Chapter 2 - The Man the Girls Called Daddy
Emily did not get into Dominic Vale’s SUV willingly.
She negotiated.
“My car stays here.”
“We’ll bring it.”
“My purse comes with me.”
“Fine.”
“I’m not being locked anywhere.”
Dominic looked at her.
“You think you’re in a position to negotiate?”
“Yes.”
One of his men coughed to hide a laugh.
Dominic glanced toward him.
The man immediately became fascinated with the dashboard.
Dominic looked back at Emily.
“Anything else?”
“Yes. Grace needs medical attention.”
“She has a private physician.”
“Good. Then call the physician now.”
Dominic studied her for several seconds.
Then he took out his phone.
“Dr. Hayes. My house. Ten minutes.”
Emily stared.
“That’s it?”
“What?”
“You just summon doctors?”
“When necessary.”
“That must be nice.”
Something flickered in his expression.
“You dislike me.”
“I met you eight minutes ago.”
“Yet you’ve decided.”
“You arrived with armed men.”
“They found my daughters.”
“You pointed a gun at a waitress.”
“I didn’t.”
“Your employee did.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“He will be dealt with.”
Emily looked toward the front seat.
The man responsible was in another vehicle.
“What does ‘dealt with’ mean?”
“That he no longer works for me.”
“That’s all?”
Dominic looked at Lily sleeping against his shoulder.
“It’s enough.”
His tone ended the conversation.
Vale House stood behind iron gates north of the city.
Emily expected gold staircases and marble statues.
Instead, the mansion was quiet.
Elegant.
Almost severe.
Dominic carried Grace inside himself.
Lily refused to release Emily’s hand.
A silver-haired doctor met them upstairs.
“Dominic.”
“Check them.”
The next thirty minutes became medical questions, warm blankets, temperature checks and quiet instructions.
Emily stayed close.
Finally, Dr. Hayes removed his glasses.
“They were dangerously cold, but whoever warmed them did it correctly.”
Dominic looked at Emily.
The doctor continued.
“No rapid heat. No rubbing. Warm fluids. Gradual rewarming.”
Emily shrugged.
“I remembered some things.”
“You’re a nurse?”
“No.”
“She was,” Lily said.
Emily looked at her.
“I wasn’t.”
“You knew everything.”
“I knew enough.”
Dr. Hayes smiled faintly.
“You probably prevented a bad outcome.”
Dominic didn’t speak.
After the doctor left, Lily and Grace fell asleep together in Dominic’s enormous bed.
Emily stood near the door.
“I should leave.”
Dominic closed the bedroom door quietly.
“No.”
“There’s that charming personality again.”
“There are security cameras around the diner. Whoever took my daughters may already know your face.”
Emily crossed her arms.
“You said Mr. Reed took them.”
“My former security director arranged the route they were traveling on. His people intercepted the vehicle.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
Dominic walked toward a window.
For the first time, he looked tired.
“My daughters were missing for thirty-six hours.”
Emily’s anger softened slightly.
“I’m sorry.”
He looked at her.
“Everyone told me they were probably already out of Illinois.”
“They almost died three miles from your warehouse district.”
“Yes.”
The word came quietly.
Dominic looked through the glass.
“I trusted the wrong man.”
Emily understood that sentence better than she wanted to.
“What happens now?”
“You stay here tonight.”
“And tomorrow?”
“We find Reed.”
“We?”
His gaze returned to her.
“You heard Lily say his name.”
“So did your men.”
“My men can protect themselves.”
Emily almost laughed.
“And I can’t?”
“No.”
Her expression hardened.
Dominic corrected himself.
“You shouldn’t have to.”
That changed something.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Emily glanced toward the bedroom.
“Why did your daughters think you might be the wolf?”
Dominic’s face tightened.
“They didn’t.”
“They were terrified when your vehicles arrived.”
“They were trained to hide when uncertain.”
“Your seven-year-old daughters are trained for kidnappings?”
Dominic said nothing.
Emily stared at him.
“What kind of life are they living?”
His expression went cold.
“Be careful.”
“Why?”
“You’re in my house.”
“And those girls were freezing behind my dumpster.”
Dominic stepped closer.
Most people would have backed away.
Emily didn’t.
“You have money, guards, cameras, gates. None of that mattered when the one man you trusted betrayed you.”
Dominic’s jaw flexed.
“You think I don’t know that?”
“I think you know it now.”
Silence.
Then a tiny voice came from behind them.
“Daddy?”
Dominic turned immediately.
Grace stood in the doorway wrapped in a blanket.
“Bad dream?”
She nodded.
Dominic crouched.
“Come here.”
Grace walked past him.
Straight to Emily.
Emily looked awkwardly at Dominic.
Grace raised both arms.
Emily picked her up.
The child buried her face against Emily’s shoulder.
Dominic watched them.
“Grace.”
“I want Emily.”
“I can see that.”
“Can she stay?”
Emily opened her mouth.
Dominic answered first.
“Tonight.”
Grace looked at him.
“And tomorrow?”
Dominic’s eyes met Emily’s.
“We’ll discuss tomorrow.”
His phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
Everything gentle disappeared from his face.
“Yes?”
A man spoke on the other end.
Dominic listened.
“Where?”
Silence.
His expression changed.
“Don’t touch anything.”
He disconnected.
Emily felt the room tighten.
“What happened?”
Dominic looked at her.
“They found the van.”
“And Reed?”
“No.”
“What did they find?”
Dominic glanced toward Grace.
Then back at Emily.
“Your employee badge.”
Emily went completely still.
“My what?”
“From the diner.”
“That’s impossible.”
Dominic lowered his voice.
May you like
“Reed knows who you are.”
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