Page 18 of The Kiss that Captured a Billionaire (Heart & Soul #2)

Eleven

An hour later, Theo walked beside Nikos toward the private entrance of the penthouse. He was thinking about how quickly he could get Mimi on the phone, about the arrangements that would need to be made—when Nikos stopped abruptly.

“What is it?”

Nikos’s gaze swept the space, his frown deepening. “Where are her shoes? They were here when I came in.”

The question hit like a blow. Theo’s stomach turned to stone. Her purse, shoes, and shawl were gone.

He cursed, strode down the hall, and pushed open the bedroom door.

The sight of her clothes gone—the bed made—hit harder than any hostile takeover. Rose wasn’t just gone, it was like she’d erased herself, and their night together.

An icy thread of dread wound through his spine.

Behind him, Nikos’s voice was low but pointed. “Do you think she could have overheard us?”

Theo bowed his head, closed his eyes, and visualized the scene from earlier. Despair rose inside him as his gaze locked on his office door.

If she’d been standing close enough… if she’d heard everything?—

“ Gamóto! ” Damn it! The curse tore from him as the truth twisted his stomach. “She heard us… and she’s gone.”

Theo’s jaw flexed. He yanked his phone out of his pocket and called the front desk.

The concierge answered promptly. “Good morning, Mr. Kallistratos.”

“A young woman, early-twenties, wearing a pale blue dress—did you see her leave?”

“Yes, sir. She exited about forty-five minutes ago.”

Theo ended the call, shoving the phone into his pocket with another muttered curse. The coil of frustration inside him twisted tighter.

“I don’t even have her number,” he said flatly, as if admitting a tactical oversight in a deal.

“I’ve got her friend Kerry’s,” Nikos offered.

Theo took it without hesitation, already punching in the digits. The call rang once—twice—before dropping into voicemail.

“Kerry, this is Theo Kallistratos,” he said, his voice hard-edged with control he didn’t feel. “It’s urgent you call me back. It’s about Rose.”

He hung up and strode toward the door. Nikos fell into step beside him.

“She’ll go back to the theatre—it’s the only place she feels safe. I have to reach her before she decides I’m a bigger bastard than she already thinks I am.”

They exited the penthouse, the elevator doors sliding shut with a metallic finality that only sharpened the pressure in his chest.

She has to listen, he thought with a growing sense of panic. I’m not letting her walk out of my life. Not without a fight.

Rose zipped the last pocket of her backpack and exhaled a slow, shaky breath. Everything she owned worth taking fit inside it. Her carry-on held the keepsakes she couldn’t leave—programs, her grandfather’s watch, old letters, her grandmother’s scarf, and on top, a photo of the two of them smiling.

Her fingers lingered on the glass, tracing the lines of his familiar face.

You’d know what to do, Pop. She blinked against the sting in her eyes. You always did.

She zipped the carry-on before she walked over to the kitchenette table.

She placed an envelope addressed to Mimi on it.

The letter inside was short: she quit, and she was gone.

Beside it, she placed the theatre keys, the cold metal feeling heavier than they should in her palm before she let them go.

By the time Kerry arrived, Rose had her coat on and was tightening the straps of her backpack. Kerry didn’t ask questions. She just crossed the small space in two strides and wrapped her in a hug that smelled faintly of coffee and floral shampoo.

Rose tried for a smile, but it wavered at the corners. “I’m ready.”

Kerry gave a small nod, her eyes warm but shadowed with unspoken concern. “Robby’s waiting at the loading dock. He’ll swing me by my place, but he’s eager to get on the road.”

“Thank you.” Her voice was thick. “I’ll explain everything… I just can’t right now.”

“You don’t have to,” Kerry said softly, giving her hand a squeeze that was both a promise and a lifeline. “I’ve got your back. So does Robby.”

Rose swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. Kerry picked up the carry-on and together they slipped out through the back.

The chilly morning air hit her cheeks as they stepped onto the loading dock. Robby stood by the idling truck, leaning against the door with his arms crossed. His eyes softened when he saw her.

“Hey, it’s good to meet you finally,” he said simply, taking the bags from them without another word. He placed them in the back of the truck while she and Kerry climbed in the cab.

Minutes later, the truck was rumbling through the thin, early-morning traffic. New York slid past in a blur of gray and gold, the sun just starting to edge over the skyline.

When Robby pulled up in front of Kerry’s apartment, Rose climbed out so her friend could slide from the cab. Kerry caught her in another hug, holding on tight.

“Promise me you’ll call when you can.”

Rose nodded, the motion small.

Kerry’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I’m assuming this has to do with the billionaire.”

“He turned out to be a toad, not a prince,” she said, the words brittle. “Better to find out before I fell in love.”

She knew Kerry could see through the lie. It was there in the way her friend’s eyes softened, in the way she pressed her lips together but didn’t call her out.

“Stay strong,” Kerry said firmly. “Keep in touch. And if the toad calls, I’ll tell him to hop straight into a boiling pot.”

A reluctant, strained laugh escaped Rose. “Deal.” She hugged Kerry one last time, breathing her in like she might never see her again, then climbed back into the truck.

The city faded behind them within minutes, swallowed by the highway. Rose stared out the window, her heart aching with each passing mile, Theo’s betrayal slicing through the thorny wall she’d always used to protect her heart.

Her fingers drifted to her throat before she remembered—there was no locket there anymore. Theo had taken it. Her vision blurred, but she blinked the tears back. She had other pictures of her parents. She’d make a new locket.

Her hand slipped to her left arm, rubbing absently over the birthmark beneath the sleeve of her coat. She focused on the steady motion, grounding herself in the feel of the knit and the muted hum of the road beneath the truck tires.

Time and distance, that was the cure. Time for the wound to scab and distance to keep Theo Kallistratos from ever finding me again.

She kept her eyes fixed on the horizon until the skyline disappeared completely, willing her heart to harden. This was her fresh start—and she’d burn every bridge to keep it.

Three days.

Three infuriating, sleepless, gut-twisting days since Rose had vanished without a trace. From the moment she slipped out, he’d been ready to strangle himself for letting her get away. Now the frustration had hardened into a gnawing impatience.

Her friend Kerry had been no help.

When Kerry had finally answered one of his calls, she’d greeted him in a tone dripping with false sweetness: ‘Why don’t you jump in a pot of boiling water—oh, and while you’re at it, drop dead. I can put the pot on the stove if you’d like.’

Then she hung up and blocked his number.

Nikos had laughed for a solid thirty seconds when Theo told him. Theo didn’t think it was nearly as funny.

Mimi had eventually, reluctantly, given up Rose’s phone number. Not that it mattered—every call went straight to voicemail. Every message, unanswered.

He stood at the window now, his jaw tight, the city sprawling endlessly beneath him. He had London and Paris meetings he should have been attending this week, but Nikos had handed those off to his twin, Markos, so he could stay here and focus on what actually mattered—finding Rose.

The sound of the office door opening pulled him from his thoughts. Nikos strolled in like a man returning from a holiday, not three days of hunting a missing woman.

“What have you found?” Theo asked.

Nikos held up a folder. “Special delivery.”

Theo pivoted, his hand snapping out to take it. Inside, a neatly clipped report waited. His eyes landed on the heading, his pulse thudding harder as he flipped it open.

DNA Results.

The breath he pulled in was slow and deliberate, as though steadying himself before a fight.

The familiar ache of anticipation tightened in his chest. A sample of Rose’s blood, taken when she nicked her finger in the kitchen and discarded her Band-Aid before her shower, had been enough to confirm what he already knew in his bones—Rose was Livia’s daughter.

He closed his eyes for a moment, his head bowed over the file. The proof should have brought him peace. Instead, it brought fire—because the woman he’d betrayed was the very one he’d been searching for all along.

When he looked up again, Nikos was lounging in the chair opposite him, legs stretched out like a man without a care in the world and a smug smile pulling at his mouth.

“What the hell are you so happy about? This doesn’t change the fact that she’s disappeared,” Theo asked, his tone sharper than intended.

Nikos nodded toward the folder. “Keep reading.”

Theo’s brow furrowed as he turned the page—and froze.

A grainy traffic cam image stared back at him, a box truck caught mid-frame.

The words Evans Classic Furniture were stenciled across the side in bold script, along with a colorful design that looked like custom-made furnishings. A phone number and location: Nebraska.

“What does this have to do with Rose?” he demanded.

Nikos stretched his arms overhead, catlike, and grinned. “Kerry’s last name is Evans.” He jabbed a finger toward the picture. “That’s her brother’s business. He owns a custom furniture store outside of Omaha. That shot was taken three days ago, right outside Kerry’s apartment.”

Theo’s fingers tightened around the page. “Where’s the rest?”

“Ah,” Nikos drawled, the sound stretching like he had all the time in the world. “Go on. Turn the page. You’ll like this.”

Theo did—and his breath caught. Another image, this one clearer, closer. Two women embracing on the sidewalk. One of them—hair falling over her shoulder, face tilted up in a sad smile—was Rose.

Nikos leaned back, utterly pleased with himself. “Cost us a couple VIP tickets to the club and the promise of a blind date with the traffic controller’s sister, but if it works out, it was worth it.”

Theo’s eyes never left the photograph. “Can we prove she left with him?”

Nikos’s grin faltered into something more sheepish. He sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“I might have… encouraged a friend to make a call.”

Theo gave him a flat look.

“Sherry Contessa. You know—the more dangerous twin.”

Theo groaned.

“She pretended to be from the theatre,” Nikos went on, far too casually. “Called Robby Evans’s mother and asked if Rose was there yet. Belinda Evans said they should be arriving by tomorrow. Sherry said she’d call back in a few days.”

Theo’s breath hissed out. His eyes glittered with purpose as he reached for his phone.

“Schedule me a flight to Omaha,” he told his PA when she answered. “And arrange transportation.”

He’d barely ended the call when his phone pinged. A message from Lorenzo.

Did you receive the report?

“Lorenzo already knows?” he asked, standing when Nikos stood.

Nikos shrugged. “The minute you asked for the DNA test, he suspected you'd found her. He’s impatient to meet her. By the way, I’ll meet you at the airport,” Nikos added.

Theo raised a brow. “Why?”

“Because until you get Rose on a plane to Greece, you’re not out of the woods,” Nikos replied with a laugh.

Theo’s lips curved despite himself. “Fair point.”

“Plus, Markos and I have a bet,” Nikos called over his shoulder as he left.

“About what?”

Nikos’s grin was pure Cheshire Cat—smug, knowing, infuriating. “Which one of you admits you’re in love first.”

Theo chuckled quietly as Nikos lifted a hand in farewell before he strolled out the door. Theo shook his head. He already knew who would admit it first—him.

If Rose gives me a chance , he thought ruefully.

His lips curved when his phone pinged again. Lorenzo was impatient. His grin sharpened as he lifted the phone to his ear.

Everything revolved around Rose. And this time, he wasn’t letting her slip through his fingers.

“Lorenzo, you received the report,” he greeted.