Page 21 of Marked

He’d have to be smart and play her right. Which meant keeping all his contacts away from her analytical ears. He went to his bedroom, keeping the door ajar so that he could see her on the sofa. His place was large enough that a good thirty feet separated them.

He swiped his phone. Where the hell should he start? He was good at finding people. Never forgot a face or detail pertaining to a job. But this was different. Finding a missing child was a helluva lot more complicated than finding some douchebag or government employee he’d been hired to hit.

One thing the cops probably didn’t have access to was facial-recognition software. That was more FBI level. But he and his brothers had the software needed to track someone from street cameras. He sent the little girl’s photo to his email and downloaded the image then inputted it into the software.

It could take hours before he had a result, and depending on where and how she’d been snatched, the most recent sighting of her might have been at the park.

“What are you doing?”

He jerked his head from his computer. Sophia stood at the doorway, her arms crossed in front of her and her hip leaning against the doorjamb. It was so weird having her at his place. Having anyone, for that matter. He was used to the quiet contentment that the concrete walls provided. And complete solitude.

She didn’t cross the threshold, which was a damn good move on her part. He couldn’t be responsible for keeping his hands to himself if she stood feet away from his bed. He scrubbed his hand over his face. He needed a drink but didn’t trust himself to be intoxicated around her.

He spun his chair away from the desk and weighed his words. “No offense, but I’m not willing to share my resources with you.”

One eyebrow crept up her forehead. “You don’t trust me?”

He snorted and stood. Going to his closet, as he should’ve done forty minutes ago when she’d shown up, he pulled out a black T-shirt and fit his arms through. Modesty wasn’t a quality he possessed, but the more material he had on his body around her, the better. Aside from the fact that his cock wanted to fuck her more than any woman he’d been with, he didn’t want to give her the chance to study his tattoos—more ways to identify him.

He stalked back across the room, and she straightened. Stopping a few paces from her, he braced his palm on the wall next to the doorjamb. “You’d arrest me right now if you didn’t need my help. You’re damn straight I don’t trust you.”

She pursed her lips. “Well, we made a deal. And I can tell you one thing—if you find Bella, I’ll gladly let you disappear.”

He nodded. “I’ll find her.”

Tears brimmed behind her lashes, making something throb in his chest... a painful sensation. Heartburn again? What the fuck.

“How can you promise that?” Her wide, doe-like eyes stared at him, full of hope, and for a second he kicked himself for making such a stupid statement. A lock of her ebony hair hung next to her face, and his fingers twitched at his side, wanting to move it behind her ear.

God, he needed sleep or some shit. Antacids for sure. “’Cause I’ve never failed at a job before and I’m not going to start now.”

She gave a solemn nod. “I need to make some calls—”

He cocked his head. “To who?” Calls could mean bringing in the cavalry.

The flash of a smirk touched her lips. “I won’t do anything to break our agreement, but I need to be active in this investigation, too. Bella’s my daughter and I won’t step back.”

He lifted a palm. “Fine. Just don’t tell a soul where you are or who you’re working with and we won’t have problems.”

She peered past him. “What’s that program you’re using?”

He angled his shoulders to block her view. “Like I said. I can’t tell you about my resources. Just know I’m looking for her, okay?”

“All right.” She sounded slightly affronted but pivoted and headed back to the living room.

When she was out of earshot, he picked up his phone.

Nash answered right away.

“I need your help with something.”

“Shoot.”

Cole filled him in, and Nash made a sharp whistling sound through his teeth.

“Holy shit. I know exactly who you’re talking about. She was dead set on finding you. When Camryn rescued Brooks, that detective was sniffing around here with some grainy photo of you. She wouldn’t drop it.”

Nash’s reference to Lexi’s brother made anger bubble inside him. Brooks had been held captive for a year and brutally abused in a lab by a fucked-up doctor. Brooks had suffered amnesia, and if it weren’t for Camryn, the nurse who’d been assigned to him, he’d probably still be in the lab, if not dead.

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