I Belong to You (Inside Out #5)(77)

He frames my face. “I don’t need the cuffs. I just need you.”

Mark . . .

When Crystal and I finally return downstairs, Daniel pulls her aside to talk to her, and I walk to the giant stone fireplace in the downstairs den and stare at the flames. I’ve never felt as protective of anyone as I do now of Crystal, and my mind races with ways to make this nightmare end. Ways to lure Ava out of hiding.

“Would you like a drink, son?” Hank asks, coming to my side.

“I’d prefer to stay clearheaded.”

“She told you everything,” he says flatly.

“Yes.”

“And you’re ready to bolt.”

I cut him an irritated look. “Not even close.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Me. I’m the problem. I face him, ignoring the question and I change the subject. “We can’t bully her into going to Paris.”

“Why the hell not?”

“She’s a control freak. She needs to know everyone around her is safe. The mercenary or Ava could hurt her, yes—but if they hurt anyone she cares about, it will destroy her. And being in another country, not knowing what is happening—or worse, finding out something has gone wrong—would tear her to pieces. She’d blame me and us.”

“She’d be alive.”

“But would she be living? There’s only one good answer here. Ava and this mercenary have to be captured before they hurt someone else.”

“Yet they are on the loose, and my daughter is evidently on their radar.”

“You think I’m not living that hell right now?” I scrub my jaw. “I need to go make a phone call.”

He studies me a moment. “My office is the first door to the right outside the kitchen.”

I nod but exit the penthouse for the hallway, dialing my “hunter” and repeat the offer of a small fortune to find Jimenez and Ava.

“I’ll happily take your money, man, but Jimenez is a master at staying off the radar. I do have one interesting piece of information, though. I linked Ricco to Jimenez. It took some digging and there were aliases used, but Ricco hired him several years back for a job. I have proof of the transactions. So it’s not Ryan you’re dealing with here. It’s Ricco.”

Alarm bells go off. Ricco has deep, deep pockets, and he controls his funds—not some gangster types we now think Ryan might be associated with. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Then why is Ava still alive? Ricco was obsessed with Rebecca. He wouldn’t help her killer.”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe Jimenez is amusing himself with her, in which case she’ll end up dead.”

Or Ava did what many think is impossible, and successfully seduced Jimenez. “What job did Ricco hire him for before?”

“No details on the job itself.”

My lips thin. “Get me proof on Ricco, and find Ava and Jimenez. Update me tomorrow.” I end the call and lean against the wall.

If Jimenez is the master of staying off the radar, right now I’m the master of nothing. I’ve only felt this helpless one time before, and it didn’t end well. I can’t sit here like a duck on a pond.

I dial my ex-customer, the head of the television network, and offer him an interview. If I can’t find Ava, I’ll bring her to me.

Next, I dial my attorney. I’m going to need him.





Twenty-three

Crystal . . .

When we arrive home from my birthday celebration, Mark takes me to bed, insisting he’s going to make love to me, not f*ck me. Turns out vanilla with Mark is never vanilla, and those hours in bed are some of the most intimate we’ve ever shared.

But in the morning light his mood has changed, leaving him distant and on edge. He’s silent on the ride to work, but his hand is on my leg. Mixed messages—the man is forever confusing. Once we walk inside Riptide he quickly disappears into his office, and I can’t help but worry there’s something going on with the Ava situation that he doesn’t want to tell me.

At nearly lunchtime, I’m in the lobby to greet a customer when I hear Beverly announce my father’s call to Mark. A moment later, Royce Walker walks into the lobby for a scheduled meeting with Mark. Thirty minutes later, I’ve finished with my customer when Beverly calls me to the reception desk, lowering her voice to a hushed whisper. “That TV network executive you had a run-in with is here again. He’s in with Mark, and so is Royce Walker, as well as some FBI agent.”

I pray this means there’s good news, but the odd way Mark was acting this morning still worries me. “Thanks, Beverly. There’s a Cecelia Mercury coming in. She’s worth millions to Riptide. Buzz me in Mark’s office when she arrives.”

I head toward the hallway, trying to seem calm and cool when there is so much adrenaline pumping through me, I think my heart might explode. I stop at Mark’s door and knock. He doesn’t answer. I knock again, and when there’s still nothing, I peek inside—and find it empty.

The conference room is the only other place he could be, and sure enough, the door is shut. I knock, and almost instantly, Jacob opens the door. A moment later Mark appears, stepping into the hallway and shutting the door rather than inviting me inside.