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“Thank you for the help. It made things a lot easier.” Linnie patted Merrick’s arm. “Same goes for you, big guy. Go get some sleep. God willing, she’s going to be touring Dreamland for a few hours yet.”

God was never willing, he thought dourly. He jerked his thumb at the chair in the corner. “I’ll catch a nap.”

Linnie puffed herself up to her full five-foot-six and folded her arms over her chest. She might have been formidable if not for the glasses sliding down her nose, making her look adorable. “Merrick, don’t make me ban you. You were working all night, and then got dragged into this drama. I know you’re on shift today, and you need rest. Besides, I’d feel better if you’d escort Violet back to her cabin; it’s not safe for her to be wandering around on her own in the snow.”

Several reasons to protest came to mind, but Merrick reminded himself the girl wasn’t really his responsibility. He’d found her, taken care of her until the professional took over, and that was the extent of his duty to her.

Being stuck to her side wasn’t helpful, neither was nurturing a dependency on him.

In all likelihood, Grit would find a report from one of the local police departments and have her reunited with loved ones before the sedatives wore off.

Pushing away the memory of her hand fisting desperately in his shirt, he nodded. “Of course. Can’t have you getting lost in the snow and being kidnapped by the abominable snowman,” he said to Violet. “The bosses wouldn’t be happy.”

“Your concern is touching, Merrick.” Violet yawned again.

Feeling like a bastard, he set his hand lightly on the little owl’s arm, squeezing gently. He wished she’d wake long enough to give him one last look at those beautiful, tawny eyes, but that was just a selfish whim; she was better where she was, floating in sleep, away from the pain. “If I don’t see you again, darlin’, good luck.”

“I’ll take care of her,” Linnie assured him.

That wasn’t in question. Unfortunately, the questions he did have were unlikely to ever get answers, especially if Grit worked his investigative magic to send her home. The smart choice was to walk away and not look back.

Offering his arm to Violet, he did just that.

*

It was almost seven by the time he guided Violet through three inches of snow to her cabin and made it to his own bed. He slid onto cool sheets, burrowed under the covers, and fell asleep with a pair of brown eyes flecked with gray and green haunting him.

When his phone trilled with an alarm, he reached out and dragged his fingers over the screen to snooze it. The incessant noise stopped, much to his relief, only to start again almost immediately.

Not an alarm, he thought with only half his brain engaged.

Groaning, he grabbed the offensive device, tempted to throw it through the window so it sank in the snow outside. Instead, without checking the screen, he swiped his thumb to the right to accept the call. “’Lo.”

“Merrick.”

He groaned again, recognizing Elias’s voice. There was no mistaking the classy British bastard’s voice. He muttered something like, “What the fuck time is it?”

“A little after ten. Sorry to wake you, I know you had a busy night.” Eli sighed softly. “We have a situation, Merrick.”

It wasn’t the words but the grim tone that woke him fully. Eli sounded grim quite often, probably due to the damn accent, but something told Merrick to sit up and listen very fucking carefully. “The girl.”

“Yes, the girl.” A solid thread of steel slammed into Eli’s voice now. “Linnie alerted us to the events of last night a couple of hours ago. Several hours,” he added with a dominant edge, “too late. A breach of security of this magnitude should have been reported to us immediately, Merrick.”

He winced and scrubbed a hand over his face. “In our defense, Eli, we had our hands full. Grit’s head of security; he had things under control from the start. She wasn’t a threat to anyone; there was no point waking you up at stupid o’clock when the matter was handled until morning.”

“Yes, well, things change. She’s gone.”

Merrick bolted upright, ignoring the twinge in his back as overworked, underused muscles complained. “What the hell do you mean,she’s gone?”

“Linnie called this morning to update us. When she returned to check on her patient, the girl was awake and panicking. She ripped the IV out before Linnie could get a sedative in her, somehow yanked the catheter out, and knocked Linnie on her ass. By the time the doctor regained her feet, the girl was gone.”

Fuck, fuck,fuck. Barely containing the roar ofI fucking told you so, Merrick swung his legs out of bed, switched the call to speakerphone, and began dressing a lot faster than he’d undressed just a few hours ago. “How long?”

“Approximately ninety minutes.”

“And you’re just calling menow?”

A beat of silence. “Should I have done so sooner?”