One word, but Emmy sounded offhand. Distracted.
“Just ‘okay’?”
“We got chased out of an abandoned factory, which was kind of ironic since it was Blackwood’s people doing the chasing. Those guys need to get in better shape. Probably I should draft a memo. Or get Toby to replace the office biscuits with broccoli again.”
Toby was Emmy’s nutritionist. She often bitched about his rules, but deep down, she liked to stay healthy. That didn’t stop her from hiding candy all over the place though, like the chocolate she habitually left in Alaric’s car. Which was okay in Virginia, but not so good when he drove south to Florida and the damn stuff melted.
“Delegation—an exercise in plausible deniability?”
“Something like that. Are you calling about the flight tomorrow? Because it’ll have to be later rather than earlier. I need to fit in a couple of meetings before I leave, and the Japanese dude can only do the afternoon. Plus the client booked in for eleven never shows up on time.”
“And you put up with that?”
“I bill him top whack for every wasted minute, but since he’s a government guy, he doesn’t seem to care.” Alaric could picture her nonchalant shrug. “I think of it as a deduction on my taxes.” A pause. “Anyhow, tomorrow?”
“Thanks for the offer, but we’ll have to fly commercial later in the week. Something came up.”
“Work? That’s good news.”
“Not exactly. Remember Gemma from the gallery?”
“Ditzy brunette? Too thin?”
“That’s her. She’s disappeared, and Beth’s worried about her. Frankly, I am too.”
“Why?”
Emmy’s curiosity: piqued.
“She left a cryptic voicemail saying she was uncomfortable, then mentioned ‘he’ was coming and said she’d call back.”
“And she didn’t?”
“No, and now her phone’s switched off. Doesn’t look as if she’s been home either.”
“And you want to find her.”
A statement, not a question.
“You know me—I’ve never been able to turn down a damsel in distress.”
“I know you?” Emmy gave a hollow laugh. What was all that about? “Right. Look, I’ll push the flight forward to Wednesday. If you’ve finished damsel-saving by then, give me a shout.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Fine.” Uh-oh. “If you need any input from Blackwood in your hunt for Gemma, give Sloane a call. She’ll sort it out.”
Sloane? Now Alaric was being referred to Emmy’s assistant? Something was wrong, very wrong. Even when he’d returned from his hiatus, she hadn’t pushed him away like this.
“Cinders…”
“I’ll speak to you tomorrow.”
She hung up. She actually hung up on him. Fuck. Now he wasn’t sure which was the bigger problem—Gemma’s vanishing act or Emmy’s stone-cold attitude. Boy, tomorrow promised to be fun.
CHAPTER 37 - BETHANY
“REMEMBER, IF YOU see Ryland, don’t speak to him.”
“I understand.”
I’d understood the first five times Alaric briefed me too. If I recognised Gemma’s boyfriend, I wasn’t to react at all, just carry on with whatever I was doing and tell Alaric at the first opportunity. Honestly, I wasn’t convinced we’d even find him. If he had been involved in Gemma’s disappearance, would he really make it a priority to go to the gym just two days later? And it was morning too. What if he preferred to work out in the afternoon? Or the evening? I clutched the handles of my gym bag tighter, grateful for the energy drink that Alaric had tucked in there before we left Judd’s townhouse. I’d need it. If we didn’t find Ryland today, I foresaw a lot of exercise in my future.
Alaric held open the door to Workout World, his hand on the small of my back as he ushered me through. He did that often—those fleeting touches—but I’d come to realise it didn’t mean much. That was just the way he was. A part of me hated it. The part of me that still wanted more, not all those little teases disguised as chivalry. The other part? Well, I’d take what I could get.
Workout World wasn’t like my regular gym—the front desk was manned by a hairy guy in gym shorts rather than an animatronic mannequin in spandex with D-cups she’d earned by sleeping with a cosmetic surgeon. The mannequin’s teeth had been perfect as well, veneers I doubted she could afford on her salary. Had she screwed Piers too? He’d been a member before our split, and honestly, it wouldn’t have surprised me.
I’d need to find a new gym in a month because I wouldn’t be renewing my own membership—not only was it too expensive now, but I was also sick of the bitchiness. Could Workout World be a viable alternative? Not the Acton branch—that was too far—but I’d checked the website and there was one in Hammersmith. The hairy guy—Wayne, according to his name badge—greeted us with a pleasant smile.
“Haven’t seen you here before. Are you members?”
Alaric took over. “No, but we’re hoping to join.”
Another plus point—the joining fee would be classed as a legitimate work expense. Wayne slid forms towards both of us, and I noticed Alaric didn’t use his real name when he filled his in. Rick McDonald. Hmm. If I worked with Sirius for long enough, could I get an alias too? I’d ditched Fortescue-Hamilton before the ink on the divorce papers was dry, but what I really wanted was a surname without a hyphen. Bethany Althea Margaret Constance Stafford-Lyons was such a mouthful, and it didn’t fit on the form either. Beth Lyons. There, that would have to do.
“We’re short-staffed today,” Wayne told us, sending a smile in my direction. “Hold on a sec.” He waved at a girl heading for the door. “Hey, Kate! Can you watch the desk?”
“I just finished my shift.”
“Five minutes?”
The girl sighed, then nodded. “Five minutes.”
“Thanks, babe.” Wayne turned back to us. “Okay, I can show you around. You’ve used a gym before?”
Yup. We both nodded, and I returned Wayne’s smile. Why was Alaric’s jaw clenched?
“In that case, follow me.”
Workout World was easily three times the size of my current gym, over a hundred stations, half of them full even at ten in the morning. No swimming pool, no juice bar, no tanning beds. The only spa facilities were a sauna and steam room, both packed with half-naked men, although that wasn’t entirely a negative. The tour took fifteen minutes, and then we were on our own.
“Seen any sign of Ryland?” Alaric asked.
“Not yet.” And I’d been looking, believe me, which was slightly awkward because each time I paused my gaze on a man, they either winked, gave me a top-to-toe once-over, or in one particularly unpleasant case, patted me on the shoulder with a giant sweaty paw. If I did venture back into Workout World, I was never making eye contact again. “Now what? Should we hop on a treadmill or something?”
“Yeah, but take it easy. We might be here for a while.”
“I need to put my bag in a locker.”
“Same. I’ll head upstairs to the weights after. You said Ryland was built, right?”