Insatiable (Steel Brothers Saga #12) - Helen Hardt Page 0,3
fuck is going on right now, damn it! Who’s that bitch? And who else is here with us?”
“Excuse me?” the woman said.
“Easy,” Dominic said. “She’s rightly upset.”
“No one calls me a bitch and gets away—”
“Easy,” he said again.
She quieted down, but she didn’t look happy.
“Marjorie,” he said. “This is my sister, Alessandra. My twin. She goes by Alex.”
“Do you think I care what she goes by? Now untie my hands and feet so I can get the hell out of here. If my brothers find out what you’ve done, they’ll fucking kill you.”
“Alex and I aren’t your enemies,” he said quietly. “But we know who is.”
Chapter Three
Bryce
Joe and I headed over to the gym. Marj’s new trainer, Dominic, was the only other person who might have seen her this morning.
“We need to talk to one of your trainers,” Joe said to the receptionist on duty, a new guy I didn’t recognize.
“Of course. Are you interested in booking a session?”
Joe lifted one eyebrow. “Do either of us look like we need training?”
The guy’s face turned pale. “Uh…”
Joe was going red. Usually I was the one to calm him down, but I was pretty nearly red myself. I wasn’t going to tame Joe’s hotheadedness today. No way.
“Dominic James,” I said through clenched teeth. “We need to talk to Dominic James.”
The receptionist eyed his computer screen. “We don’t keep a schedule of the trainers down here. I don’t even know if he’s working today.”
“Get us that information,” Joe said. “Now.”
“I don’t have—”
I walked past him. “Come on, Joe. I know where the trainers’ office is.”
“Wait. You can’t—”
“Watch us.” I headed past the reception and up the stairs to the main floor where the weights and machines were.
Joe followed me briskly until we reached the small office. It was empty.
“Fuck.”
“This is where you lost that card with the Spider’s info on it?” Joe said.
“Don’t remind me. I couldn’t find it when I came in the next day. It probably ended up in the trash.”
Before Joe could scold me further, a woman with short hair and buff as all get-out walked in. “Can I help you guys?”
“We’re looking for Dominic,” I said.
“He was in earlier, but he’s gone for the day, I think.” She eyed the computer screen. “Yeah. In fact, he’ll be gone the next couple days. He’s taking a few days off.”
“Great,” I said. “Who did he see this morning? Did he have a training session?”
“He did, but I can’t give out that information. Gym policy. Sorry.” She closed the scheduling window.
“We need his cell phone number,” Joe said. “It’s urgent.”
“I can’t—”
“Yeah. Gym policy,” I said. “We get it. But my girlfriend is a client of his, and now she’s missing. We think Dominic might have been the last person to see her.”
The woman sat down at the desk and regarded the computer once more, pulling up files. “Looks like I can help after all. His two clients early this morning were both men, so your sister wasn’t here.”
“I still want his information,” Joe said.
“I do too,” I agreed.
“I’m sorry. My hands are tied.” She clicked out of the screen once more.
Joe curled his hands into fists.
“Let’s go,” I said. “We’ve done all we can here.”
“Why is he taking a few days off?” Joe asked.
“I have no idea.”
“Who’s his supervisor here?” I asked.
“Actually, that’s me.”
“You just let people take time off whenever?”
She rolled her eyes. “I know who you are. You’re Jonah Steel, one of the Steel brothers. And you’re Bryce Simpson. We all know who you both are. We know about both your fathers.”
Joe’s face morphed into a scowl. I expected him to growl at any moment.
“I don’t owe you any explanation. Not after your father—”
This time I made two fists. “I am not my father.”
“Look,” she said. “I’m not trying to hit a nerve. But don’t come charging in here making demands just because of who you are.”
“We’re not,” Joe said through clenched teeth. “My sister is missing. We need to talk to Dominic.”
“Dominic is an independent contractor. He eats what he kills here.”
I cocked my head. “He eats what he kills? That’s an interesting way to put it.”
“For God’s sake. If he doesn’t work, he doesn’t get paid. That’s all I meant. I didn’t ask why he needed the days off. It’s not my place. He’s not an employee.”
Joe finally seemed to calm down. “I understand your position, but please. We need to get in touch with him. We won’t say it came from you, okay?”