by HELEN HARDT
26
Matteo
Taking a redeye from Billings to New York hadn’t been in the plans. I’d decided to drive, but the transmission in my truck went kaput before dinner. I hightailed it over to Mary’s auto repair shop, but she was booked solid for the next week.
“Sorry, Mattie. I really need to get another mechanic in here. It never rains but it pours!”
“Can you move me to the front? I’ll pay extra.” I had a few dollars tucked away for a rainy day. This was well worth it.
“No can do,” she said. “I have to order your parts. That’ll take a few days in and of itself.”
“Shit.”
“Just leave her here.”
“Yeah. All right.” I raked my fingers through my hair and pulled out my phone to call Luke. “Hey, man,” I said when he answered. “I need you to meet me at Mary’s and drive me home. And then to the airport.”
A half hour later, Luke waited patiently at my cabin while I threw clothes into a duffel.
“I hear she’s a famous model,” he said.
“Yeah. Apparently.”
“You really think you have a shot?”
Did I? “We have something. I’m not sure what it is. If nothing else, I want to support her while she mourns the death of her father.”
“I get it, man,” he said, “but don’t you think if she wanted your support she’d have told you everything?”
Fuck. Anvil to gut. But Luke was never one to tread softly. He was just being a friend.
“Yeah, it’s occurred to me.”
“You’ve got it that bad, huh?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure what I’ve got. I only know she’s special. She lied for a good reason.”
“It’s easy to tell yourself that, Matt,” he said, “but when people lie, it’s usually not for a good reason. It’s usually to cover something up.”
“What would she have to cover up? She’s a famous supermodel who just lost her dad. She probably needed an escape from life.”
“Maybe. Just be careful.”
“I will.”
“You want me to come along?”
I thought about it. Having Luke along would make it easier, but I needed to do this on my own. Riley was important to me, and I wanted her to know that. Having a friend tag along with me wouldn’t show her that. No, I had to go out of my comfort zone and prove to her that I was there for her and would help her through the loss of her father.
“I need to do this by myself, but thanks.”
He nodded. “Got everything?”
“Yeah. Let’s bolt.”
We drove the hour to Billings without saying much. I was lost in thought, and Luke seemed to understand.
When he dropped me off, he said, “Go get her, man.”
I opened my mouth to protest that I was only going there to offer support, but then closed it and simply nodded as I grabbed my duffel and shut the door.
Go get her, man.
A man didn’t hop on a redeye to offer support to a woman he just met.
No.
A man jumped on a redeye because he was in love.
Fuck me.
I’d fallen in love with Riley Wolfe.
And Luke was right.
I was going to go get her.
27
Riley
I sat, numb, as my brother described what he’d learned about his buried memory.
A woman with cuts above her breasts had escaped from a dark place where my father and our parish priest had been hunting her.
Hunting her.
She was the prey.
“Do you remember her name?” I asked.
“No. I don’t think I asked her. Somehow we got the elevator to go up, and as soon as it opened—I don’t even know which floor we were on—she ran out.”
“Naked?” I said.
“As far as I remember. I never…” Roy closed his eyes. “I never saw her again.”
“This was over a decade ago,” Reid said. “We’ll never find her.”
“Probably not,” Lacey agreed. “We’ll have to concentrate on Zinnia. The times don’t match up, so the woman Roy saw can’t be Zinnia.”
“Unless she came back and threatened to expose them,” I offered.
Lacey widened her eyes. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I know my father,” I said. “I had no idea this shit was going on, but I can guarantee you that if one woman managed to escape, he never let another escape. He would have taken precautions.”
“I suppose it’s possible he stopped the hunting games,” Reid said.
“More likely he just upped the security,” I said. “Like I said, one of the benefits of the life I led was that I knew him better than anyone. I knew how his mind worked. He got what he wanted, no matter what.”
“Whether he stopped or continued,” Lacey said, “Riley makes a good point. Zinnia could very well be the woman Roy encountered in the elevator.”
“I don’t know,” Charlie offered. “If you’d been hunted by Derek Wolfe, would you ever go near him again? Even for a huge settlement? You couldn’t pay me all the money in the world to face him.”
“Charlie makes a good point too,” Lacey said.
“Only one way to find out,” Rock said. “We need to find this Zinnia.”
Our server entered the banquet room then. “Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, but your amuse-bouche is ready.” Two others followed him in, carrying trays.
“Chef Gabriel has prepared sashimi salmon on a rye toast point with a touch of garlic wasabi.”
The servers distributed the small dishes.
“What’s an amuse-bouche?” Rock asked.
“A pre-appetizer,” Reid said. “It’s French. It means something to amuse your mouth while you wait for your actual appetizer.”
Rock rolled his eyes. “You want me to eat raw fish.”
“Try it.” Lacey smiled. “Salmon sashimi melts in your mouth.”
“Only for you.” Rock popped the salmon into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. “My mouth isn’t amused.”
“Bro,” Reid said, “you need a lesson in the finer things in life.”
Lacey patted her lips with her napkin after swallowing hers. “I think it’s delicious.”
I shoved mine across the table to her. “You can have mine, then. I’m with Rock. I don’t eat raw fish.”
“You don’t?” Reid looked shocked.
“Have you ever, in your life, seen me consume raw fish?”
“Well, no, but—”
“Our esteemed father made me try sushi once. Once. I threw up in the ladies room. Never again.”
Roy, Charlie, and Reid agreed with Lacey that it was delicious. Whatever. Good for them.
“Now that we’re done with raw meat,” Roy said, “we need to discuss finding a way into this underground hunting arena our father had.”
“If it still exists,” Lacey reminded him.
“All I can tell you is that the elevator dropped,” Roy said. “I seemed to be underneath what I thought was the lowest floor of our building.”
“I’ve taken a look at the master blueprints.” Reid took a sip of his cocktail. “There’s a level reachable only by a special elevator, but it’s the mechanical floor. Since our building is so tall, we also have mechanical rooms on higher levels.”
“I wasn’t in a special elevator,” Roy said. “It was one of the normal elevators accessible from the lobby.”
“Right,” Reid said, “and I’ve gotten confirmation that our mechanical floor houses nothing but mechanics.”
“He couldn’t have been playing his game on the mechanical floor anyway,” I offered. “Engineers and mechanics have access, and Dad would never risk getting caught by anyone.”
“Unless maybe that’s part of the game?” Charlie asked.
I shook my head. “You don’t know Derek Wolfe.”
She opened her mouth, but I gestured her to stop.
“I don’t mean that in
a bad way, Charlie. Be glad you don’t. My father left nothing to chance. That wasn’t the way he was wired.”
“Agreed,” Reid said. “He taught me the business, and Riley’s right. He made sure all bases were covered. Always.”
“Yeah,” I said. “He made sure all bases were covered in his non-business pursuits as well.”
All eyes gazed upon me then. My cheeks burned.
“Look, I’m not trying to get sympathy, okay? Please, just don’t. Having all of you feeling sorry for me isn’t helping.”
“She’s right.” Lacey smiled, or tried to. “You’re a strong woman, Riley. You don’t need anyone’s pity. That’s not what this is. We feel bad about what you went through, just like we feel bad about what your brothers all went through. But we don’t pity you.”
I nodded. I didn’t believe her for a minute, but it was a nice gesture.
“My recall isn’t perfect,” Roy said, “but I feel strongly that the floor I encountered was lower than the mechanical floor. As low as you could get in the building. I could go back into hypnosis and try to get more information.”
“Only if you want to,” Rock said.
“I want to do all I can. I’m not sure it’ll do any good, though. Once I uncovered the woman, it all came crashing back to me. I don’t think hypnosis will get me any further.”
“What we need now is evidence,” Lacey said. “We need to get to the hunting ground at the bottom of the building.”
“If it’s still there,” I said quietly.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, my father covered his tracks. Once he knew Roy had seen the place, he probably destroyed it.”
“He couldn’t destroy a whole floor of the building without anyone knowing it,” Rock said.
“Sure he could,” Reid said. “He built it without anyone knowing it.”
The server interrupted us again. “Your appetizer for the evening, ladies and gentlemen. Chef has prepared broiled calamari rings with roasted garlic and red pepper.” He and the others distributed the plates.
Once they had left, Rock said, “Raw fish, and now squid?”
“Try it,” Lacey said. “What have you got to lose?”
“My lunch.” He pushed the plate away. “Doesn’t anyone believe in good old beef anymore?”
“I hear beef is up for the entrée,” Reid said. “Except for Riley. You’re getting tilapia.”
I rolled my eyes. “Great.”
“You don’t eat red meat.”
“I do now.” I stood. “I’m going to go change my order to the beef entrée. As long as it’s not raw, that is.” I hastily exited the banquet room, found our server, and let him know what I wanted.
When I returned, all gazes were upon me once more.
“What?” I nearly yelled.
After a few seconds, Rock spoke. “Riley, did Dad ever take you…hunting?”
28
Matteo
I got a room at a Manhattan hotel I couldn’t afford. I hoped it would only be for a few nights. But who knew? It could take a while to find Riley. Sure, she was a big name here, but that meant she probably also had mega security.
To think.
I’d slept with a supermodel.
Me. Matt Rossi. Mr. Small Town Guy who made silver jewelry and did odd jobs for a living.
The velvet box holding the silver and pink sapphire pendant sat in my pocket. Once I found Riley, I’d put it around her neck. After I settled in my room, I took the elevator down to the lounge and found a seat at the bar.
“What can I get you?” a well-dressed bartender asked.
“Beer, please.”
“What kind?”
“Whatever you have on tap is fine.”
“We have Guinness draft, Stella Artois, Budweiser, Fat Tire, and Dos Equis.”
Okay, then. “Bud is fine.”
“You got it.”
Seconds later, a pilsner glass of good old Bud sat in front of me.
“You want to run a tab?” he asked.
“Sure.” I slid him a credit card. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure enough.”
“Do you know Riley Wolfe?”
“The model?” He chuckled. “I wish.”
Jealousy speared into me. I couldn’t fault him. Of course he wished he knew Riley. She was the most gorgeous creature on this planet.
“I mean, do you know where I might find her?”
“On any magazine cover.”
“Where she lives, I mean.”
“I assume she lives in the Wolfe building.”
“The Wolfe building?”
“Yeah, it’s this huge silver skyscraper in Lower Manhattan.”
“Where’s Lower Manhattan?”
“Dude, did you just get off the bus from Nebraska or something?”
“Just off the plane. From Montana.”
He guffawed. “That’s something else. And the first thing you do is ask for the most famous model in New York. That’s awesome.”
I didn’t see anything funny about it from where I was standing.
“Wait,” he continued. “Here comes someone who might be able to help you.”
A young man ambled to the bar. He was pretty-boy handsome and dressed to the nines. Here I sat in my jeans and the one button-down I owned.
“Hey, Fox,” the barkeep said.
Fox?
“Hi, Johnny. I’ll have the usual.”
“You got it.” He set to pouring what looked like bourbon, but from a bottle I didn’t recognize. “This guy has a question for you.”
“Fox” turned to me. “Yeah?”
I held out my hand. “Matt Rossi.”
“Fox Monroe. Are you a fan?”
“Of who?”
Johnny guffawed again. “Fox here is a model.”
“Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I don’t know any male models. I’m actually looking for a female model, though. Riley Wolfe. Do you know her?”
“Riley? Is she back? Last I heard she flew the coop again.”
“Flew the coop? What are you talking about?”
“She disappears from time to time. Kind of her MO.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. It irks the rest of us in the industry, but she gets away with it because she’s so good. Of course the Wolfe name doesn’t hurt either.”
“So you do know her.”
“Of course. She’s a pain in the ass for the rest of us, but I have to admit. She’s an amazing model. It all comes so naturally to her. The poise and the beauty. She carries herself like the old-school supermodels.”
“Old-school supermodels?”
“You know. Cindy Crawford. Naomi Campbell. Christie Brinkley.”
I nodded. Was it weird I’d only heard of one of those models? “She is certainly beautiful.”
“She got that from genetics. The rest is all her. She’d have an amazing career if she’d stop being such a flake.”
I tamped down the anger that threatened. “Seems she already has an amazing career.”
Fox took a sip of the drink that Johnny had set in front of him. “You’re not wrong. Damn, this is good stuff. Expensive, though.”
“What is it?”
“Pappy Van Winkle bourbon. Fifteen-year. I stumbled upon it by accident, and now I don’t want to drink anything else. Good thing I just got that Dolce & Gabbana contract.” He signaled to Johnny. “Pour one of these for Matt here.”
“No thanks. I’m on a budget.”
“It’s on me. Everyone should try this once.”
“Not really a bourbon drinker,” I said.
“You don’t have to be. This stuff is in a class all its own. Trust me.”
“Okay, man. Nothing like a Bud with a bourbon chaser, right?”
“Don’t chase it. Sip it.”
“Whatever you say.” I took a sip of the amber liquid Johnny set in front of me.
Smokiness and spiciness. Nutmeg. And man, it glided down my throat. No harshness at all.
“Wow.”
Fox nodded. “Am I right?”
“Just for kicks, how much is this?”
“It’s a single.”
“I mean the price.”
“Ha! You don’t want to know.”
“Actually, I really do. And before you tell me, thank you. I appreciate the thought.”
“It’s sixty-five a shot here. Some places charge more.”
My mouth dropped open. “Sixty-five? Dollars?”
“No. Sixty-five potatoes. Of course dollars.”
“Fuck.” I took another sip. “It might actually be worth it.”
“No shit. I’ve tried to find it at local liquor stores and online. Even the distillery, but it’s impossible. It gets sold out as soon as it’s released, and most of it goes to high-end bars like this one.”
“Damn.” Another sip, and I was nearly done. No way could I afford another. “I guess you made a bourbon drinker out of me.”
“Nah. I made a Pappy’s drinker out of you. There’s a definite difference.” He signaled to Johnny again. “Another for my friend here.”
I shook my head. “No, thank you. It’s way too much.”
“Dude, I just got the contract of a lifetime. I’m happy to treat you.”
“You don’t even know me.”
He cocked his head. “You’re right, at that. Tell me about yourself, then. Specifically, why are you looking for Riley Wolfe?”
29
Riley
Did Dad ever take you hunting?
No wonder they were all staring. I’d been gone five minutes, and during that time, I’d become the subject of their conversation.
I sat down and tried to hold back my irritation. “No, he didn’t. And I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t talk behind my back.”
Five sighs of relief met my ears.
“Don’t you think I would have told you?” I asked.
“We didn’t know,” Roy said. “You never told us anything.”
“We could have helped you,” Reid said. “We were adults before you were. We could have gotten you out of his house. We could have petitioned the courts for custody. Or we could have—”