Page 127 of Shadow

Olivia’s phone rang, and she snatched it up, quickly pressing accept on the call.

“Hey hot stuff is your man there?”

Olivia frowned. “No. Why would he be? I haven’t heard from him since he left three hours ago.”

Gage didn’t say anything.

“What’s wrong, Gage?”

“Nothing is wrong. Not yet. But we found Fiona, and it’s not pretty.”

Her stomach lurched, and she reached for her water but picked up Sabrina’s hand for comfort instead. “What do you mean it’s not pretty?”

“She’s dead, Liv. Sometime between last night and this morning.”

“Fuck. Have you heard from Daddy... Ripley at all?”

“Not since he dropped you off, sweetie. He’ll call, though. If you do hear from him, tell him to call me right away.”

“He’s got his phone with him. Can you have Lance, or someone locate him that way? I have no idea where he was meeting Brian.”

Gage pulled the phone away from his face and said something to someone there with him then he came back to Olivia and said, “We’re on it. Try not to freak out. You’re not alone, are you?”

Sabrina squeezed her hand just then, and she flashed her a half smile. “No, I’m not alone. Daddy dropped me off at Tyson Vance’s restaurant.”

“Tyson Vance? Tell that bastard he owes me fifty bucks.”

Olivia giggled. “I’m not getting involved in your man drama.”

“My man drama? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means tell him yourself. But I will tell him you said hello since I know that’s what you really mean.”

Gage chuckled. “Thanks, sweetie. I’m going to run so I can help Peter and Lance find out what the hell your man is doing.”

The call ended, and Olivia laid her head against the back of the booth. “This is all so fucked up.”

“I’m sorry, love. Why don’t we go bother Tyson for dessert. Chocolate will help.”

They walked into the kitchen, which was bustling since the restaurant had opened for dinner, and Sabrina put a hand on her shoulder to stop her from going any farther.

“Just watch for a minute. There is so much raw sexual energy in a busy kitchen like this. It’s kind of a turn on to watch.”

Sabrina was right, the kitchen was charged with the same energy she felt in the dungeon at Exposure. It was almost primal. Suddenly, they heard Tyson yelling and watched as the gruff chef got right in some poor line cook’s face and dressed him down for fucking up some part of a dish.

“Isn’t he hot when he’s pissed?”

Olivia raised an eyebrow at her. “And you say you don’t know what your feelings for him are?”

Sabrina chuckled. “I find him insanely hot and want to jump anytime I’m in the same room with him. That’s all I know right now.”

Before Olivia could respond, the side door opened, and Ripley stepped in. Her breath caught in her throat. A large cut was oozing above his eye, and his knuckles were scraped all to hell.

She rushed to him and threw her arms around him. “What happened? Gage said he couldn’t get a hold of you. I was going crazy.”

He wrapped her in a hug, and they stood together for a long time.

“Get the hell out of my kitchen. You’re bleeding everywhere,” Tyson barked when he spotted them.

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