Page 15 of Dirty Little Vow

There is no other outcome I will survive.

Chapter Eleven

Tyler

Five minutes later, Kent—a man who stands six feet four, and walks around with as much muscle as a bodybuilder shoved in a suit—enters my office, with a scowl on his hard face. That scowl and those hard features got him the job as head of security. It intimidates people into calming the hell down which in turn, means he isn’t forced to resort to violence. Today, Kent can be as violent as he fucking wants to be, if it gets Bella back.

“What’s going on?” he asks, his voice low, despite the fact that we’re standing in the center of my office with the door shut.

I might have hired him for his scowl, but I’ve kept him for five years based on his skills and discretion. I open my mouth to fill him in when my door bursts open and Dash appears in the archway. He’s a big guy as well, athletic, and always dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, paired with boots. He’s also good-looking, famous, talented, and rich enough to have every woman in the building panting over him, which is clearly how he got past my new secretary.

“Where is Gavin?” he demands, stepping inside and slamming the door shut. He motions toward Kent, who he’s met at several company events. “Do you have him in custody?”

“He left the building by the time Tyler called me,” he explains. “And that’s all I know.”

“Bella’s been taken,” I say, handing him my phone with the text message. “My private security contractor is checking the exterior cameras.”

Kent curses and scrubs his jaw. “Holy hell. I’ll have my team review the security footage to see if he followed Bella out of the building. Are we calling the police?”

I eye Dash who shakes his head. “Not yet. They’re like iron shackles, we can’t afford right now. Speed matters.”

“Agreed,” I say, and I motion to Kent. “Get us an update and let me and Dash talk.”

He gives a nod and walks away. The minute he’s gone and we’re alone, Dash steps in front of me. “I talked with your man, Dierk,” he says. “Whoever took her knew where to walk to avoid being caught on camera. He lost her about two blocks away. He has his men scouring the area for her and Gavin.”

“Does he even know what Gavin looks like?”

“He pulled up his driver’s license while we were on the phone. I have a couple friends from the agency at work, too.”

I can officially size him up as calm. A whole lot calmer than I expected and feel.

“Time is critical but so is knowledge,” he adds. “You have it. I do not. Tell me everything. Start with the Allen family, who Dierk tells me you both think is involved.”

If only it were so simple, I think. I feel as if I’m standing in quicksand and sinking fast. I rotate to sit on the edge of my desk, my jaw clenching. “I’m assuming it’s them,” I confirm. “But I don’t know.” I glance up at him. “That’s the problem.I don’t know, Dash.”

He’s directly in front of me again, his arms crossed in front of his chest. “If that’s where your head went, it’s a solid start. Talk to me. Leave out nothing. Start with what you think I know and tell me anyway.”

“I’ll start with what you don’t know. Bella is why no one else would do. The moment I met her, she was the only perfect woman walking this Earth.”

“I know, Tyler. I always had an idea,but I see what you have between you.”

“My father is between us. You know he was a bastard, always coming at me, and death didn’t end that obsession. He didn’t just dictate my wedding, and length of engagement. He stipulated the recourse should I fight his will in court. If I take action, his attorney will go public with a case I second-chaired that he said showed misconduct. In other words, my license could be revoked, every case the firm handled would be questioned, and we’d be sued by dozens of people.”

“That case related to the Allen family,” he assumes. “But isn’t that a non-issue considering you and Bella are in love and getting married?”

“That’s what Bella said. She thinks I got one over on my father because I fell in love and want to get married.”

His eyes narrow. “But you don’t?”

“I want to believe she’s right, but my gut says no. And my gut is solid. It’s telling me my father always had a gotcha puzzle. He expected me to figure it out as a way to prove myself worthy. I’m telling you, Dash. He didn’t bring up the Allen case for no reason.”

“And you started digging around?” He doesn’t wait for an answer. “Are you fucking crazy? They’re practically the mob, Tyler.”

“Dierk is ex-CIA. I used him for that reason, but ignorance is not a win.”

“Yeah, well, the Allen family is on the FBI’s radar and has been for years. That’s not comforting and while I lean toward you being right, that this is about them, tunnel vision is also dangerous. Very quickly, spit out at least one more option. If it’s not the Allen family, who did this?”

“An angry client, but no one comes to mind.”

---