I snorted. “Yes. He’s a thug.”

“He’s a bit more than your typical thug.” Kowalski rubbed his hands together and looked away, obviously taking care with his words. “Now, please understand. I’m not making accusations, but I think it’s just worth…well, knowing. When Victor Gallagher was eighteen, he was arrested on felony drug charges, but testified against the guy he was running for. Word on the street was that the guy was trying to edge into some other family's business, and the kid was setting him up, but things went south. Kid got pinched. His lawyer made a deal, and because the guy wasn't from the neighborhood, the kid testified. He got six months and has been clean ever since. Or, at least, hasn't gotten caught. There have been rumors though.”

“I know about the drug conviction.” I trailed off when the investigator looked back at me. “What is it?”

“One of the things he's been rumored about being into since he got out? It was a kidnapping.”

Chapter 9

Toni

I tried to ignore the ringing of the telephone. It had been ringing off and on for the past twenty minutes.

Maybe longer.

My body had shut down on me, and all it knew or understood was sleep.

If it wasn’t for the fact that I had to pee, I probably would have blissfully ignored the phone indefinitely. I had the kind of brain that let me tune out the things I didn’t need to worry about. A benefit of having grown up in a noisy home. But once my bladder made it known I’d have to get up soon, I slowly and subtly started to drift to wakefulness, even though I ignored even my body’s urgent needs as long as I could.

A few more minutes.

I had my face under a pillow and if I could just have a few more minutes…

Another ring and I yanked the pillow off and lay there, staring up at the ceiling overhead. I wasn’t going to get a few more minutes.

Then the phone stopped and I sighed at the sudden and welcomed silence.

After a quick run to the bathroom, I all but dived into bed and hauled my blankets up. I’d been trying to do too much on too little sleep since Isadora had gone missing. I needed the rest.

Technically, I should have been over at the Lang's house. But Isadora wasn't there. Ash had made it clear that my presence wasn't welcome. I had work that I could do, yes, but I could technically do most of it from here. I didn't think I needed to stress him out more than he already was. I certainly didn't need the added stress of being around him.

My eyes drifted closed and a dreamy lassitude fell over me. I was hovering in that space between sleep and waking when the damn phone started to ring again, the shrill sound of my landline jarring me back into wakefulness.

Slowly, I pushed up onto my elbows and stared across the room at the stupid thing.

Whoever it was, they’d just keep calling and calling…

The idea didn’t help my voice sound any more pleasant when I finally grabbed it.

“This had better be important,” I snapped without bothering with a greeting.

“If it wasn't, do you really think I would've spent forty-five minutes trying to get hold of you?” Ash said his voice cool. There was no doubt it was him. “You sleep like the dead.”

“I spent two hours making up a final I missed, three hours trying to get my schedule set up for summer session, and then another two hours tutoring some punk who reminded me of you. Except he was ten years younger and a whole hell of lot stupider and he thinks he can be a doctor. At least you didn’t try to do that.” Irritation and lack of sleep tended to have a bad effect on my filter – as in, said filter didn’t work. “And it isn't like I've been sleeping well over the past week. What do you want?”

There was a pause. “When are you coming over to work?”

Closing my eyes, I sighed. Was he fucking kidding me? “I’m not. You made it more than clear I’m not wanted there.”

“You have a job to do. If you want to keep working here once Isadora comes home, I suggest you get your cute ass over here.”

The threat in his voice made me roll my eyes. “Your sister adores me and she'd have to fire me before my job disappeared and you know it.”

Wait a minute…had he just called my ass cute?

“I have news about Isadora. Just get here.” A moment later, the phone slammed so loud, I flinched in reaction.

Glaring at the handset I still held, I mumbled, “You could have just said that.”

***

I had gotten ready in record time, only bothering with the bare essentials. My hair was still wet when I left the house, and I twined it into a braid once I was on the subway. I didn’t have time to dry it, but if I let it just dry, I’d regret it. The braid was my best bet. If it made me look about sixteen, oh, well. It was better than the pigtails. Those made me look twelve.

I got to the house on Fifth Avenue in record time and burst inside without knocking. It wasn't until I'd stepped inside that I realized the door had been unlocked.

And the house was oddly silent.

None of the staff were around. I paused to look for Doug. The front door seemed kind of naked without him. I called out his name. Only silence echoed back.

“I gave them the day off,” Ash said from behind me.

I jumped, spinning around to find him standing right behind me. I’d moved farther into the silent house than I realized.

“You scared me to death.”

He lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug.

I frowned. The normal response to that was an apology.

He turned and strode into the large salon to the far right of the elegant foyer. I’d been in the room once or twice, but never for more than a minute. To be honest, I didn’t like it. It was informal and uncomfortable and…stiff. Cold, somehow.

Rather like Ash, I thought.

“Drink?” He looked up at me from the drink service where he was pouring something for himself.

“It’s not even two o'clock,” I pointed out.

“There’s that annoying song…it’s five o’clock somewhere…”

“You're in an odd mood.”

“I am.” He tossed back something that glittered amber in the light, and when he turned to me, I caught sight of his eyes. They were the coldest I’d ever seen them. No heat in them at all. Not even anger.

Slowly, I reached up to rub at my chest. “Please tell me that she hasn’t been…”

“Still nothing.” He gestured toward a seat. “Please.”

I didn’t want to. For some reason, all I wanted to do was get out of there. Fast. But I didn't think that was an option. Slowly, I moved over to one of the stiff-backed chairs and sat down. It was as miserable as it looked.

Ash poured himself another drink and came over to sit down in front of me. He looked like he belonged in that chair.

I held myself tense, uncertain as to what was going on. He gave me a smile that made my stomach turn. It was cold and brittle.

“Ash, what’s going–?”

“Kidnapping, huh? That's your idea of living clean?” He looked at his glass, studying the contents and then tossed it all back before slamming the empty glass down on the table. In a blink, he was in front of me. “Your brother is a fucking kidnapper.”

“No!” What the hell…who had…no. It didn’t matter, because he was wrong, the story was wrong. Victor had stopped a kidnapping. But nobody wanted to listen to him. He was a thug, a convicted dealer just a couple years out of prison, a few steps up from human trash as far as most people were concerned. He hadn't been charged with anything because there hadn't been any evidence, but the rumors had never gone away, even years later.

Ash put his hands on the arms of my chair and leaned down so that his face was only inches from mine. “What have you two been planning behind my back, Toni? How did you make it happen? Did you bribe somebody at Winter to help you get close to my sister?”