Holding his Hostage - Amy Gamet Page 0,39
out on the desk. He must have come in here to work, or else he was having second thoughts about last night and wanted to put as much distance between them as possible. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know which.
She needed to find her Rolaids. Returning to her room, she dialed Evelyn’s cell phone. Fiona answered. “Hi, Mom. We made rainbow pancakes with sprinkles!”
“Wow, it sounds like you’re having fun.”
“Mmm-hmm. Miss Evelyn’s going to draw with me next. She’s playing poker with Lucas.”
“Poker, huh?”
“Yeah. We did Crazy Eights first. I won thirty-eight cents.”
Of course they were betting for money. “That’s awesome, sweetie. Can I talk to Evelyn for a minute?”
She got on the phone. “How’s it going down there?”
“So far, so good. We found some records I hope will point us in the right direction. How are the kids?”
“Lucas and Fiona are good. April spent last night moping around the house. Something about a boy you won’t let her talk to.”
Jo pinched the skin between her eyes. “Can I talk to her?”
“She isn’t awake yet. Nothing surer to drive two lovebirds together than to forbid them from seeing each other.”
“Ev, she doesn’t even know this boy! She met him online. What if he’s a stalker, or a predator of some kind? She invited him to our campsite in Chicago without asking me and Sloan nearly shot the poor guy.”
“Good lord.”
It occurred to her April might have reinstalled the same app. She hated to be so suspicious of her own daughter, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t. “Can you do me a favor?” She walked Evelyn through how to search for Instagram on April’s phone.
“Nope, no Instagram.”
Jo exhaled and dropped her shoulders. “Thank God. Let’s hope it stays that way.”
“Should I wake her up or just let her sleep?”
She looked at the clock, surprised to see it was already almost ten. “Let her sleep another thirty minutes or so, then you can wake her up. Thanks, Ev.”
She hung up just as Sloan walked into the room with only a towel slung around his waist, the smell of soap surrounding him. His prosthetic was once again in place.
“You ever take that thing off around women?”
“All the time.”
She really didn’t like that answer, especially coupled with her insecurities over him sleeping in the next room. “I’m going in the shower.”
She washed her body with hotter-than-hot water, wishing she’d been blessed with mind-reading abilities so she knew what that man was thinking. The men of HERO Force would be arriving soon, precluding further private conversation, and she wanted to know where she stood.
“I’m not sorry,” she whispered under her breath. “I will never be sorry.” No matter what happened from here on out, she’d followed her heart and opened herself up to Sloan. That was an accomplishment, not something to be ashamed of or worried about.
When she dried off, she removed her bandages and winced. That didn’t look good at all, and she cleaned it carefully before putting on a new bandage. She dressed quickly in the hot, steamy bathroom, wishing she could go in the cooler bedroom but too confused about her standing with Sloan to walk in there nearly naked, as he had done. The thought further frustrated her already frazzled nerves, and she was thoroughly hot and cranky by the time she emerged.
Once again, Sloan wasn’t there, which irritated her that much more. She tied her hair back in a ponytail and went in search of him, finding him at the desk in the adjoining room, on the phone. He held up a finger.
“I really appreciate you doing this so quickly, Moto. I’ll be in touch.” He hung up. “You’re not going to believe this. All of these accounts have been emptied in the past eight days.”
“All of them?”
“Every last one, all two-point-two million dollars and change.”
“Our missing money. Where did it go?”
“An account in the Cayman Islands.” His phone vibrated, and he looked at the screen. “Mac and Champion are on their way up. You ready to find McKenzie?”
The moment was slipping right out of reach, and she needed to get it back. She’d go crazy if they didn’t talk about the elephant in the room before leaving here. “Actually, I was hoping we could talk for a minute.”
“Shoot.” His phone rang. “Hang on, it’s my mom again. Hello?”
He shot panicky eyes to hers as he listened to the phone. “What do you mean?”
Joanne could hear Evelyn’s voice rising and falling with emotion. “What happened?” she whispered.
“April’s not in