveness went through me.
And then I saw Isadora look over at Toni and nod in agreement.
Hell no. “We’re not going to the cops.”
As Toni swung her head around to stare at me, I continued, “We’re not calling Marcum. Not yet. Not right now.”
Isadora didn’t say anything, but Colton’s mouth drew into a tight frown, his shoulders rigid. I didn't care about what he thought though. This didn't involve him. Toni narrowed her eyes, and I braced myself for the explosion that was coming. It didn’t matter. This was my family in danger. My only family. I was going to protect Isadora no matter what it took.
Or who it pissed off.
“And why aren’t we calling the cops?” Toni asked, her voice deceptively quiet.
“I already mentioned that Trask had somebody working with him on the inside. I don’t know if it was inside Phenecie-Lang...or if there was somebody dirty on the force or with the FBI.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I stared down at Toni, refusing to let myself be distracted by her. “Plain and simple, I don’t know who I can trust, and until I do, I’m not risking my sister.”
“She’s not the only one in danger here,” Toni said, fury vibrating in every word. “I deserve to have a say in what happens.”
“This is a family matter,” I snapped. “It doesn’t concern you.”
“Ash...”
I heard Isadora start to speak, but then Colton was murmuring something and they were walking out of the room. I didn't have a chance to process any of that though, because Toni was coming at me.
“I had a letter shoved under my door!” Her voice rose and her eyes flashed as she jabbed a finger at me. “A letter that t
hreatened my family, Ash! That sure as hell concerns me!”
“And they kidnapped my sister! They might have been involved in the death of my parents!”
“So because you were involved first that means you get to be in control? The danger to my family is less important? Or do they just not matter?” Her voice cracked. “Fuck you, Ash. I have a right to have a say in what happens to my family!”
“My parents might be dead because of a dirty cop!” I wanted to grab her and shake her. Didn't she get it? What if something happened to Isadora? To her? I could keep security on her family until we had a better idea of what was going on. Her and Isadora, I had to keep close. “I don’t want anything else happening!”
“Yeah.” She curled her lip in a sneer. “To you. To your sister. But fuck the rest of the world. You’re a real prince, Ash.”
“That’s not what I said.” I caught her arm when she turned away, but she jerked back.
“Maybe not, but that's kind of your usual go-to attitude.” She raked me with a dismissive look. “I’m sure you’ve got it in your head that you’ll just keep security on my family while you try to work this out, but what happens when they decide they’ll go after one of my dad’s employees since they can’t get to him? Or Trask sends someone to the school where my sister-in-law teaches? I’m guessing these clowns don’t much care about collateral damage.”
She was coming up with scenarios I couldn’t even try to find answers to, and I could see her fury growing, the distance between us spreading all over again.
But I couldn’t do it.
“Toni, if we call the cops, and one of them is dirty, then everybody is in danger,” I said.
“News flash, asshole,” she snapped back at me. “Everybody already is in danger.”
Chapter 7
Toni
I was done. Done with this world where I'd never belonged. Done with this man who didn't care about the hell he was putting me and my family through.
I turned and walked out of the room. I heard footsteps behind me, but I ignored them.
“Toni.”