Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
The SUV is already rolling toward the curb. Oliver yanks the rear door and drags me in by the shoulder. I do a top-to-bottom check. I’m not bleeding. Yuri tumbles in after me, checks my eyes, and nods. He slams the door, a signal for the driver to go. We’re moving before the tires catch.
“What do you want?” Oliver asks.
“Lock the scene,” I say. “Have our lawyer call the manager in two minutes. Pull their footage before anyone has the chance to edit it. Someone knew we were there.”
“Copy.”
I take the second phone from my inner pocket. There’s only one thought in my head: Mari. She has a dentist appointment this afternoon. She’s with Jareth and Thom, but that means fuck all if she’s in danger. I dial her. It goes to voicemail. I call again. Voicemail again. My chest tightens in a way I don’t like.
“We need to get to this address. Now,” I tell the driver, handing him my phone.
Yuri is watching me. He understands faster than anyone. He calls her detail. Thom answers on the first ring. I hear him say she’s inside the building, and traffic behind him tells me he’s not at the door.
“Get eyes on her,” I order. “Nobody loses that hallway.”
We hit three lights wrong. The driver runs one. The SUV surges, and we make the left into the garage. I’m out before the car stops. I take the elevator and don’t wait for someone to hold the door.
The dental lobby is bright. The receptionist lifts her head with a practiced smile that dies when she sees the men with me.
“I’m here for Mari Gonzales,” I say.
“I’m sorry, sir, we can’t—”
“Where is she?”
“I can’t disclose patient information.”
I lower my voice.
“She’s under my protection and could be in grave danger,” I tell her, my tone cold. “If you don’t tell me where she is right now, I’ll tie this practice up in litigation so overwhelming your grandchildren will feel the consequences. Is that what you want?”
Her hands shake.
“She isn’t here,” she says. “No one by that name checked in.”
I look at Yuri. He’s already on the phone with Thom. I hear the words I hate.
“She told me to wait in the lobby,” he says.
“Find her,” I say.
Yuri touches my shoulder.
“Lev—”
“Find her.”
We sweep the floor. The hall is clean. There’s a doctor’s office down the hall with a frosted glass sign. The clipboard at the desk has six names. None are hers. I’m five seconds from pulling open every door when Oliver pings Yuri.
“Got her on the security cams,” he says over the channel. “She exited the elevator on the fourteenth floor.”
I move, finding a staircase and taking the stairs two at a time. There’s only one office on this floor. A nurse behind the glass starts to stand when she sees me with my men.
“Can I help you?” she asks, her voice frosty. She shoots an annoyed look between us and the worried patients in the waiting room taking in the scene.
I quickly scan the check-in clipboard and see that Mari had an appointment thirty minutes ago. She’s still here.
“No,” I tell the nurse as I push through the door to the exam rooms.
“Sir, you can’t go back there,” she shouts, and I’m sure she’s ten seconds away from calling security. Yuri will handle it.
I head down a narrow hall with several doors closed. There’s no way to know which one she’s in, so I just start knocking and entering. Thankfully, she’s in the first room I try. I’ve caused enough of a scene. I don’t want Yuri to have to pay off every patient in the practice.
Mari is on the paper-covered exam table, sitting upright in a loose gown, cheeks pale and eyes wide. A female doctor stands with a chart in hand. Mari stares at me, horror in her eyes. The doctor looks between us, then eyes me with anger.
“Sir, this is a private examination—”
“Leave,” I say.
The doctor’s eyes flick to Mari. Mari swallows and nods once. The doctor slides past me, careful not to touch me. I wait until the door shuts. Then I look back at Mari.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Her chin lifts defiantly. “I needed to see a doctor.”
“You said you were going to the dentist.”
“I needed to confirm something.”
“What?”
She takes a shaky breath, her eyes never leaving mine. She’s pissed, that’s obvious, but I see something else underneath. She’s afraid of whatever she’s about to tell me.
“I’m pregnant,” she answers, barely audible.
The room narrows to almost nothing. I feel like I can’t breathe. This isn’t remotely what I expected her to say, and yet all the signs have been there. She’s been pale, withdrawn, and moody. She’s avoided me for days. All this time, she must have known.
“Would you have told me if I hadn’t caught you here?”