Page 28 of Doctor Grump

“You should go,” he said, his voice a quiet menace.

“I should,” I agreed in a whisper. But it was not my imagination that his face came closer and closer until his lips were a whisper away.

Then, slowly, sweetly, they brushed against mine, his tongue coming out for a light lick.

With a groan, he backed away.

“Go,” he said in a much coarser and harsher voice. I nodded and ran out of there, my throat tight.

Ian wasn’t at breakfast the next day, but that wasn’t exactly shocking considering the night we had. I had dreamt about him and about the kiss that almost was, a kiss that drove me to noticeable distraction the next day, to the point where I was nearly fifteen minutes late to pick Kendy up.

But when I got there, she wasn’t at her usual bench.

“Excuse me,” I asked the guard I had befriended on the first day. “Do you know where Kendy is? She’s the girl I always pick up.”

“Oh yeah,” he responded. “She took off with a friend.”

I frowned. “What do you mean she took off with a friend? I don’t know any of her friends.” I didn’t know she had one.

“Yeah. The girl’s mother picked them up. The girl had a backpack and everything. Seems they’re taking a trip together.”

“What?” I was confused about it. Since when did she have friends? Also, she hadn’t told me about it. And backpack? I hadn’t noticed her leaving with one. What on earth was going on?

I called her number, and it rang several times with no answer.

That was when it finally struck me. She had made a run for it.Again.

12

IAN

She was going to drive me crazy.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t wipe the image of Piper staring up at me from my mind. I filled out my notes on autopilot, barely seeing them as I signed off on them. Instead, my mind continuously drifted back to last night when I pulled her into my room, fully intent on doing wicked things to her. It had been hell, wanting her more with each passing day with no intention of fulfilling it. Yesterday had been a particularly weak moment. It had been a rough day at work, and I spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about her. I had gone home and needed someone…needed her. So when I pulled her to me, I was finally going to give in to this infernal want and desire, and it was only sheer willpower at the last minute that kept me from doing more than just kissing her.

Or even taking the kiss deeper.

God. Her lips had been soft, just like the rest of her, and her warm, comforting scent had enveloped me. Her natural scent had been combined with the scent of cinnamon and other spices, likely from the meal she made that day. She had smelled like the most decadent delicacy in the world, and I remembered drawing it in, feeling it soothe something within me.

She smelled like home.

And it was dangerous for me to be having thoughts like that.

“That’s enough of that,” I muttered to myself, pulling my mind back from the thought. I refocused on my work, determined not to think about her for the rest of the day. That proved to be impossible because a few minutes later, she was calling me on the phone.

I had asked her not to call me during work hours unless it was an emergency, and so far, she hadn’t. Something was wrong.

I answered instantly. “What’s going on?”

“It’s your daughter,” she said, her worry barely concealed. “She’s missing.”

“What?” I felt my body stand, energy and adrenaline radiating through me. “What the hell do you mean she’s missing?”

“Exactly what I said.” She sounded out of breath. Like she had been running. “No one knows where she is. The security at her school said she went somewhere with a friend, but I just contacted the friend’s mom, who had no idea what I was talking about. She said Kendy asked her to drop her somewhere close to the bus station. Kendy said she was supposed to meet you there.”

“Goddamn it,” I slammed my hand on the table before exiting my office and the building entirely. Anger, worry, and concern raced through me. Why on earth would a mother give someone else’s kid a ride to a bus stop without first asking the parent? Did no one in this town know how to mind their damn business? And the school security? I had specifically asked them to keep an eye on my daughter after her last runaway attempt and to make sure she wasn’t going anywhere that wasn’t with her nanny or me. “Why did they let her fucking leave? I pay them a fucking ridiculous amount of money to keep her safe.”

“I don’t know,” Piper sounded just as frustrated. “But either way, she’s gone. She’s not at the bus stop either. I have pretty much driven and walked around these five blocks, and I feel like I’m going to go crazy.”

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