Maybe, he’d found the one woman perfect for him and had hoped to meet her here.
I looked back on the last ninety days of almost pure bliss with the man perfect for me. Everything had its setbacks, of course. Malaysia and I had been kicked out of our condo for the run-in with Chad. We still hadn’t finished unpacking at the new place. My business hadn’t taken off like I wanted, but three new clients was a gift. Shane had escaped prosecution by putting a large lump sum in the District Attorney’s hand, or so we believed. How the hell else could he not be indicted when they found a shitload of dope in his basement?
Shane wasn’t happy with his freedom or Tobin. He’d sent a cryptic message last month to Tobin, accusing my guy of abandoning him fifteen years ago. We could deal with that tomorrow. Tonight, we weren’t going to let anything stop us from celebrating Tobin getting his FBI badge today. It was bittersweet that Greg couldn’t be here to celebrate with us. Andre was doing a real nice job of helping Tobin celebrate by hitting on the women at the bar forty feet away. If anyone had been abandoned, it was Tobin and me.
He tipped my chin back, leaning my head on his shoulder. “Sure you don’t want to dance with Malaysia? Apparently, that song is her shit.”
Giggling wildly, I gazed at the man who would kill for me. “I’m sure you’d break up with me if I got on that dance floor, so I’m staying right where I am. Losing you over something that trivial is the last thing I want to do.”
“Nothing can make you lose me, Cherise. You are my everything, my air, my love.”
The sincerity in his tone was awe-inspiring and just plain inspiring to make me say something neither of us had spoken yet. “I love you too, Tobin.”
A smile a mile wide stretched across his handsome mug. “I’m sure I loved you first.”
“Not possible. I carried you with me over the years.”
“I carried you with me in my heart over the years and dreamed about you sometimes with my eyes open,” he argued back good-naturedly. “How can you top that?”
I sat up straight on that. “Really? You never told me that.”
“I just did,” he fired back, laughing.
Andre flopped down at the table, grabbing up a cold wing from his plate. “Where’s Malaysia?” Great. When we wanted to be alone, he showed up.
“She’s on the dance floor,” I informed him, settling back into Tobin’s arm as the large man from the corner raced by.
Andre perused the crowd behind me. “Ah, no, she’s not anywhere on the dance floor.”
Intuition starting to act up, I looked back at the dance floor for myself. “Well, maybe she went to the ladies’ room. I should go see if she’s straight. Be back in a minute.”
Sliding out the booth, I had to force my way through the first line of patrons dancing elbow to elbow. A muscular arm reached past me on each side and parted the rest. Tobin and Andre had come to the rescue. We pushed the swing door for the brightly-lit hallway with access to the kitchen, the back way to an alley, and restrooms further down the long hall. The music was muted, but the chatter was loud enough to compete with the thumping music in the main dining room. I searched the long line at the ladies’ restroom for Malaysia. No such luck. I asked the ladies had they seen a tall woman in an off the shoulder, short white dress with sheer sleeves.
One woman at the top of the line pointed at the back way to the alley at the other end of the hallway. “I saw her tussling with a big, black guy pulling her out that door. I thought he was her boyfriend and figured whatever they had going on was none of my business.”
Someone had taken her.
To get updates on the next book in the HERO series, join my mailing list.
Join Us! Shani’s Imperial Reading Group is accepting new members. We have a blast talking about books, sharing quotes and hunks like Tobin, and hosting giveaways.
Don’t miss out on the fun!
~Shani
Hero Page 16