didn’t spend another night on the streets. The idea of her being there now made him want to put his fist through the wall, and that definitely wouldn’t go over well in a women’s shelter.
“I’m sorry, but no. She’s very quiet when she’s here. Keeps to herself. I did give her the name of a few other shelters but I’m sure she’s familiar with them all.”
“I want those names,” Jace said flatly. “How long?”
Her eyebrows went up in question.
“How long has she been coming here?”
“I’ve only been working here a year, but in that time she’s come in maybe a half dozen times.”
Jace’s chest tightened until it was difficult for him to breathe. Bethany—his Bethany—was homeless. She’d been in his arms, safe, for one night, and with all his wealth, the ability to provide the very thing she needed the most, he had let her slip away. Back into the cold and uncertainty.
God, even now, she was somewhere on the streets. Without a coat. Cold. Hungry. No protection.
“Do me a favor please, Ms. Stover.”
He shoved his card back into her hand, closing her fingers around it.
“If you see her again, you call me immediately. Day or night. My cell number is on here. Call me the minute you see her and don’t let her out of your sight until I get here. Can you do that for me?”
Ms. Stover frowned, and she looked at him oddly. He was quick to excuse his urgency before she became suspicious again and blew his story all to hell.
The hell of it was, he absolutely did sound like some deranged, obsessed, abusive boyfriend bent on hunting down his runaway lover. Jesus. If Ash could see and hear him, he’d have Gabe down here and they’d both physically subdue and haul his ass out of here. Then they’d likely hire him a fucking shrink.
“I’m sympathetic to her plight, Ms. Stover. She’s a qualified candidate, and now that I know her circumstances are what they are, it’s even more important that she be the one to receive my offer. I could hire someone else, but she needs the job. Can you contact me please?”
He was proud of his even tone. He’d even managed to convince himself he hadn’t lost his fucking mind.
Ms. Stover relaxed and then smiled, tucking the card into her pocket. “I’ll call you if I see her.”
“Thank you,” Jace said.
Then he gazed around the room at the women huddled on the cots and in the chairs and on the couch. And he tried to control the anger that rushed through his veins.
“You’ll get your heat, Ms. Stover.”
Her eyes widened.
Even as he turned to walk back out to his car, he pulled his cell from his pocket and began to make calls.
Chapter eight
Bethany shook violently as she stumbled across an intersection. It took all her concentration to remain upright. One foot in front of the other. If she fell now, she’d be run over. New York drivers weren’t exactly pedestrian friendly.
She picked up her head, her breath blowing out in a fog and she saw the church just one block down. She was nearly there. A whispered prayer fell from her lips. Please, God. Let them have room today.
Some of the numbness had worn off. Some of the shock had crumbled and reality pushed in. She turned her palms up, seeing the scrapes and the blood. Her pants were torn at her knees and at her hip and there were identical scrapes there, blood slick on her skin. It cemented the denim to her legs, which was freezing on her.
Tears pricked her eyelids. How could Jack have done it? Her vision blurred and she sucked in her breath, determined to make it the last block to the shelter. Even if they could only offer her refuge for an hour, a place to warm up, clean her scrapes and rest her bruised body, it would be enough.
She had no money. She had nothing at all. The cash she’d so carefully hoarded was gone. Jack owed some very nasty people and they’d come to collect. From her. While she’d lain, stunned, on the icy ground, they’d yanked the bills from her pocket. One had kicked her in the side and then they’d left her with a sharp reminder that Jack owed them a lot more and she had a week to come up with it.
She bit her lips as more tears threatened. She was exhausted. She was sick to her soul. She was hurting and so