Page 64 of Protecting his Heart

Owen exhaled. “I love you for saying that. I’d never thought about it that way. I still regret doing it.”

Evan smirked. “I’m sure I can make you feel better about it. Some kind of punishment might help you to forget.”

Owen’s body heated, and his cock thickened beneath the table. He swallowed hard and sipped his glass of water. “Okay.”

And if his voice cracked at the potential for that night, no one else would know.

****

Chapter 20

Evan

A phone ringing woke Evan from his sleep. He fumbled for his phone on the bedside table and dragged it towards him. Without checking who it was, he rested it against his ear.

“Hello?” he croaked.

“Evan? I’m so sorry to call. It’s Edward. Dr Wallis. I… I need some help.”

Evan’s mind cleared the more the man said, and by the time he asked for help, he was wide awake with Owen stirring beside him.

“Edward? What’s wrong?”

Dr Wallis’s voice hitched. “It’s my daughter.” He sniffed. “Someone’s taken her. I know it’s not really what you do, but you know people. I need someone to help me because the police aren’t doing much.”

Evan swung his legs over the edge of the bed and raked a hand through his hair, still trying to get his brain to fire properly. “How do you know someone’s taken her?” The bed beside him depressed, and Owen settled against him, so Evan put the phone on speaker.

“She won’t have left without me. Her mother and I separated amicably, and Anika chose to stay with her mother, but she stays with me whenever I’m off shift. She wouldn’t have left without telling me. That’s not her.”

“How old is she, Edward?”

“She’s fifteen.”

“And she’s not just gone out to see her friends or gone to a party without telling you?” Evan glanced at Owen, who shrugged and nodded as if he agreed with his train of thought.

“No, she wouldn’t. I don’t mind her going to parties and seeing her friends. She knows all she has to do is tell me where she’s going.” His voice was straining, as if he was losing the will to explain again.

Owen cleared his throat. “Dr Wallis, it’s Owen Morris. I understand you trust your daughter, but we need to be sure. Have you tried contacting her?”

“Of course I have! I called her a thousand times already and there’s no answer. I’ve called her mother and her friends, and no one has seen her. The police say we need to leave it before we can say she’s missing, but Iknowher. She won’t have gone willingly without telling us where she was.”

Evan and Owen shared a look, and Owen nodded again, climbing off the bed and grabbing his phone before disappearing into the living room.

“Okay, Edward. We’re going to look into it. I can’t guarantee anything, but make sure you keep trying Anika’s phone. In the meantime, send me all the information you have about her last movements that you know about, and we’ll see what we can find, okay?”

“Thank you. Thank you. I just need to find her.”

“We will do our best. I’ll call you if we need or have any more information.”

“Thank you, Evan.”

He ended the call, and Evan sighed, dragging on some joggers. He had no idea where to start looking, but hopefully, Owen would have some thoughts on that. Entering the living room, he saw Owen pacing across the space with his phone to his ear. He was only in his boxers, so Evan returned to the bedroom andgrabbed a pair of joggers and took them to him. Dropping to his knees with a smirk, he held them open for Owen to step into and pulled them up his legs, snapping the band around his waist.

“Thank you,” Owen mouthed and then returned to his call. “Yes, Anika Wallis, fifteen years old. Father is Edward Wallis, a doctor at the hospital. Mother’s name is unknown.” He listened for a minute. “Yeah, maybe. The police have given their standard answer that they have to wait a certain time before they can file a missing person’s report, but we’re not doing that, Brett. We can’t.” His voice broke, and Evan wrapped his arms around him.

There was no way they wouldn’t help Edward try to find Anika. It was too close to home for them to ignore it and let the police do their job. It might be too late by then.

“Okay, thanks.” He hung up and inhaled. “He’s going to get Felix on it and see if he can find anything on any CCTV cameras. It’s a long shot, especially as we know little about where she was and what time she disappeared. Brett is going to call in a favour with a police officer he knows to get the ball rolling.” He glanced at Evan. “We have to find her.”

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