Page 245 of Dark Love

“Dyce, what a surprise.” I let the sarcasm drip off my tone.

Axe steps in beside her. “Sorry, short of restraining her, we couldn’t stop her. And we didn’t—“

The exasperation on his face mimics what I’m feeling. “You did fine. Miss Locke had an appointment.”

Axe nods and leaves, closing the door behind him.

“Marlie ran.” Dyce sets her bag down on the coffee table and starts to pace. “She snuck out and ran. I thought I got through to her, but she ran.”

“Yes, I know.”

“She’s smart.”

Everyone keeps saying that.

Dyce stops and turns to face me. “Wait, how do you know?”

“Maddox called me.”

“Oh.”

I watch as emotions fly across her face as she processes what I said. Dyce doesn’t get flummoxed often, and this needs to be savored. It’s the second-best part of my day. Waking up with Dahlia in my arms will always be the best part.

“Why are you just standing there? You should be out there finding her.”

Out there? “You expect me to wander the streets looking for her?”

“Not quite wander the streets aimlessly—You have too many skills for that—but hunt her down. If we don’t find her, Plant will. And once he gets her, she’s gone. Why aren’t you doing something?”

This is Maddox’s cousin.

Dyce does good work even if she irritates the life out of you.

“Do something. A woman’s life is at stake.”

My office door slams open and Shock stalks in.

People today! “You knock.”

Shock freezes. “Sorry, I didn’t think you had company.”

Dyce isn’t exactly here by choice.

“I thought you’d want the results for that project immediately.”

“And?”

“It was a bust.”

“Can’t you do whatever this is later?” Dyce nods towards Shock. “Our business is time-sensitive.”

These people are going to drive me out of my mind. “Shock, tell Dyce what you were researching.”

His eyes widen. “Marlie Wondrosh’s location is currently unknown. She slipped out of camera range. In order to find her again, I’m going to need to hack into the city’s camera system. That will only work if she’s still on the streets. And it’s going to take time. Probably more than we have.”

Dyce’s head swings between Shock and me. “You were already doing something.”

Yeah.

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