Page 33 of Brazilian Surrender
He leaned toward her, and kissed her hair. “But just in case, I say it’s time to break out those handcuffs and get you tired so I can make sure you’re not a snorer,” he said, his breath fanning her earlobe and sending thrills of arousal through her.
“That’s the second least sexy thing you’ve ever told me in bed.” And she hated herself for not minding one bit.
…
Lee Gibson has gone missing.
Jaeger read the text from Tony. He shoved a couple of items from the bed into his suitcase and closed it. “Camila?” he called.
“Yes?” she shouted from the bathroom, where she had just stepped out of the shower.
Rays of sunshine trespassed through the closed blinds. He’d kept the curtains drawn; the plan to leave the Hamptons early proved more important than ever. Was it a coincidence her best friend had disappeared? I doubt it. “Does Lee ever take off without telling anyone?”
She popped her head out of the bathroom. A towel wrapped her body and another her head. “Nope. Why?”
Jaeger scrolled down the text. “Lee was last seen two days ago. His boyfriend filed a missing person’s report and because of him being well-known, it made it to the news.”
She walked up to him, her face paled. “Lee? Are you serious?”
“He hasn’t been seen for two days. Did he tell you about any upcoming trips he wanted to keep a secret from anyone?”
Her hand flew to her chest. “What? No. Lee isn’t the type who can keep secrets for long.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe this. He can’t go missing. He can’t.”
His stomach contracted. So many times in his job, different events or nuggets of information were pieces of a virtual puzzle. He didn’t know how, but he’d end up mending them together—and in this case, he felt deep in his gut there was a link between her stalker and the disappearance of Lee. “Maybe. We need to find out. Hurry up, we should leave in ten minutes.”
She nodded, and disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
They rushed to say good-bye to her family, Camila giving excuses as to why they couldn’t stay for lunch with the rest of the guests, while he politely nodded and shook hands one last time.
Last time? Probably. What were the chances of him running into any of her family members ever again? They seemed like great people, even her brothers. Though protective, they didn’t brag about their wealth and power, and that Jaeger admired. He’d worked with some entitled sons-of-bitches who inherited money and acted like the world was their playground. Jaeger could tell her family was grounded, successful, but certainly not arrogant.
Yeah…no wonder Camila turned out so great. Maybe that explained why he’d opened up to her the previous night. After the sexy way she worked him with her mouth then laid next to him, she’d gifted him the calm serenity he selfishly got used to. The gift of peace. He’d wanted to give her something in return, to open up even though he shouldn’t. He’d told her about Ellen and his marriage. He’d told her about Trevor…and then relief filled him. When they’d had sex afterward, he toyed with the idea of not using the handcuffs, just once, but part of him still preferred to. He’d needed that last boundary to maintain the rules of their arrangement. Hell, to keep the principles he’d imposed on himself.
“If there is a connection between me and Lee, I’ll never be able to forgive myself if something happened to him,” she said, tears brimming her eyes. “Lee is like family to me.”
“Who else is close to him?”
She cleared her throat, and he could tell she was a second from losing it. When she’d said good-bye to her family, she kept a strong front. But now, as he drove away from the Hamptons and into her uncertain reality…she seemed a lot more nervous. “Zoe.”
“Has she been calling you? When is she supposed to come back in town?”
She reached inside her bag for a facial tissue then wiped the tears falling down her cheeks. “I don’t know…yesterday? Zoe’s scattered.”
“When I told you about placing those cameras in your place, you said you couldn’t get a hold of her.” Something about this missing friend caught his attention, even if he didn’t know exactly why. “Has she been posting on social media lately?”
“No, but her aunt’s sick. I wouldn’t expect her to be all over Twitter.”
“Check her accounts.”
She grabbed her iPhone from her bag and searched for recent posts of her friend on Facebook and Twitter. “Nothing.”
“Something’s not right. It seems like she’s hiding on purpose, and a sick aunt is a great alibi.” He reached for his pocket, fished out his cell phone, and dialed Tony’s number. “Tony, find out where in the world Zoe Callahan is.”
“Will do, Boss.”
“Come in,” said Mark, a tall and lean, well-dressed man. As nicely groomed as he looked, Jaeger didn’t miss the redness under his eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Mark,” Camila said and threw herself into his arms.
