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“How much time?” I ask.

“It depends. I tried tracking her phone, but it’s turned off. If she doesn’t turn it back on, I won’t be able to use it to find her.”

“What about something else? Her car’s GPS?”

“It’s parked in the garage at her house. We’ve already checked, and she’s not there. There’s no indication she’s been home recently, but her luggage was missing.”

“Do we have any other options for tracking her down?” I ask.

“If she’s wearing any kind of GPS device, then I’ll find her. I can triangulate the signal and see where it leads. I asked Max if his mom wears a fitness watch. He said she wears a watch, but he doesn’t know if it’s a smart device or not, so I’m searching databases to see what I can come up with.” Matrix sits back.

“How long will that take?” I ask.

“It could take anywhere from a few hours to a few days, but it’s my top priority.”

“Stay on that until you find her,” Scar says. “This isn’t good. I don’t like the fact that she’s missing. Why would she skip out on a conference and not tell anyone about it?”

“Maybe she’s dead,” Reaper says.

“Why would you say that?” I ask.

“People who go missing either don’t want to be found or they’re dead.” Reaper shrugs his massive shoulders.

My shoulders tense. If she’s dead, Max won’t have any family who can take him in. It’s the worst-case scenario. “What’s going to happen to Max?”

“We can’t make any plans until we can track his mom down,” Scar says. “We need to know where she’s at. If she’s alive and just doesn’t want to deal with her kid anymore, we can get him into the underground system. If she’s dead, he’ll have to go into the underground system anyways. But if she’s alive and in hiding somewhere, she has a decision to make. We need to wait until we talk to her before we do anything with her son. She’s still his mom until she gives up custody.”

The other men nod in agreement.

“Let me know the second you get anything,” Scar says to Matrix.

“Will do, pres.”

“Let’s go get some s’mores,” Scar says.

While the others gather the paper plates and other trash and clean up, Scar and I take the leftover salads into the kitchen. After putting everything away, I turn to Scar.

“Thank you for everything you’re doing for Max and me.”

“It’s what we do.” He slowly moves toward me, sliding his hands up from my waist to cup my cheeks. He lowers his lips to mine and gives me a sultry kiss. My lips open to his, and he sweeps his tongue across mine. I want to drag him into the bedroom, but the others are waiting, so I reluctantly pull away. He smiles down at me. “It’s dangerous to keep a woman from her chocolate. Let’s go get some dessert.”

The kind of dessert I want right now is tucked away in his pants, but that’s off the menu. I don’t know how this night will end, but I hope it’s in his bed. Wanting him this much is madness. I’m slowly going insane. If I don’t get his big, rough hands on me soon, I’m going to burn up faster than a marshmallow over an open flame.

We join the others and spend the next hour lighting marshmallows on fire before mashing them against a piece of chocolate and pressing the whole, gooey mess between graham crackers. My hands are sticky, and I’m pretty sure marshmallows in my hair, but this is the most fun I’ve had in years. I can’t remember the last time I sat under a starry midnight sky.

In a weird way, I wonder if I was destined to be here right now with Scar and Max. Maybe everything in my life was leading up to this exact moment … or maybe I’m just on a massive sugar high and endorphins are rushing through my blood.

I laugh softly.

“What’s so funny?” Scar whispers.

“I haven’t been this happy in a long time.”

“I like seeing you like this. You have a beautiful smile.”

“Thank you.” My cheeks burn, but I don’t think he can see me blushing in the darkness.

“I’m getting tired.” Nina stands and stretches like a cat. “Nitro, please make sure the fire is completely out before you leave it.”