Page 14 of Dark Memories
And that was Zach, taking life as it came and making the best of a bad situation. “What about your other two brothers?”
A warm smile replaced the bitter one. “Aaron is happily married to a great woman. He works for me as vice president of my London office. They have a baby on the way. Victor and his boyfriend are working their way around the world. I offered to pay for their tour, but they said they’d have more fun staying in hostels and working godawful jobs that they could laugh about later.”
“That’s cool.” She’d met and liked both of them. When she and Zach had broken up, each had called her. Aaron had offered to beat up Zach for her, and Victor had wanted to come over with brownies and wine to have a pity party with her. She’d passed on both, but it had meant a lot that his brothers had let her know they cared.
“They’re cool. So, that’s my list. Where do we start first?”
“We need to determine where each of these people are right now. Do you know where John Meyer lives?”
“No, but I would think Dorothy does. That’s his ex-wife. As far as I know she’s still in the same house. Should I call her?”
Harry glanced at her watch. “No. It’s a little after three. Better to go there in person. If she tries to be evasive, I’ll be able to tell.”
“Let’s go.” He picked up his phone, keeping it in his hand.
Throughout their talk, Zach had kept his phone faceup on his desk, frequently glancing at it as if willing it to ring. If Kali had been kidnapped for ransom, he should be getting a call or text soon. If it was Cinda, his mother, and/or Robbie, who knew what devious schemes they were up to. At least with them, it would be someone Kali knew, and Harry couldn’t imagine one of them actually hurting the girl.
The most worrisome were John Meyer and Arturo Rossi. Revenge as a motive was one that could have unpredictable results of the worst kind. So she’d concentrate on those two first while trying to ascertain the whereabouts of the last three.
“Who do you have trying to find Cinda?” she asked after they were in the car on the way to Dorothy Meyer’s house.
“Her masseuse.” At her raised brow, he said, “I pay him, so he’s loyal to me. Leo’s gay and a friend of Victor’s, so I know he’s at least one man she hasn’t screwed. I only told him that I needed to talk to her about Kali’s Christmas schedule.”
“Is she supposed to be in Denver or Aspen right now?”
“Not sure. She could be on a damn cruise ship in the Mediterranean for all I know. She doesn’t keep in touch unless she wants something. Leo left her a message to call him, and she usually does return his calls. He went by her house in Denver this morning, but she didn’t answer the door. He’s headed to Aspen now.”
Harry’s gaze was captured by Zach’s hand resting on the console between them. That hand and the other one had once known every inch of her body intimately, and the longing to have them on her again struck with a force that stole her breath. She tore her eyes away, desperately searching for something else to look at.
“You okay?”
She used to love that he was so attuned to her that he could pick up on the slightest body twitch or emotion in her eyes or the change in her breathing and know what she was thinking or needed. He shouldn’t be able to still do that after eight years apart.
“Delaney?”
And the soft way he said her name, the way he used to, sent that longing for him into the stratosphere. She was in serious trouble.
“Do you remember the night we took a blanket and some cheap wine out to the high school baseball field and—”
“Please, Zach, don’t.” She would never forget the night he’d told for the first time that he loved her.
He glanced over at her. “I was only going to say that I can afford better wine now if I ever get a chance to do that with you again.”
Damn him for making her laugh. That wasn’t what he was going to say, and a tiny—very tiny—part of her wanted to know. But if he was remembering that it was when he’d told her he loved her, she couldn’t bear to hear him say it.
“I think we’ve both matured past drinking wine out of a box.” She glanced at him to see the hint of a smile on his lips, and she freaked out a little to see that smile. She’d always been able to amuse him, but that was Delaney. Harry didn’t like amusing people, and especially not him. Not anymore. She wanted to tell him she wasn’t the same person he’d known, but that would start a discussion she didn’t want to have.
“Tell me about Dorothy Meyer,” she said to redirect the conversation.
Zach shrugged. “I don’t know her very well. The only times I saw her were at business events or dinners where the spouses were included. She’s shy and seems to prefer to blend into the background. I’ve always had the sense that was where John wanted her. You know, out of sight. Out of mind.”
If he wasn’t sick with worry for his daughter, he would make an effort to melt some of that ice Delaney had wrapped around her. Being near her again—learning her new scent and expressions—wasn’t dampening the longing to have her back in his life. He missed the girl who laughed easily and had trusted him with her heart.
He had broken that trust, and he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to undo the damage, but as soon as he had Kali safely home, winning Delaney back was going to be his life’s mission.
“This is her house,” he said as he turned into the driveway of a sprawling ranch-style home. “I haven’t seen her since firing John, so I don’t know what kind of reaction we’ll get when she sees me.”
She eyed the house. “Introduce us, and then let me do the talking.”
