Page 243 of Dark Love

Payne: Our Barb? The brilliant ER doctor who hasn’t made a single mistake in her life? The unflappable woman that can sew a man’s arm on while diagnosing their best friend with some rare tropical disease? Impossible.

Me: She saved it all up to make one epic mistake.

Payne: Oh?

Me: We’ll talk about it later.

Right now, I’m going to take two aspirins and hope Dahlia sent me one of her cute pictures that she’s now started doing at random.

Payne: Want to come over and have lunch and we’ll talk about it.

Thinking about it before eating will only ruin my meal.

Me: I want to enjoy my food.

When I finally get around to eating it.

Payne: I’ll be there soon.

Me: Good, you can help me find someone to punch.

Payne: LOL

Me: Not helping.

Payne: You can try to take a shot at me later if you want.

It’s not as much fun when they offer. But I still might take him up on that.

After I see Dahlia’s smiling face. I check my phone, but there isn’t anything from her. Did I really expect a picture while she’s at work? No, but yes, even though no is the logical answer.

All I need is fifteen minutes without someone getting threatened. I almost sigh as I step into the blissful silence of my office.

My phone rings. It’s tempting to throw it across the room or just silence it and ignore it, but when people you’ve known since childhood call, it’s rude to ignore them.

“What do you want, Maddox?” It’s a good thing I don’t need to be polite.

“She ran. The idiot woman snuck out of the safe house we had her in.”

Safe house woman? “Dyce ran?”

“My cousin is a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them. Marlie Wonderosh ran.”

No.

No.

No. “If Plant finds her first, she’s gone forever.” It’s impossible to find a woman once they’ve been sold. I know that all too well to be a fact.

“I know that. I have half a dozen men looking for her now.”

Then why did you call me?

“Dyce is on her way to you.”

“You said Dyce wasn’t stupid.”

“She thinks you might have sent a guy out to make Marlie disappear.”

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