Page 99 of Enthrall Climax
Shay clutched my sleeve. “It’s a trap.”
“You didn’t hear her threat to Mia?” My heart raced wildly at the thought.
Nothing and no one would change the way I felt about Mia. What Helete couldn’t know and would never understand was that Mia had a pure soul, and that’s why I’d fallen in love with her. It wasn’t about her beauty; her very essence radiated the purest light that would never fade.
Mia was quite simply my everything and I wouldn’t rest until she was in my arms again.
Suppressing my panic, I focused on important details. “Zie was surprised to see me. She’s not involved.”
Shay hung up his phone. “The penthouse is empty. Mia’s not there.”
“What about Helete’s home?” Henry asked. “Maybe Helete believes she’s helping by keeping Mia away from all of us?”
I ignored that banal comment which proved Henry had no idea of the danger. I was protecting him from himself, and I sent Shay a look of warning to let him know this was important to me. Henry wasn’t fragile, but we’d witnessed one PTSD episode a few months ago and I wasn’t sure how much more pressure he could take. He was desperately fond of Mia, which was the only reason I was giving him a pass…though my patience was quickly fading.
“I have a man heading to Helete’s place.” Shay glanced over at Henry. “We’ll drop you off at the penthouse, Henry. Just in case Mia turns up there. Okay?”
Henry looked defeated. “I can’t just wait around and do nothing.”
“Consider it?” I said.
Henry leaned back and folded his arms.
“Shay, turn the car around,” I said. “Take us back.”
“How do you propose getting access to Helete’s phone? Even if we can get back into that dining room, she’s probably left by now.” His expression changed as we came to the same conclusion.
“I need access to her private emails,” I said, nodding.
“Head over to One East Sixtieth Street,” Shay directed the driver. “We’re going back to that subterranean parking structure.”
We navigated the traffic back to the club, barely making conversation. I blamed myself for not seeing this coming. Henry was a gentleman, old-fashioned just like my father, and anything out of the norm rattled him. Hell, this guy was a staunch conservative and had placed his life in harm’s way to defend his beliefs.
All paths of guilt led back to me.
The car slowed as it drove through the underground parking structure of The Dionysus Club. Judging from the flashy cars lined up, they had some of their wealthiest clients visiting.
“Stay here,” I warned Henry.
He shook his head. “I’m coming with you.”
“I don’t need criticism right now,” I told him. “I need you to have my back.”
He let out an exasperated sigh. “After this is over you’re breaking it off with Mia.”
My glare held his. “I need to find her to do that, Henry.”
Shay went in first and by the time Henry and I stepped out of the elevator, he’d successfully led the receptionist away from her desk. With no idea how long we had, I hurried toward the office that I’d once believed to be Galina’s. Now I was fairly certain it was Helete’s.
Henry followed me into her office and together we searched the desk for anything that might reveal Mia’s whereabouts…a receipt, a phone number, or even a faded message on a post-it note.
I shook the mouse to awaken the iMac’s screen and sat down in the leather swivel chair. I threw the back pillow across the room.
Shay was the seasoned tech and without him I might not be able to crack the code to hack the computer. Perhaps it would have been better to have Henry distract the receptionist, but the risk of having him running loose was a worse idea.
He’d burn down the place with us in it.
“It’s like a needle in a haystack.” Henry exhaled his frustration.
