Page 113 of Beneficial Misfortune

“You're right,” I tell her and watch as a dazzling smile lights her face.

It’s a shame her attitude is so self-centered. She does well with phones and is very pretty, but her attitude ruins both of them.

I turn to Oliver, who is near the elevator, the button already lit up, meaning he called it. At least we’re not wasting any more time with this, we would be waiting anyway, so why not handle two birds with one stone.

“Can you send out an email to everyone regarding pushing meetings for the next few days on the way?” I ask, and for a moment, Oliver seems caught off guard before he nods. Of course, I knew he could. Honestly, he could probably send them in his sleep, but I was trying to make a point.

I turn back to Anna who looks between us confused. Not that I can blame her, but I’m about to clear it all up for her.

“You're fired. Pack up your things. I’ll have security come up to escort you out.”

Her mouth falls open at the same time the elevator dings, telling me it's arrived. She opens and closes her mouth a few times, but nothing comes out, and I don’t have time to wait around for her to gather her thoughts. In fact, I can’t think of many things that would be worth stopping for right now.

We step into the elevator, and the doors quickly close, leaving Anna behind, and I can once again focus on what’s important.

Fishing my phone from my pocket, I can’t help the frown that pulls at my brows when I see no new messages or missed calls.

What the hell is going on that Vince still hasn’t called back?

My mind races with all the possibilities, but I push them aside for now as I click on Desmond’s number to call him with an update on where we need to be headed.

Even as the elevator reaches the main floor, I know he’ll make it there much faster than us. Not only did he leave before, but that damn bike could get him there in a fraction of the time, even if he hadn’t. I might be a bit jealous of the fact, but I can’t deny I like the idea of one of us being there. Who knows what Carter is up to, especially when he has help we weren’t counting on.

Chapter 35

Iknew something was wrong the second I walked out of the bathroom. Addison was still running around playing, but Kat was nowhere to be found. She would never leave Addison behind by choice; hell, even if she had to go to the bathroom, I know she would have waited. I’ve seen the way she looks at that little girl; she would never put her in danger.

Years of training are hard to ignore, and before I even need to think about it, I’m moving toward the threat in the room. He wasn’t here before I’d gone to the bathroom, which means he’d more than likely been watching us, but if he’s still here, where the hell is Kat?

That’s what I plan to find out.

I grip his shirt, pulling him right off the bench, and his eyes go wide. He’d been so focused on Addison that he didn’t even seem to notice my return.

“Where is she?” I hiss as the woman to his left clutches her non-existent pearls before collecting her child and scurrying away. Good, that’s probably for the best because I’m not positiveanyone will want to stick around for what I’m about to do to him if he doesn’t answer me in the next few seconds.

“I, I… who?” Trevor stammers, looking around the room as if he doesn’t have a clue who I’m talking about, but we both know that’s a lie. I can see it in his eyes; he’s hiding something, covering for someone, and I have a creeping feeling that I know who that might be.

“Uncle Vinny, where’s Mommy?” Addison asks, pulling on my pants, and I can hear the sadness in her voice.

I tighten my grip on Trevor’s shirt to ensure he doesn’t try anything as I turn my attention down to the little girl at my side.

“I’m not sure, Princess, but how about we go find out, huh?” I ask her, trying to keep my voice even so as not to worry her. She’s used to Uncle Vince, who is funny and plays with her, but that’s not who I am right now.

No, right now, I need to be Vincent, who was expelled from four high schools before I wound up in school with Nate, who kept me in line. The same Vincent who went to the military with him and served two years before being recruited for a different kind of team, one that used my skills instead of trying to force me to calm down.

The man Nate depends on to protect the most important things in his life, his daughter and his lover.

Fuck, if Addison weren’t here, this man would be a bloody mess already.

Addison is moving before I tell her where we're going, and I remember Kat telling her earlier that if they should get separated, she should go to the main desk and tell them. It was a good lesson, but something I felt was unnecessary, considering she had both of us.

Guess I owe her an apology.

“Keep her here.” I manage to growl out to one of the young female workers who Addison ran to when we reached the maindesk. She can’t be more than sixteen, but she nods and seems to understand this is serious.

Most people know Addison if only because of her last name, which means they know the lengths we go through to keep her safe and out of the media. Which is why we hadn’t really looked at Trevor twice prior to him showing his true colors with Kat; we’d assumed he was smart enough to stay away.

We were wrong.

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