Page 7 of A Midnight Romance

River

“ T hat’s interesting.” I nod, taking all the information in from my secure landline.

My mind works overtime learning as much as I can about Lux. There’s a force motivating her to keep going and I’m determined to figure out what it is.

“I’m sending over all the documents. You should have them any minute now,” Christian, my FBI contact, tells me.

His hacking skills, combined with TI technology, has been instrumental with each one of our missions.

His father used to work with mine and Sebastian’s parents while they collaborated on government contracts overseas.

“I almost lost my shit when I saw her dad is the homicide lieutenant.”

“Yeah, I’m still in shock,” I say, pulling up our secure email server. As I tuck my phone between my ear and shoulder, I scroll through the first few pages. “Thank you, Christian.”

“You know you can always count on me.”

“You’re the best,” I mumble, scanning through the documents.

“So, outside of this woman, what are we working on next?” he asks.

In his own rogue nature, his participation in what we do is limited, but I believe it’s driven by the guilt he still holds from his father’s participation in the job that cost my parents their life.

But whether he is willing to admit it, his own cravings for the hunt hasn’t manifested into something big enough for him to get his hands dirty .

“You know Andrew Hughes, the hotel heir, we’ve been watching?”

Papers rustle in the background. “Yeah?”

“Well, he’s part of an operation a little bigger than I thought,” I tell him, shoving Lux’s information into the top drawer of my desk. I’ll get back to her later.

“Go on.”

“There’s a group of men who appear to be mimicking the college sex ring from two decades ago.

” I slump into my chair, glancing out over the ocean through the panoramic windows in my office.

The night sky is black and welcoming, which means I have an hour left until midnight—the time I come alive.

The urge to escape the manor and head into the city streets intensifies by this time.

If I’m not on the hunt, I’m usually chasing the next one.

And with uncovering Andrew’s sex operation, I’m foaming at the mouth to get my hands on him.

“I’ll need their names,” he states, preparing to dive into what he does best.

“Andrew Hughes, Nolen Pierce, and Richard Smith,” I name them off, aware that Christian will unearth everything we need to know about them to help us expect their next move the moment we end our call. “Oh, and Duncan Jones.”

He blows out an audible breath, the sound of his rapid typing filtering through the phone. “That’s a random bunch of guys.”

My eyebrows raise with the same thought I had when Hughes introduced them to me last weekend. “Right?”

“I’ll see what I can find,” he tells me, and if I had to place a bet, I’d say he’s about to pull an all-nighter.

“River?” Aunt Mae calls on the intercom through the entire house.

She’s lived with Sebastian and I since we were kids.

Then when we built the manor, it only made sense for her to come with us then too.

Now she manages the manor and our daily calendars, including my obligations with Thompson Innovation.

“Wonderful. Talk soon.” I end the call before answering Mae. “Yes?”

“Ben is about to head home for the night. He wants to review the meals for next week with you,” she informs me.

“I’ll be right there.” Getting out of my seat, I walk over to the wall where computer screens cover every inch of it.

Typically it usually only displays the other rooms in my house and the outside of my twenty-three-acre compound, I focus on the few new feeds I have become captivated by and realize she’s not asleep yet.

Although I was unaware of Lux’s nocturnal habits before I began watching her a week ago, I’m positive now she sleeps all day and stays awake at night. A behavior I’ve been familiar with for most of my life.

At first, she tries to fall asleep, but ends up tossing and turning for hours, until she gives up.

I examine every inch of her body as she lies on her side with one leg under the blankets, the other resting on top. Her shorts ride high, exposing a smooth, toned thigh.

Blinking a few times, I pull myself away to leave as to not get trapped staring at her from my office all night. Walking through the house on the main level, I head right into the kitchen to find Mae, Ben, and Sebastian gathered around the large island, looking at printouts of meal options.

“River,” Ben greets. “I won’t take too much of your time.” Ben’s worked here for years and has learned my taste in food, but still insists on me approving the menu.

“How are the wife and kids?” I ask, rounding the island.

“Great as always.” He smiles.

“These look good,” I tell him, looking over the options laid out on the granite countertop .

Ben glances at Mae and they exchange a look, before she faces Sebastian. “Is there anything you’d like to change, dear?”

“Nah, you know I’m easy, Aunt Mae,” he replies, his attention fixated on the phone clutched in his hands.

“Fabulous. Everything is already cleaned up, I’m going to head home for the night.” Ben gathers his laptop and notebook before turning to exit the kitchen.

“Thank you, Ben,” I call out.

Mae wraps an arm around me as Sebastian lowers his phone and hooks an arm around her. “Okay, I’m going to bed. I will see you two in the morning.”

I lean in to kiss her cheek. “Sleep well.”

Sebastian gives her a tight squeeze before she slips from our embrace, but before she turns in for the night, she focuses her attention on me. “Oh, and River, the board confirmed for the next bimonthly meeting.”

“Yes, I saw you add it to my calendar.” I nod, acknowledging the next meeting I need to check in with Thompson Innovations.

“Don’t forget to—”

“Promise, I won’t,” I toss back as she waves us off and heads toward the south wing, her personal space on the property.

Once Sebastian and I are alone, he tucks his phone into the front pocket of his pants. He glances up at me with a questioning look on his face, and I have a feeling I know what he’s about to ask me, but I won’t admit it. Some aspects of my life I’m not willing to discuss.

“What is it?”

“Where are you going tonight?” he asks with an accusatory tone. Sebastian’s the only person who knows me almost as well as I know myself, and sometimes that can be a bad thing.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I challenge, narrowing my gaze .

“I’m not stupid,” he quips. “You can’t keep anything from me.”

I scoff at him off, and start to walk away, hoping to create distance from his probing.

“River.”

“I don’t want to hear it, Sebastian,” I grit out, losing my patience with his persistence. By the time I make it back to my office, my cousin is hot on my heels.

“You’ve been to her house every night this week. She’ll figure out you’ve been watching her.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” I sneer, shoving my hands into the front pocket of my pants, keeping my focus trained on her on the screens in my office. She’s still not asleep.

Sebastian comes to stand at my side. “We dropped her off and now it’s time to return to business.”

“She isn’t sleeping,” I tell him.

He rolls his eyes, huffing with frustration. “I told you we shouldn’t have installed those cameras in her house. You’re becoming obsessed.”

“I only want to make sure she’s fine,” I say, staring as she flips around and stares at the ceiling above with an arm tucked behind her neck.

I can tell she isn’t scared because she’s attempting to return to her daily activities.

I glance over at him and give him a pointed look. “And I am not obsessed .”

Sebastian cocks his head. “Sure, keep telling yourself that.”

I ignore him, turning my attention back on the screen as I hear him take a seat at my workstation.

Lux holds herself with a confidence I haven’t seen in previous people we’ve helped and I’d be lying to myself if I said I wasn’t attracted to her.

“We’ve been doing this for years. You and I have helped and rescued a lot of women, none of whom have shown up at their house every night to guard them.” He pauses. “Let alone install cameras in their homes to watch them like a creep.”

I whip around and find him leaning back on my chair, with his shoes resting on the glass top.

“First, get your fucking boots off my desk,” I warn, the sight of dirt from the bottom of his shoes near my keyboard irks me.

He immediately brings them to the floor with a huffed laugh, his hands raised in mock surrender.

“And like I’ve told you a million times already, there’s something different about her. ”

“What do you mean?” he asks, resting his elbows over my desk, his hands clasped under his chin.

Breaking my gaze away from the screens, I stalk over to him and grab the dull yellow folder from I tucked it earlier, dropping it in front of him. “Here.”

“What’s this?” he asks, flipping it open to the first page, which has a copy of her driver’s license. “Other than the fact that she’s pretty, I don’t see your point.”

Leaning over him, I grab my phone and swipe up to the notes I collected at 2 a.m. the other night while sitting in my car, parked outside her townhouse. “She’s a crime author who writes under a pen name.”

“And?”

“Her dad is a homicide lieutenant,” I add, waiting for him to connect the dots.

Sebastian suddenly sits up straight when it finally registers. “Is that why she didn’t want to be there when the cops showed up?”

“That’s my guess.” I lean a hip against my desk and continue.

“And get this, the books she writes are inspired by some of the biggest homicide cases in the Pacific Northwest.” I press my palm against the stack of documents in front of us.

“I spoke with Christian earlier and he sent me everything he has on her.”

“Now, I’m intrigued,” he says, bringing two fingers to his chin. “Do you think she’s somehow connected to the ring, and that’s why they took her? Like, they know who her dad is?”

“I’m not sure yet what their exact motive was, or if they knew her father is part of law enforcement.”

“Or she was a random woman?” Sebastian folds his arms across his chest.

“Could be,” I agree. “Christian is working on discovering more about Hughes, so hopefully we can determine a better motive than their desire to get back at women in general.”

“I also think you wanted more information about the woman from the cabin, as well.”

“Lux,” I correct him using her name.

The corner of his mouth quirks. “Yes.”

I sigh. “Fine. You’re right. I also wanted it for myself. Happy now?”

“Not until you say it.”

I roll my eyes, annoyed that he’s putting me on the spot like a young kid with a crush. “I think she’s attractive, but there’s more to her story. I know it.”

“And I bet you’re going to make it your mission to find out?”

I push off the glass edge and toward the door of my office.

“The rest of the men are still out there. If they discover she’s still alive, they could capture her again.

” I’m surprised by my desire to protect her.

Have I somehow made it my responsibility?

What makes her so different? “It’s about keeping her safe. ”

Sebastian rises to his feet. I’m prepared for him to continue to push back, but he doesn’t. He might be concerned, but he lets it go. “You’re right.” His eyes flicker to the camera displaying Lux’s bedroom. “And we’ve only sunk our teeth into how to bring these guys down. ”

“Exactly,” I agree.

This project will be the biggest and most complex one we’ve ever undertaken. Lone wolves are never a match for my team, but taking on a group of sick fucks will be a challenge.

Sebastian rubs the back of his neck, absorbing the information I’ve just told him. “When will Christian have another update?”

“He said in a few days,” I inform him, gesturing for him to follow me out the door.

“Going to her house?” he asks, even though he already knows the answer.

“Yes.”

Once we’re out of my office, I turn to set the security system attached to it.

“Still don’t trust me with your office?”

“I trust you with everything,” I reply. “But I don’t allow anyone in here without me. You know that.”

Sebastian has his own study, almost identical to mine, in the West Wing of the house. He wants access to this one because it belongs to me. Similar to what you might see in sibling rivalry as we did grow up like brothers.

He huffs. “I don’t need your space, anyway.”

“Sure,” I say with a quick shake of my head before stepping into the elevator that leads to the underground garage. “I’ll be back in the morning.”

He waves me off as the metal doors close.

Anxious to keep watch over her, I entertain thoughts of teasing her with my presence on my way to her house.