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“Don’t deserve it, then.” He pulls me into one of those half arm-wrestling handshakes brothers do. “Call me the second you need anything.”
Patton fakes a yawn beside me. “Don’t call me. We’ve got an early morning with Arlo, big karate tournament here.”
“He’ll kill it. What’s he up to now, third degree black belt?” I smile at the little boy, who’s already passed out on his dad’s shoulder.
“If anything comes up, call anyway,” Salem says. “I’ll make sure his phone stays on.”
“Hey!” Patton protests. “You can’t make promises when a guy needs his beauty sleep.”
“I can and I will.” She lowers her voice ominously. “He’s your brother and heneedsyou.”
“I’m right here,” I say dryly. “Kindly pray for me if I need help from this bozo.”
Salem gives me a knowing smile.
“Don’t be a stranger, Uncle Archer,” Arlo pipes up, suddenly awake and rubbing his eyes.
Everybody laughs.
“Right. Now get lost, all of you,” I say.
They’ve done enough for one night, coming over here and keeping me company until it’s almost midnight.
I wait for them all to leave before trying Winnie’s number again, breathing around the worry in my throat.
Just like before, there’s nothing on the other end.
That boulder of worry snowballs into a mountain.
As if on cue, another call comes in, this time from Higher Ends’ head of security. She’s a newer hire after our old guy retired, just brought on a couple weeks ago.
Janine, I think. Frowning, I swipe to take the call.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Rory? I’m sorry to disturb you so late, sir.”
“It’s fine, Janine. What’s going on?”
“We’ve been barraged with calls at The Cardinal from a young lady in Springfield who insists on speaking with a Miss Winnie Emberly. She wouldn’t let our manager off the line until he promised we’d try to contact you personally. She believes you can help her. Miss Emberly’s name comes up in the system as a guest, so I told her I would forward her number to you.”
Holy flaming shit.
Springfield, huh? I’m instantly suspicious, knowing how Winnie’s family treats her, but Janine said ‘young lady.’
Winnie never mentioned a sister or nosy cousin or anything.
I close my eyes and press the phone to my forehead before answering, my voice husky. “Yes, send the number along. Right now. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, sir. Again, my apologies for bothering you this late.”
“Don’t apologize, Janine. Just enjoy the bonus on your next paycheck.”
She’s smart enough to leave it there.
We keep a security help desk open twenty-four hours in case there’s an emergency at our properties. If this is a clue about Winnie’s whereabouts, I don’t care if nothing comes up for a year—it will have paid for itself ten times over.
My phone buzzes with a text as the number comes through and I call it immediately. A slightly sleepy voice answers.