‘You think I’d be faithful to her?’
His anger was hot too but ferocity like that confirmed what Lacie had known all along.
‘Yes,’ Lacie answered. ‘You would be faithful. You got rid of Tiffany for Sorcha the last time.’
Landing his anger on her, he snapped. ‘Who?’
‘Your ex-assistant. You were screwing with her until Sorcha came back to you. When I was abducted, you were there for Sorcha, you were—‘
His scowl was a mask that Lacie wished he would shed. ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’
Thrusting onto her feet, she let out her frustration on the man who could have changed her best friend’s life for the better. ‘You need to shape up. If you had shown Sorch that you were serious—‘
‘This is my fault?’ he asked, pointing at himself. ‘Booth fucks around and I get the best friend giving me shit? You want to shout at—‘
‘It’s not your fault. I’m pissed at you. I’m pissed at Sorcha. You’ve both messed up.’
‘And Booth hasn’t?’
The truth only had power if people released it. Hiding behind fears led to unhappiness in all of their lives. ‘Ryder was right. We’ve known Booth was an idiot since the beginning, which is why I’m pissed. If you had stepped up, shown Sorcha that you could be a good guy…’
‘Then what? We could’ve lived happily ever after? She’s just squeezed out another guy’s kid!’
That wasn’t enough to assuage Lacie. To her that was no excuse at all. ‘You found out she was pregnant months ago. You were one of the first people to know! You knew it before her parents did,’ she said, dropping her hands onto the desk to press her weight closer. ‘If you had cared about Louise—‘
‘Who the fuck is Louise?’ he said, screwing up his face as he leaned away.
‘Sorcha’s daughter,’ Lacie said. ‘They’re calling her Louise… it’s my middle name.’
Shep’s expression opened. ‘They’re naming the kid after you?’
‘Sorcha’s calling her Lulu,’ Lacie said and her anger disappeared in light of the happy topic. ‘She’s beautiful.’
Shep’s anger seemed to have diminished too, and he rubbed the back of his head with an open hand. ‘I’m happy for her.’ Dropping into his chair, he began to gather up the images that Lacie had just viewed.
Standing straight, she scrutinised his actions. ‘What are you doing?’
‘She can’t know now, can she?’ he asked, stacking the sheets and closing them in the file. ‘We’ll just… we’ll just pretend this never happened. That this meeting never took place.’ He took a few tries to get the folder back in his drawer. ‘It won’t be tough for me, I probably won’t… I probably won’t see her again. She’s married and… yeah…’
Sinking back into her seat, Lacie leaned over the desk to take his hand. Shep might be brash and vulgar, but his reaction to hearing this news of Sorcha was real. ‘It might not be too late,’ Lacie said. She could be speaking out of turn because Sorcha hadn’t indicated that she would choose Shep over any other man. But Lacie didn’t think her friend’s feelings for Bruce ran as deep as her feelings for Shep and maybe all it would take was for someone to take the risk of putting themselves out there.
‘She’s married.’
‘He’s cheating,’ Lacie said. She understood Sorcha’s desire to do the right thing and marry the father of her child. But that meant nothing if the father was a dog who would only make Sorcha unhappy. ‘I want her to be happy and I’m not sure Bruce can do that for her.’
‘I’m not sure I can either,’ he admitted.
Someone who spent so much time making everyone believe they were lazy and good-for-nothing probably had some insecurities about their own worth and seeing Shep in front of her as he was now, dejected and heartbroken, she saw beyond some of that bravado.
She might have expected him to react with anger, to shout or even make insulting jokes. She hadn’t expected to see him defeated. Dealing with her own demons was no excuse for abandoning a friend in his time of need. Despite his cranky nature, Shep was a friend. He’d been there for her in the past and had contributed to her release from Jamie Wallace’s prison. So after giving his hand a squeeze, she slapped a hand onto the desk.
‘Have you had dinner? I know it’s late, but I’m starved… Have you got your wallet?’
His slow smile knew that she was being kind because the truth of his hurt was written all over his face. But he got to his feet and took a jacket off the hat stand behind his desk.
‘What are you going to do with the oaf?’ Shep asked, referring to Rocco who was still seated in the outer office.
‘He can watch us eat from the other side of the room,’ she said, linking her fingers with his when he came around the desk. ‘We’ll eat too much dessert, drink a few cocktails and then when it’s late and neither of us can stand up anymore, he’ll drive us home… Having a bodyguard isn’t all bad,’ Lacie said, hoping to prompt a laugh.
His smile broadened, but she didn’t get the desired laugh. ‘Are we going to talk about Sorcha all night?’
‘Do you want to talk about Sorcha all night?’ she asked and he shook his head. ‘Then consider that the last mention of her name.’ Lacie would humour him because if she really did get him drunk then he’d probably start rambling either in love or anger about the woman who caused his current mood.
‘If you get really drunk will you show me your breasts?’
‘If it will make you feel better, I might just do that,’ she said and finally got a laugh out of him.
‘You know, you’re all right, Little Lady,’ he said, tugging her toward the office door.
‘I always knew you were a secret fan,’ Lacie said, following his lead. ‘You never showed up for my exhibition though. I think we’ll find some time to talk about that tonight.’
They went into the outer office and when she explained the plan to Rocco, he made no objections. He’d probably heard every word of their conversation as the office door was open. But as he’d previously promised her, he made no indication that he’d eavesdropped and was the consummate professional. So much so that he didn’t even reference the placement of her hand, which was still in Shep’s for comfort.
Their night ended up being much later than she’d thought. Shep had gotten drunk and had got to the topic of Sorcha. He went through every emotion, as quickly as he hit one, he would swing in the other direction and find another. She and Rocco got him to bed and then Rocco drove her back to hers. She didn’t pay much attention to the time other than to note it was after midnight before she fell into bed and found a deep slumber, one that had eluded her for days.
Waking up without Ryder wasn’t uncommon for Lacie, but it did make her sigh every time. Having his form to curl into each morning was an indulgence she loved to lose herself in. She held out hope during her shower that he might surprise her, but he didn’t.
Spending time drinking with Shep hadn’t been in the schedule, but she felt good about taking the time to console him. Sorcha might be with a man who wasn’t good for her, but she had a man and baby, Lulu, and a squad of family and friends to distract her now. Shep was alone and Lacie doubted Heather would be much of a remedy for what ailed the PI.
Getting dressed, she speculated on how Ryder’s meeting with Elijah might have gone. But when she got to the kitchen, Ryder wasn’t there. Gabe, Will, and Ty were there, but no Ryder.
‘Good morning,’ she said, making a beeline for the coffee pot.
‘Sorcha called from the hospital,’ Gabe said. ‘I told her you’d call her back, there’s a chance she’s getting out today.’
‘There are pancakes on the table too,’ Will said.
Slurping her coffee, she went to sit at the table and help herself to the pancakes which all the boys knew were her favourite.
Putting her mug aside, she put a pancake on a plate and dragged it to her. Pulling one foot up onto her seat, her arms came around her bent knee to t
ear a piece of pancake off to pop it into her mouth.
‘Is Ryder downstairs?’ she asked, raising her attention to the men who were frowning at each other.
‘We thought he was in bed with you,’ Gabe said. ‘I haven’t seen him this morning.’
‘I woke up alone,’ she said and the pancake in her mouth became and inconvenient lump that felt too big when she swallowed it down. ‘He said he was going to meet with Elijah, maybe they couldn’t meet until first thing.’ If Ryder had work to do, he never woke her up, usually because she was restless at night. But with a few drinks in her last night, her sleep hadn’t been nearly as fitful as normal.
‘We’ll track him down,’ Gabe said.
Dropping her pancake to the plate, she brushed the crumbs from her hands. ‘I’ll call Sorcha and find out if she needs anything set up at her apartment before she brings Lulu home.’
‘Great name,’ Ty beamed. ‘You think she’ll break hearts?’
‘Under Sorcha’s instruction?’ Lacie asked, standing up and pushing her chair in under the table. ‘Little Lulu will have a lot of fun first.’
The men appreciated her humour but Lacie made sure to straighten her face on her route to the bedroom because Sorcha wouldn’t be in the mood for jokes. Once she’d settled into motherhood, she may be more relaxed and get back to her old self. The woman Lacie had seen at the hospital last night was tense and harried. As much as Lacie didn’t like to see her friend in distress, it was nice to see Sorcha care about Lulu so much that the prospect of failing as a mother weighed on her as it should.
The conversation with Sorcha went on for about half an hour, but as soon as there was a cry in the background Sorcha cut herself off and ended the call.
She wasn’t getting out until later in the day, which gave Lacie the time to make the arrangements Sorcha had asked her to. Tidying up in the bedroom, she collected her purse to head back in the direction of the kitchen to brief the guys on what her day would hold and to ask what their security plans would entail.
As soon as she walked into the kitchen, she could sense that something was wrong. Gabe wasn’t here. Instead it was Will who came toward her while Ty skulked in the background with his head down. He only stole glances at her and seeing Ty so withdrawn chilled Lacie through to her bones.
Will tried to take her hand, but she dropped her purse and backed away until she came up against the kitchen wall. ‘What?’ she asked, part of her wished she’d just stayed in the bedroom, because the look on Will’s face was enough to distress her without whatever news he was about to deliver. ‘It’s Ryder?’
‘He’s gone,’ Will said.
‘Gone? What do you mean gone?’
‘We can’t find him,’ Will said. ‘None of us can get in touch with him and his security codes haven’t been used in the building since yesterday.’
That meant he hadn’t come home last night. She’d been aware that he wasn’t in her bed when she went to sleep, but it wasn’t unusual for him to work late or workout at night, especially if she wasn’t home yet. Ryder didn’t like to go to sleep until he knew she was safe in her bed. Lacie had never considered that there might be a need for her to offer Ryder the same courtesy.
‘Ok, but you’re going to find him, right?’ she asked. ‘You’re going to… he can’t have gone far…. This is Ryder—‘exhaling a laugh, she swallowed to try and quell the tingle in her sinuses—‘he’s… he’s invincible.’ Except he wasn’t and that was why Will’s expression was so taut right now. Thinking that she wouldn’t get what she wanted from him, she thrust an arm against Will to sweep him out of the way and began to move toward Ty, the flirt, he never took anything seriously. ‘Ty? You’re going to find him… aren’t you?’
‘We’ll do our very best for you, sweetheart,’ he said, but when he lifted his chin, he looked through her at Will and she didn’t like the pinch in his eyes.
‘Where’s Gabe?’ she asked. Determined to take a proactive role in tracking Ryder down, she set her mind on kicking his ass just as soon as they had him back safe.
‘Downstairs,’ Will said and she whipped around. ‘He’s setting up an incident room.’
She didn’t want this to be an incident, that sounded serious and serious could mean dangerous. Marching past Will, she didn’t miss a step when she crouched to swipe her purse from the floor then set Gabe and his incident room in her sights.
Chapter Seventeen
For what felt like an age, she had been placated while the men worked. The incident room had been set up in the same boardroom she’d had her client protocol meeting in and she was struck by how quickly the tables could turn. Paper piled up on the large table in the centre of the room. Phones rang, keyboards clacked and still, no one had been able to pin Ryder down.
‘Right, here’s what we have,’ Gabe said loud enough to make everyone stop what they were doing to gather around the table. Everyone except Toby who just kept on battering his keyboard, which he glared at so intently she began to wonder if it had a brain-machine interface.
‘We have the primary on camera leaving this building an hour after Lacie did,’ Gabe said, glancing at her.
‘The primary,’ she said, wrinkling her nose. ‘That sounds so… detached.’
‘That’s the point,’ Gabe said, maintaining his professionalism.
Except she didn’t want them detached, she wanted these men to be as torn up inside as she was because that fire bred a sense of urgency that would make them work harder. Gabe kept on talking with that same impersonal demeanour and she had to trust that he knew what he was doing.
‘He took his truck, which we traced through licence plate recognition in the city and use of the CCTV cameras,’ he said, spreading out a series of images which showed Ryder getting out of his truck. ‘It’s a block from the Graden Mining building about six miles from here.’
‘So he did see Elijah?’ Lacie asked. A flutter of hope burst in her chest. ‘I can go over there, I’ll find out what happened—‘ Will snagged her arm when she tried to turn away, glancing at that anchor point, she sought out the approval of the other men but was met with only frowns. ‘What?’
‘You’re still under our protection,’ Gabe said. ‘If you go out there then four of us have to go with you.’
‘You can’t afford to relinquish that kind of man power at the moment.’
Gabe shook his head and Will let her go when she turned back to the group. ‘I could call him.’
‘This might be an appropriate moment to state the obvious,’ Gabe said to everyone, though Lacie was sure it was for her benefit. ‘You’ll notice that the only men in this room are former employees of StoneWall. All of our other contracts will be dealt with by the new men Mr. Stone hired. We don’t plan to miss a step and as far as the outside world is concerned, it’s business as usual around here.’
‘You don’t trust them,’ Ty said.
‘We don’t know them well enough yet,’ Gabe said. ‘The men in this room are trusted. The information that’s shared here is considered top secret until we know more.’
For all the hours she had spent worrying about how Jamie Wallace’s treachery had affected Ryder, it hadn’t occurred to her to look further afield. Gabe, Rocco, Toby, Will, Ty, and Sonny all trusted Jamie and their other associate Eric who was involved with her kidnap. All of them had been bitten by betrayal and these weren’t the type of men who would repeat a mistake.
‘Is the truck still there?’ Will asked, returning to the case.
‘Yeah,’ Gabe said and the silence of these men intensified as their expressions became harder.
‘What does that mean?’ Lacie exhaled, desperately seeking someone to give her answers.
‘It means he didn’t get to where he was going,’ Will said.
‘Or he did and he never left again,’ Rocco finished.
‘There’s no legitimate reason for that truck to be in the same place more than twelve hours after the fact,’ Ty said. ‘The only reason would be…�
��
‘Bad,’ she said.
Now she understood, she wrapped her arms around herself and rolled her lips into her mouth. Letting her gaze fall to the pictures, she examined each still of the man she loved and considered unstoppable. They were right of course. Ryder wouldn’t be spending the night anywhere by choice, there was no indication of him having an affair and even if he was the chances that his mistress would live so close to Elijah’s building would be astronomical.
Clearing her throat, she didn’t want to break down in front of this group of professionals. ‘Could it have broken down?’ she asked. Ryder kept his vehicles in top shape because sometimes he and his men relied on them to get them out of dangerous situations fast. But considering all that had happened in their lives recently, it was possible he’d missed a service or something.
‘Ty,’ Gabe said. ‘You get over there and bring it home if it moves… standard checks.’
‘Standard—‘
‘For tampering,’ Will said to her. ‘We have to check for devices before we attempt to move it.’
She didn’t like that idea. ‘Be careful,’ she said to Ty who winked at her.
‘It’s unlikely to be broken down or tampered with. We’ve watched footage through the night to see if the primary ever returns to it and he doesn’t,’ Gabe said. ‘Still, she’s right, be careful.’
‘I’ve got something,’ Toby said, still typing on his keyboard at a hundred miles an hour, he rose. His focus remained on the screen, but he lifted one hand to point toward the door. ‘Someone kill the lights.’
Will left her side to go over and do that as the projector screen began to descend from the ceiling. When it was down and they were in darkness watching, Toby pressed a button on his keyboard and a video flashed onto the screen.
‘This was minutes after he left the truck,’ Toby said, standing behind his desk, watching the same thing they were.
‘What is—‘
‘That building on the left is Graden Mining,’ Toby said. ‘I took this from a security camera on the business entrance opposite, look at the top right corner.’
Sleight Mistake (Stone Investigations Book 2) Page 19
