Page 105 of House of Lies

I quickly hold up a hand to cut off his delighted rambling.

“Cassidy’s mother is missing. Police ran out of leads months ago. Was practically a cold case until a few days ago when Cassidy found a new lead.”

Balmont’s smile fades. “You’re breaking my heart, Ethan. What’s going to take to bring you back into the fold, huh?” His voice drops. “I have this double-jointed little minx that just signed on. Most delectable ass you’ve ever?—”

Richards cuts in. “Disappeared as in ran away? Or disappeared as in snatched?”

Cassidy flinches against my side, but when I glance down at her, she has her face buried in her glass of wine. “That’s what we need your help with.”

He stares at Cassidy for a moment. “How’d you two meet?”

“I was the new lead.”

“You were involved with her mother?” Myles cocks an eyebrow. “Spill the tea.”

Cassidy is listening intently to our conversation, but she seems too nervous to speak. “Apparently, Rebecca Monroe had an appointment with me the night she disappeared.”

“What kind of appointment?” Myles asks snidely.

Cassidy looks up at me, frowning, and I have to force myself not to look at her.

There are things about me Cassidy doesn’t know, and I’m not about to give her a history lesson here in front of the Balmont Boys. They’d pull out the popcorn and be giant asses about it.

So I simply say, “I wasn’t even aware we had an appointment.”

“Can’t expect to keep track of every woman that crosses your path,” Rich says. He’s only trying to defend me, but I swear to God I’ve never wanted to punch someone so badly in my entire fucking life.

Cassidy frowns at Rich, but thankfully Myles picks up on the sudden tension in the room. He slides his arms onto the marble counter we’re clustered around, tapping a nail against the stem of his wineglass.

“When was this?” he asks.

“Six months ago,” Cassidy pipes up before I can speak.

He smiles at her and then turns that same smile on me. “We’ll look for Rebecca…but it’s going to cost you.”

“I know.”

Cassidy glances up at me, but I move the conversation along before she can ask questions. “It was good seeing you again, Myles.”

“Wait,” Cassidy says, tilting her head back to look up at me. “That’s it? Don’t you need more information?”

Myles waves away her concern. “Don’t worry, peaches, we’re the best there is. We’ll find everything we need to track down your mother. Although I’m not promising you’ll be spending Christmas morning opening presents with mommy, or anything like that.”

He glances over at me, mouth pursing for a moment.

“Sometimes people leave, and they don’t want to be found.”

There shouldn’t be anything left of my heart to break, but I swear his words shatter whatever measly crumbs Beck’s disappearance left behind. He swore to me he’d find her.

They all did.

And fuck, I believed them. Who knows? They might succeed with Rebecca where they failed with Becks.

Myles claps his hands, and both Cassidy and I flinch as we’re torn out of our dark thoughts. “Right! My turn.”

“Go to my room,” I tell Cassidy.

“What?” Her indignant bleat makes my face set like concrete.

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