Page 49 of Tough as Steele

She stepped off in a hurry. Her energy level didn’t give away the fact that she’d been up all night. He assumed she also frequently pulled all-nighters at work during the first crucial hours in her investigations.

Nate directed her to the servant’s hallway and started for Wendy’s room. “Do you have a thing about having doors opened for you or a guy letting you go first?”

She cast him a suspicious glance over her shoulder.

“Just wondering. Lots of women in law enforcement aren’t too keen on it.”

“It depends on the guy’s motives, I guess. If it’s on the job, and he’s trying to prove that I’m not as capable, then I resent it. But if they’re just the kind of guy with old-fashioned manners and see it as a sign of respect, it’s nice.” She stopped and looked up at him. “Which kind of guy are you, Nate Ryder?”

Her powerful gaze pulled at him, and he wanted to hold her close. “I was taught to respect women, and showing it through my actions is a good thing. But times have changed, so I try to ignore my upbringing a lot of the time. Sometimes I forget.”

“Don’t forget on my account.” She laid a hand on his arm and smiled up at him. “I like it.”

That urge to sweep her into his arms and kiss her nearly overpowered his common sense. Nearly. He could still control his attraction, but how long before he gave in? If she touched him again…

He swallowed and nodded at a nearby door. “Wendy’s room is the second one.”

Londyn lingered in his gaze, her eyes flaring with attraction, but she controlled it and quickly knocked on the door. “Wendy. It’s Londyn. Detective Ryder and I need to talk to you.”

He leaned close to the door and listened, the air sweet with her peach scent. Hearing nothing, he pounded harder. “Wendy. Open the door.”

Nate counted to twenty in his head, but he didn’t receive any response. “Go in.”

Londyn tried the door. “It’s locked.”

“Then we break it down.” He turned and slammed a foot into the door. It gave way and swung in. The bed was empty and made. The curtains fluttered.

He charged past a table holding several crossword puzzle books to the window and found the screen pushed out and the window open.

“Looks like she took off through the window,” Londyn said.

He crossed to the closet and jerked the door open. “Nearly empty. So, yeah. She ran. But was she really involved in Mimi’s disappearance?”

“That’s what we need to find out.” Londyn started pulling out drawers, as if desperate for a clue.

Nate tore the bedding free and lifted the mattress, then knelt to look under the bed. “There’s nothing here. Either she didn’t own much or she had another place where she stored her things.”

Londyn nodded. “She doesn’t likely have this address on her driver’s license. Let’s check the address she claims.”

“Good idea.” He charged for the office and grabbed his laptop to look up her address. “She didn’t claim Mimi’s address on her license. Not surprising since Wendy’s only worked here three months.” He printed out the license information and handed it to Londyn.

Londyn’s phone chimed. “Text from my cousin Ryleigh. It’s about Wendy.”

Eager to know what Ryleigh had to say, Nate took a step closer.

Londyn swiped her finger up the screen. Her face paled. “No. Oh no.”

“What is it?” he asked.

She held out her phone to him.

He stepped closer to read it. “I didn’t see this coming. Not at all.”

13

Still in Mimi’s office, Londyn stared at her phone. Nate continued to linger nearby. She let the message from Ryleigh sink in before discussing it with Nate. Mimi had now been missing for fourteen hours, and though this text provided a lead, it also set them back to square one with Wendy.

Nate backed away, his mouth opening and closing as if trying to find the right words. “So Wendy’s real name is Jessica Oates, and she served time for manslaughter.”

---