And whenever I tried to stop thinking about Isadora and find something else to distract me, that something else was always Toni. I had a tangle inside me because of her – anger, need, frustration…amusement.

I wanted to bend her over my knee and spank her until she couldn't sit for some of the things she said, but at the same time, there was a part of me that still found her anger almost cute. She was just so tiny that seeing so much rage coming from her was shocking.

Even when she was yelling at me, I’d been torn between yelling back and kicking everybody else so I could take out my frustration in another way. Between her thighs while her nails sank into my shoulders, and I felt the hot, sweet grab of her pussy again.

“Mr. Lang?”

The sound of Melody's voice jerked me back to attention. “I'm sorry.” Rubbing at my eyes, I said, “My mind was somewhere else.”

“That's totally understandable.” Her voice was apologetic, full of concern.

She'd been with me for nearly twelve years and knew me better than most. And the one thing I knew she understood was how much I loved my sister.

“If we could've waited on this, you know I wouldn't bother you.”

I nodded, and then remembered we were on the telephone and she couldn't see me. “I know that. That's why you're paid big bucks, right?” I tried to lighten my tone for the last part.

She came back with a typical Melody response. “Well, that being the case, Mr. Lang, you do know I'm up for my annual review and raise next month?”

She managed to get a laugh out of me, and we were able to finish the rest of our business. As soon as I hung up, however, I was left to my own thoughts.

And those thoughts weren't good.

Mentally, I counted off each day since she’d disappeared. Monday evening to Friday morning. I broke those days down into hours, then minutes. So many things could be done to a helpless woman in that many minutes, hours, days. Had I even tried to make sure she knew how to take care of herself if she needed to? Or had I arrogantly assumed that my money could provide enough protection? Maybe instead of trying to protect her from the world, I should have been preparing her for it.

The kidnapper still hadn't called back.

It was my fault.

Knowing it didn’t lessen my anger at Toni any, though. I’d been losing myself in a Sub because Toni had been on my mind too much, and I’d hoped I could clear her out so I could think about my sister. Toni was a distraction, and one I couldn’t afford. Especially not now.

Pounding my fist on the arm of my chair, I stared into the gloomy corners of my shadowed office. I hadn’t turned on the lights when I'd come in during the early hours of the morning. I hadn't been able to sleep. I hadn’t showered. Or eaten breakfast. I wasn't even sure I'd eaten dinner last night either. I didn't care though. I wasn't hungry.

I sat in my office and brooded about Toni, worried about Isadora. I tried to think about work, but my thoughts kept going back to the two women, alternating between them and how I could've, should've, done things differently.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't know how long I sat in the dark. The knock at the door and the subsequent opening allowed light to spin inside, forcing me to fling up a hand to block out the glare.

Doug stood in the door, his posture rigid. He turned on the lights and I grimaced. Light and I weren’t getting along very well these days. I was pretty sure the alcohol wasn’t helping in that respect.

“I’m quite certain you're not helping Isadora by sitting here in the dark, sir.” Doug folded his hands in front of him. His face was polite, but I could hear the disapproval in his voice. It bothered me more than I liked.

Since when had Doug started to hate me? He'd taken me Christmas shopping as a child.

A lifetime ago.

“What do you want?” I demanded, wanting him to just leave me alone.

“You have a guest. A Stanley Kowalski. Are you home?”

“No.” I glared at him with one eye while I rubbed at the other. “I’m on the damn moon. What’s it look like?”

Doug’s disapproving eyebrows drew lower and tighter over his eyes. “Are you receiving visitors on the moon, sir?” He didn't even try to hide the sarcasm this time.

“Kowalski’s not a visitor.” I shoved a hand through my hair and tried to pull myself together. “He’s the investigator I hired to look for Isadora. And Doug, yank that stick out of your ass before I beat you with it.”

“You would have a hard time doing that, sitting in this room and letting guilt eat you alive. Sir.” The older man’s face softened slightly. “I'll allow you a few minutes to compose yourself before I bring Mr. Kowalski back.”

“Allow me.” Muttering under my breath, I shoved back from my desk instead up. Various kinks and stiff muscles protested movement. I hadn’t been doing much of anything but sitting in this room when I didn't have the cops and FBI here. My clothes were wrinkled and I was pretty sure I didn't smell that good. No wonder Doug looked so disgusted.

I needed to get off my ass.

Ten minutes later, Doug showed Stanley Kowalski into my office.

The investigator was a skinny man with graying hair and sharp, intelligent eyes hidden behind narrow-rimmed spectacles. When I hired him, he'd told me he had gone into private work after he'd retired from the force. He didn't look like a cop. I figured that must be a bonus as an investigator. Somebody like him showed up at the door, a person would expect some sort of sales pitch or a request for donations to a local ministry.

Definitely not law enforcement.

“Please tell me you have something,” I said as I stood.

“Afraid not.” He shook my hand and then lowered himself into the chair across from my desk. “As soon as I have anything, I'll call you immediately.”

“Yeah.” I moved to the window and stared outside. It faced out over a small, private garden. Isadora loved our garden. We had a larger one at our house in the Hamptons, but she spent a lot of time here in this one. I sometimes thought she’d live out there if she could. What if she–

“Don’t give up hope, Mr. Lang.”

I looked over at Kowalski. He had a worn, lived-in sort of face. The kind of face that made you think he’d done it all and seen it all, the kind that made you want to believe him. I wanted to. But Isadora was the optimist. Not me. Not after everything I'd been through. Everything I'd lost.

“What brings you over here then?” I asked.

He didn’t beleaguer his point.

Gesturing to my desk, he said, “May I?”

I nodded and pushed aside the clutter that had gathered there over the past few days. I watched as he pulled out a folder and began to lay out several black and whites, glossy, close-angle images of a man I didn’t know. Suddenly, I clenched my jaw, reaching out to snag one of the pictures. It was of Toni. With the guy.

They were sitting in a bar or something.

The look on their faces…it was one of familiarity. My stomach clenched at the expression on her face. She was smiling, the sort of smile someone only gave to a person to whom they were close.

I continued to go through the pictures. In a few of them, I could tell they were trying hard to keep from being overheard, their heads and bodies bent towards each other. When I came to the end, I looked up at Kowalski.

“What is this?” I asked, my gut a tight, ugly snarl.

“I assume you recognize the woman.”

“Get to the point.” Flinging the images down on the desk, I crossed my arms over my chest and waited. My heart was pounding so hard, I almost felt sick. Kowalski had better have a good explanation or I was going to be even more pissed than I already was.

“The man with her is her brother, Victor Gallagher. Are you aware of his…?” Kowalski paused and then forged ahead. “His somewhat checkered past?”