Page 106 of Perfect Order

Then her voice disappears as well.

“No!” I pound the door of the elevator. Fortunately for me, when the doors choose then to open, there’s no one inside. I bound in and jab the button for the first floor as hard as I can.

When I reach the first level, I’m greeted by a cadre of men. I note one of them happens to be my enormous friend from across the hall. He’s shrugging into a suit jacket. “Mr. McCullough, can I give you a ride back to your office? I believe we both have something to discuss with your colleagues.”

I back up a step. “Who the hell are you, and how the hell did you get down before me?”

He shrugs. “Fire escape. Much quicker than the elevator. Besides, I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation.”

“Great. That answers my second question; now how about the first?”

He reaches into his pocket and flips open his wallet before handing it to me. I almost swallow my tongue after realizing exactly who this man is.

His facial expression doesn’t change when he openly declares, “Q?zais mine.”

“The hell she is,” I snarl.

A look of what might be respect crosses his face. “Fair. Now, let’s go find her before she does something stupid to get herself killed.” He holds out his hand for his wallet.

I slap it back into his palm as I move forward. He’s already in stride next to me.

We hit the door at the same time for the darkened SUV that wasn’t there when I arrived.

As we exit the elevator a short time later on the executive floor at Hudson, I feel like every mile we drove from where I last spoke to Leanne is wrong. “I should be with her,” I argue fruitlessly with the large man next to me.

“Your wants, Mr. McCullough, don’t mean much to me. GettingQ?zaback alive does,” he booms.

His voice carries so far, Tony doesn’t have to notify Caleb or Keene of his presence. They both come out of Caleb’s office with Sam, who immediately declares, “Shit.”

Keene demands, “Who the hell are you?”

Sam groans, “Now? Right now?”

The behemoth’s arms cross, straining his suit jacket. “Sam, really? Like you didn’t expect me to show up when I’m tracking one of my people.”

“Thorn, she lost herself. You’re the one who taught her that shit. Not me,” he fires back.

Caleb wades in—bravely in my estimation. “I’ll ask again. You are?”

I answer for him. “His name is Parker Thornton.”

Sam tacks on, “I’ve worked with him for years—as early as when he was a SEAL.”

“And we care about that why?” Keene interjects coolly.

Thorn uncrosses his arms, his stance shifting to one of cocky arrogance. “What neither Sam nor Kane are sharing is I’m also Leanne Miles’s boss.” His lips twist slightly, as he uncaringly unleashes information about Leanne being alive in a roomful of people who may or may not be aware of the situation.

Even on the car ride over, I got the impression quickly Parker Thornton gave up coloring within the lines a while back.

“Do you know where she is?” Caleb demands.

“I have a better idea now, thanks to Mr. McCullough’s persistence.” Thorn’s eyes cut to me. “And now that I have that last piece of my puzzle, it’s time to extract her safely.”

“I agree with that,” I agree grimly.

Thorn gives me a once-over. “Suit up. Weapons, body armor—whatever you think you’ll need. We’re wheels up in an hours.”

“Hold on. No one move. On whose authorization?” Keene demands.