Page 147 of Somebody's Watching Me
Knocking, she waited for a heartbeat, and then knocked harder, the sound echoing. “Open the door, Evie!”
Water. All she could hear was water running in the sink, and it had gone on for far too long. With all her might, Jamison beat at the door, screaming her sister’s name.
“Help us,” she shouted, yanking on the doorknob. “Someone help!”
Slamming her shoulder into the wood, she got one solid hit before being tossed aside by her brother. Needing just a single ram from his shoulder, Samuel crashed into the bathroom.
Jamison rushed in behind him, but there was no sign of her sister. The bathroom was empty except for the water overflowing from the sink as if Evie had been washing her hands when she vanished.
Another door stood open on the rear wall, and Jamison followed Samuel through it, stepping into the practice’s office area. Beige-walled cubicles surrounded them, creating a maze where anyone could hide.
Samuel didn’t waste time, and neither did she. Shouting Evie’s name, they searched, breaking through closed office doors, and checking every workstation. The gathering employees stared at them as if they were deranged.
“Did a blonde pregnant woman come through here?” Jamison asked a woman in scrubs.
“Ma’am, you need to calm down,” the lady replied. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Samuel didn’t speak, overturning desks and cabinets, anywhere someone could be hiding. A man attempted to approach him from behind but had second thoughts when an entire cubicle came crashing down.
“My sister was in the bathroom, and now she’s missing,” Jamison pushed the woman aside. “Someone kidnapped her.”
“Or she came out the wrong door like so many other patients do and took the rear hallway to her examination room.” The woman in scrubs attempted to grab her arm, but Jamison knocked her away. “You need to leave before I call security.”
“Is there a back door that leads outside?” Samuel bellowed, rounding on the now three men attempting to stop him from destroying their office. “A fire exit?”
“Sir, I want you to take a deep breath.”
Jamison caught sight of an exit sign in the rear corner. “Over there!”
She stumbled through the mess, running in her heels as the distance between her and the door seemed to stretch. Samuel made it there first, slamming it open with a thunderous hit from his palms.
On the other side, a pregnant woman stood crying with a howling baby in her arms. “Call the police,” she screeched, pushing past them to seek shelter inside. “There’s a man with a gun.”
Chapter 31
1996
Sitting across from his desk, Hillary placed an open file before him. “Are we striking or holding?”
Steepling his fingers, Ben weighed the options, already knowing full well what she would advise. Show no mercy and hit them where it hurts were Hillary’s two favorite counter methods in situations like this.
On his very first day working at his family’s company, she had been assigned the role of his personal assistant. James thought her to be a good fit. Five years his son’s senior, happily married, great at her job, and—unlike every other applicant—not the least bit interested in fucking the new boss.
And for once, the old man had been right.
Hillary was his perfect match in this world, and from the start, her loyalty lay more with him than with James or the company. She had a knack for spotting a victor in corporate dog fights and spotted one in him early on.
“It doesn’t benefit us to strike.”
“Fuck the benefits.”
Ben arched an eyebrow. Profitability from their exploits was usually the driving factor behind her readiness to make such a bold move.Having come from a life of poverty, his assistant had no interest in her children doing the same and fought viciously to maintain the salary he provided. A wage higher than most of what his top department heads pulled.
She also adored his wife. “We cannot let them whisper lies about Miranda.”
“But are they lies?” Facing the glass wall, Trevor kept his empty stare trained on downtown Houston. “Is Miranda having an affair?”
Ben remained silent, allowing Hillary to be the one to attack. “Don’t be absurd, Trevor.”
