return the favor. I wasn’t a great cook, but Gram had raised me right. I could make a decent stack of pancakes.
There was a mixing bowl and a container of blackberries on the counter. Had she been about to make me cobbler last night? God, she was the best. I put the blackberries away for later and got to work. Pretty soon, the kitchen smelled like coffee and breakfast.
Fiona’s sleepy voice came from the hallway while I was flipping the last pancake. “Morning.”
“Hey.”
Sasquatch trotted over to her and she petted his head. “Are you cooking breakfast?”
“Yeah. Thought you might be hungry.”
She smiled. Her hair was messy and she’d thrown on a t-shirt, shorts, and a pair of pink slippers. “Starving. It smells delicious.”
“Thanks.”
She went to the coffee maker to pour herself a cup and I couldn’t help but glance at her to make sure she was walking normally. Had I hurt her last night?
I put the last pancake on the plate and set the spatula on the counter. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just waking up.”
I gently slipped a hand around her waist. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. Why?”
“Last night was just…”
“It was what?”
Fucking mind blowing. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
Slipping her arms around my neck, she smiled. “Last night was fantastic. What are you worried about?”
“I didn’t hurt you?”
“No. Okay, I’m a little sore, but not in a bad way. I liked it. I wasn’t sure if I would, but it was fun. It felt naughty. I like being naughty with you.”
I growled, low in my throat. “Beautiful, I love being naughty with you.”
“So you liked it?”
“That’s a fucking understatement. I can’t remember the last time I came so hard.”
Giggling softly, she nibbled her bottom lip. I leaned down to kiss her—I wanted to nibble on that lip too—but someone knocked on the door.
I groaned. “Who the hell could that be?”
“I don’t know.”
Reluctantly, I let her go and answered the door. I was surprised to see Jack Cordero, dressed in uniform.
“Morning,” he said. “Sorry to bother you first thing, but I was wondering if Fiona has heard from her father.”
“No, not at all,” she said, gathering her hair into a messy bun and tying it with a hair tie.
Jack’s lips pressed together, like he was considering what that meant. “We haven’t had any luck tracking him down. No answer at his house and it’s unclear whether he’s been to work recently.”
Fiona came closer to the door. “Have you asked Simone Stevens? She’s his… girlfriend, I guess? She also works there.”
“We did talk with Simone. One of your dad’s mechanics pointed us in her direction, although she doesn’t work for your dad anymore. I don’t think she’s his girlfriend, either.”
“Really?”
“She’s living with someone named Rodney Burke. It was clear that they were in a relationship.”
“Rodney?” Fiona asked, scrunching her nose. “Gross. He’s her jerk of an ex. Although she’s probably a bigger jerk than he is, so I guess they deserve each other. She’s living with him?”
Jack nodded. “And she had some rather colorful things to say about your father and why she left him, none of which were pertinent to our case or his whereabouts.”
“Drama,” Fiona muttered. “Wait, are you saying my dad’s missing?”
“Successfully avoiding the police, yes. Missing, possibly. The only people who would see him on a regular basis are his employees, and the answers we got out of them are… inconsistent.”
“They’re trying to cover for him.”
“That’s what we think. Listen, I don’t want to alarm you unnecessarily, but we do have reason to believe he might be here, in Tilikum. You’re sure you haven’t seen him?”
“No. I’d tell you,” she said. “I really would.”
“All right.” He put his sunglasses back on. “Be careful. Both of you. And if you hear from him, let me know.”
“I will.”
“Thanks, Jack,” I said.
He turned to go back to his car, and I shut the door.
“I cannot believe him,” Fiona said. “He did this before, when I was in high school. The cops came sniffing around and he freaking disappeared for weeks.”
“He didn’t take you with him?”
“No. When he finally came back, he said he figured I was old enough to look out for myself.”
“Jesus.”
She let out a breath. “He makes me so mad.”
“Yeah, I’d love five minutes alone with him.” I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. “I want you to be careful, okay? Don’t go anywhere alone.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Fiona, someone took a baseball bat to my shop. Stuff can be replaced, but you…” I couldn’t