Intent to Seduce & A Glimpse of Fire(33)

Tape. That’s what was binding her legs and hands. Moving to the wall, she wiggled and pushed herself into a sitting position. The first thing she was going to do was see if she could find anything to cut herself loose.



LUCAS PACED back and forth in his office listening to Tracker’s report over his cell phone. They’d been in constant contact all day.

“So you’re telling me that you know where Sophie is staying but she’s disappeared?”

“What I’m saying is that she’s not here right now. Last Wednesday, she registered as MacKenzie Lloyd at the Châfateau Mirabeau in the Napa Valley. I’ve questioned nearly everyone who works here. The clerk says that she went out last night. No one has seen her this morning and the maid claims her bed hasn’t been slept in.”

“Have you notified the police?”

“No. I don’t think we should do that just yet. We may be overreacting.”

Lucas began to pace again. “My sister has been missing all night and you think we’re overreacting if we notify the police?”

“Just hear me out. The tail that I had on Sonny Falcone says that a blond woman matching Sophie’s description had lunch with him on Thursday.”

“Are you suggesting that she may have flown out there on purpose just to be with Sonny, and she may be with him now?”

“I’m not liking it, but that’s what I’m saying. You told me yourself that she doesn’t know anything about what goes on at Wainright. She wouldn’t even know the name Falcone, let alone about Vincent’s other less legitimate business dealings. And Sonny has a reputation for being a real ladies’ man.”

Lucas stopped pacing in front of his window. The heat of the day still clung in a misty shroud around the Washington Monument. For the first time in his life he questioned his decision to keep his family isolated from all the problems at Wainright Enterprises.

Maybe Tracker was right and he was overreacting. He’d been letting fear and anger cloud his mind ever since he’d realized Sophie was missing. He had to start thinking clearly if he was going to help his sister. More than that, he had to stop thinking about Mac. He was hundreds of miles away, and he still couldn’t get her out of his mind.

“Boss, you still there?”

“Yeah. I don’t like what you’re saying, but you may be right.”

“I don’t like it myself, but I want to check it out. I have someone finding out whether or not she stayed at Falcone’s villa last night. It will take a little time, but I should know something soon. In the meantime, I’m going to personally check out the list of places that the concierge recommended to Sophie last night. Have you heard anything from Vincent Falcone yet?”

“No.”

“For what it’s worth, I don’t think he had anything to do with your sister’s disappearance. I know you don’t trust him, but think about it. If he wants to reestablish a business connection with you, kidnapping your sister is not his best move.”

Lucas sat on the edge of his desk. “He might be planning to use her as a pawn to blackmail me into investing with him again.”

“Thought of that. But you always said he’s a shrewd businessman. After threatening your sister, he’d have to figure it wouldn’t be long before you got your revenge.”

Everything Tracker was saying made sense. As much as he didn’t like it, he’d much rather imagine his sister dating Sonny Falcone than being at the mercy of Sonny’s father.

“If Falcone is aware that Sonny and Sophie are an item, that could be the reason he told you that his connection with Wainright Enterprises isn’t finished yet. That could also be the reason he’s invited you out to his vineyard. Dr. Lloyd’s pretty smart, and she knows Sophie. Why don’t you run my theory by her and see what she thinks?”

“She’s not here. I didn’t bring her back to D.C.”

Tracker didn’t reply.

Restless, Lucas began to pace again, until he caught himself. He never paced. Since MacKenzie Lloyd had come into his life, he’d done a lot of things he’d never done before.

“Aren’t you going to ask me why I left her there?”

“None of my business.”

“She lied to me.” Lucas listened to the words as they hung on the air. He’d needed to say them out loud. But they didn’t ease the hurt. They only made it grow.

“Women are known for that. Pretending they want one thing when they’re really after something else. The best way to handle that problem is to nip the relationship in the bud.”

“Exactly.”

“No offense, but I think your sister wins the prize when it comes to lies. If I’m right about what’s going on, that is.”

“Yeah.” Lucas rubbed his free hand over his face. How long was it going to be before he could get rid of the image of Mac standing there on the balcony as he left their suite? The whole time he’d packed his things, she’d just remained at the railing, staring out to sea. “Do you have a contact in Key West, someone who could check on her and see that she’s all right?”

“Dr. Lloyd? Sure thing, boss. I’ll get right on it.”

Tracker had no sooner cut the connection when the intercom on his desk buzzed.

Lucas pressed a button. “Yes?”

“There’s someone— Miss, you can’t go in there.”

The door to the office opened, and Lucas started forward the moment he saw his sister framed there.

“Sophie—” He stopped short the moment she pulled off the wig.

It was Mac. No, he corrected himself again. It wasn’t Mac either. It was the doc. She was wearing her hair pulled back and she was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. And she looked vulnerable. He took a step toward her before he stopped, reminding himself that he couldn’t trust anything he thought or felt about her.

“Mr. Wainright?”

It was only then that he noticed the man standing behind her.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I’m Detective Ramsey.”

Lucas glanced at the badge the man produced.

“I just want to make sure that Dr. Lloyd is in good hands. She can’t stay at her apartment tonight, and she shouldn’t be alone.”

Just seeing Mac had so many feelings tumbling through him. Guilt, desire, bitterness. He tried to hold on to the last one.

“I’m sorry about the wig,” she said. “I had to wear it on the plane, and I just forgot to take it off.”

“Why are you here?” he asked as he took another step forward. For a moment he thought she would turn and run, but she held her ground.

He knew in that moment that he might not have let her run.

“I may know where Sophie is staying. Or was staying. And she may be in danger.”





CHAPTER SIXTEEN




TAKING A LONG SWALLOW of the water that Lucas had poured for her, Mac tried to focus her attention on Detective Ramsey as he summarized what they’d discussed at her apartment. It hadn’t been until she’d said the words out loud to Lucas that the fear had struck her full force. Sophie might be in real danger because of her. Setting her water on a low table, she saw her hand was shaking and curled her fingers into a fist.

“So, you believe that there’s someone so desperate to get control of Dr. Lloyd’s research that they would kidnap her?” Lucas said.

“More importantly, there are some higher-ups at the university who believe it,” Detective Ramsey said. “According to them, there are a lot of pharmaceutical and biotech companies who’ve been showing some interest and offering money. Greed is a big motivator when it comes to crime. And someone has enough power to get my bosses to pay attention. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. My usual job is to investigate robberies, murders and rapes—crimes that have already happened. In D.C., we don’t have much time or manpower for prevention. I came over here at Dr. Lloyd’s insistence. She seems much more concerned about Miss Wainright’s safety than about her own. She says that your sister has been traveling as MacKenzie Lloyd, using that ID instead of her own, and now she’s missing. She’s afraid that Ms. Wainright’s disappearance might be related to the incidents at her lab and her home. How long has your sister been missing?”

The detective’s words had a new wave of fear settling in Mac’s throat. If she’d been thinking more clearly, she could have warned Lucas before he’d left Key West. She should have figured out what Sophie was doing earlier. Maybe she could have prevented this, if she hadn’t been so distracted by Lucas.

Lucas showed no emotion on his face as he glanced at his watch. “Sophie’s been missing a little less than twenty-four hours. My security people traced her the same way that Dr. Lloyd did. Sophie went out last night and didn’t come back to her hotel room, but I have a man in California checking the restaurant that the concierge recommended to her. We think she may have met a man there, someone she flew out there to be with. There’s a possibility that she may be with him.”

“No,” Mac said.

Both men turned to look at her.

“She’s not with him. She’d decided she didn’t like him after all. She was going to cut her trip short.”

Ramsey turned to Lucas. “Could be she’s on her way back then. Do you have a way to check that out?”