Page 33 of Burning for You
The lights come back on the same time as Josh’s bodyguard finds me. It turns out I’ve been dragged into a service corridor.
“Caro! Are you okay?” Sam says.
The two intruders scurry ahead, while Bryan, wearing a hoodie, turns his head slightly toward me. His blond fringe covers most of his face, but I know it’s him.
“Wait here!” Sam is ready to give chase to the two men.
“No, no, let them go.” I grasp his hand. “They’re just a couple of kids.”
Sam looks at me in disagreement.
“What the hell is happening?” Josh joins us. He puts his arm around me. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” Looking down, I soon realize my skirt is torn. “I can’t go back in there.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Josh says. “You go home with Sam, okay?”
“Come on, Caro,” Sam says, taking over from Josh.
Ed, Josh’s chauffeur, sneaks us into the car before the paparazzi notices us. He drives fast while Sam keeps his eyes peeled, as if expecting an ambush.
But nothing happens.
“You sure you’re okay Miss Meyer?” Ed asks after Sam has inspected my house and given it the all-clear.
“Yeah. Thank you,” I say.
“I should stay with you,” Sam says.
“No, no, I’ll be fine. You can go back to Josh now. He needs you.”
“Ed will go back, but I’ll stay here until Josh gets home.”
I’m under no illusions that Rupert Teller is still shadowing me. Did he hire those men to taunt me? Instead of using flowers, he wants to send a message in a different way.
I let Sam wait in the living room.
“Did you know them?” Sam asks.
“No. I think they were just drunk and looking for trouble.” I slant my face, escaping his questioning eyes. “I’ll be in the study.”
I turn on my laptop and log into Brilliance’s file system and archives. I search anything that might hint at Montana—using keywords like Treasure State, Big Sky Country, Gold, Silver, and the names of the state’s big cities and national forests. But apart from the existing Bozeman Airport extension, which Josh is fiercely bidding on, there’s nothing else.
The big intruder might’ve been high on drugs, but he wouldn’t have just barged in and said specific things like he did. There must be something.
I call Brilliance’s 24-hour security.
“Could you please send me the security footage of level 35 and 43, from today, about 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.?”
“Do you want us to investigate or report something, ma’am?”
“No, no. I just need to check that someone was there at the time, as he claimed to be. Otherwise I won’t pay him.”
About twenty minutes later, I receive the footage.
“Who are you?” I mumble to myself as I watch Bryan’s movements.
So that was how Josh’s secretary disappeared. Bryan’s accomplice lured her away to abandon her post. Then that sneaky son of a bitch went inside Josh’s office.