Bidder - An Auctioned to the Billionaire Romance (Criminal Passions Book 2) Read online

  The visit done with, he hurried back to his car and checked the time. Ten. Surely, Terri was awake.

  Putting through a call to her new cell, he maneuvered into traffic. After a handful of rings, the standard robotic voicemail that came with all numbers picked up.

  Logan frowned and tried again. Still no answer.

  His pulse picked up. Maybe she was in the shower. Or she’d left her phone upstairs while she went down to the kitchen.

  He tried Kim, who typically showed up to work around eight. But she didn’t answer her phone either.

  At this point, his heart was racing. He tried not to think about Bryce having paid a visit to his house.

  The alarm would have gone off, he told himself. Unless, of course, Bryce—or someone he’d sent—had tricked Kim or Terri. Pretended to be a delivery driver or something.

  Logan’s mouth went dry, and his clammy palms slipped on the steering wheel. He urged the car forward, taking it a few more dangerous miles past the speed limit. While he drove, he tried both phones again. Still nothing.

  Every expletive he knew left his lips. If only he lived on the kind of street where he could call a neighbor to check on his house. But his neighborhood wasn’t small-town, white picket fence Americana. People built their walls high and minded their own business.

  He could check the home’s security feed on his phone, but he hadn’t actually ever tapped in on that device and the fiddling to figure it out would require precious time that he didn’t have. Not even a minute could be wasted, because that could turn out to be the minute that Terri needed him.

  By the time he finally reached the house, he could have sworn his heart was about to burst from anxiety. Jamming the code into the keypad, he tore rubber up the driveway. Instead of parking in the garage like he usually did, he stopped the car in front of the main entrance.

  In two seconds flat, he was out of the car and in the foyer.

  “Terri? Kim?” The house rang with an eerie quiet.

  Gulping, he took a slow step toward the kitchen. Maybe shouting wasn’t the best idea. He’d be broadcasting his location to anyone who might have broken into the house.

  His hands curling into fists ready for a fight, he surveyed the kitchen. Veggies were lined on the counter, some pantry groceries behind them. It looked like Kim had unpacked her morning haul but not gotten any further.

  Heart climbing up his throat, he quietly stepped across the kitchen. Reaching the breakfast table in the corner, he noticed the back sliding door was unlocked.

  Logan reached for his phone but found his pocket empty. He’d left it in the car. There’d be no calling the police unless he abandoned his hunt for the women.

  A splash caught his attention. Stepping up to the sliding door, he saw a head bobbing in the swimming pool. As he stood transfixed at the door, Terri breast stroked the width of the pool. Instead of using the ladder, she planted her hands on the ground and hauled herself from the water.

  A tiny, red bikini made his stomach flop and heat shoot through his body. Padding from the pool, water dripping from her hair, she grabbed a towel from one of the chairs. It was then that she caught his eye.

  Logan cleared his throat and stepped through the door, ashamed at being caught watching her. Not that he was watching watching her. He’d only been there for a moment.

  Or two.

  “You didn’t answer your phone,” he said.

  Terri dropped the towel back on the chair. He kind of wished she wouldn’t. He’d been distracted enough already.

  “It’s upstairs,” she said.

  He folded his arms across his chest. Now that he’d found her safe and sound, fear had transformed into anger.

  “I thought something had happened to you. Remember the whole reason behind you staying here? It’s to keep you safe.”

  Yep. That was the whole reason. The only reason. It had nothing—absolutely nothing—to do with him wanting to keep her close for personal satisfaction.

  Terri planted a hand on her hip, the look on her face forecasting an oncoming hurricane.

  “And that means that when you say ‘jump’ I say ‘how high?’”

  “No, it means—”

  She cut in, having barely paused to take a breath. “You know, you expecting that I answer my phone to you immediately feels a lot like you… what’s the term?” She pressed a finger to her chin, pretending to think. “Oh, yeah. Like you think you owe me.”

  She finished with a scowl that managed to be both infuriating and sexy as hell.

  Logan took a deep breath. This fight could go on forever. She definitely had the stamina for it. Which meant that he needed to go ahead and end it.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I was concerned.”

  Her hand dropped from her hip. For a second, she looked at a loss for words. Then, “Oh.”

  “Where’s Kim? You met her, right?”

  “Yeah. She had to run back to the grocery store. Said she forgot to get coffee filters.”

  “Good.” He raked his fingers through his hair, wondering if he’d overreacted.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t answer my phone.” Terri wrapped the towel around herself and went to the edge of the pool, where she settled with her feet in the water.

  “I might have…” He shrugged. “I was worried.”

  “Where did you go?”

  He moseyed closer to her, hands in his pockets. Like often seemed the case when he was around her, he didn’t know what to do with his hands. It felt like they needed to be on something—or on someone.

  “I went into town to see if I could get any info on Bryce.”

  She frowned. “What kind of info?”

  “Anything at all that might help us. All I found out is that he’s currently in Chicago.”

  “Why didn’t you ask me to come with?”

  He hesitated. The option hadn’t even occurred to him.

  “I want to be in on this, Logan. It’s my case, too.”

  “Are we detectives now?” He’d meant for it to be a joke, but she didn’t so much as smile.

  “I would have gone.”

  “It’s probably not best for us to be prancing around Chicago right now. If Bryce doesn’t know we’re together, then that’s one point for our side.”

  “Yeah,” she said glumly.

  “Have you talked to your brother?”

  “He’s in meetings till eleven, and then we have a date to talk on the phone. I’m going to ask him to meet me in person today, and then I’ll tell him everything.”

  Goosebumps erupted across Logan’s skin. “Okay,” he said, a simple answer for a complicated situation.

  He started to turn for inside, but her voice stopped him.

  “It’s sweet that you were concerned.”

  He lowered his head, fighting a smile. “Yeah, well… I can’t lose my investigative partner, you know.”

  She was quiet. He turned around to gauge her reaction, but right as he did, she dove into the pool with a loud splash.

  Chapter 15

  Terri

  She didn’t stay in the pool long. The water wasn’t as warm as she’d hoped, and the impending phone call had her feeling antsy. Padding upstairs, she entered the guest bedroom after spotting no signs of Logan and took a shower.

  Though she’d felt one hundred percent confident about the plan when she hatched it, ever since then doubt had slowly but steadily crept in. There was the chance that Charlie would insist on not only going after Bryce and the trafficking ring, but Logan as well.

  She hadn’t shared this fear with Logan, of course. Hopefully, it was nothing more than that. A simple, irrational worry.

  Fresh from the shower, she rifled through her backpack and found a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt. She’d packed as light as possible for her trip. It would have been nice to stop by her apartment and get some things, but there came a certain risk with that.

  Maybe she could order some things online and have them shipped to Logan’s hous
e. Which brought to mind her bank accounts. She’d called and canceled her stolen cards, and it was in doing so that she’d found out exactly how little money she had left.

  Traveling around the world wasn’t cheap. Not even when done as frugally as possible. She’d need to start thinking about a job soon. Trouble was, she had no idea what she wanted to do.

  Paralegal work had been fulfilling sometimes, but it had mostly been boring. The idea of going back to it made her feel sick.

  Right as she finished dabbing on some light makeup, her phone rang. Picking it up, she sat cross legged on the bed.

  “Hey,” she answered.

  “Hey.” Charlie sounded a little breathless, like he’d been rushing down the street or up a flight of stairs. Either seemed likely with him.

  “Can we meet in person today? There’s something really important I need to tell you about.”

  He was quiet for a long moment. “Of course. Everything okay?”

  “Yes. How about that coffee shop near that home decor store? You know where we got my end tables?”

  “Sure. How soon can you be there?”

  “Um.” She bit her lip. “I think thirty minutes.”

  Maybe. She hadn’t really paid attention when Logan had brought her to his house the night before.

  “See you then.”

  They hung up, and it occurred to her she had no way of getting into town. Her car still sat in a month-to-month parking garage.

  “Logan?” she called, leaving the room.

  It took a few minutes, but she finally found him downstairs, in a room near the back of the house that had to be his office. He sat at an expensive-looking desk, typing on a computer, built-in bookshelves behind him.

  “Hey,” he said, in one of those friendly, almost off-putting moments that she’d come to expect at random times.

  “Hi.” She hovered in the doorway, feeling weird about entering his personal space without being invited. “I talked to Charlie, and we’re meeting at a coffee shop in thirty minutes, but I don’t have any way of getting there.”

  “Right.” He turned his gaze upward, thinking. “Would it be weird if I came with and waited in the car?”

  “Um…”

  “Without your brother seeing me, of course.” His throat rolled with a swallow. “It doesn’t seem the best idea for you to go alone. I can park around the corner and wait. But we should stick together. Remember?”

  “I remember.” She started to smile, but stopped herself. He wasn’t flirting or being sweet. He was being practical.

  A few minutes later, they were in his garage, bypassing the yellow sports car and four other vehicles in order to stop at a modest electric car.

  “I didn’t expect this,” Terri said, opening the passenger door of the silver vehicle and stepping in.

  “It’s for when I want to blend in.” He winked as he buckled up.

  “Good luck with that.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because…” Her cheeks warmed. Damn. She needed to be more careful about what she blurted out.

  Because you’re so handsome, you’ll never blend in anywhere.

  “Because,” she fibbed. “I’m sure most people in Chicago see your face as somewhat familiar.”

  He didn’t respond, instead opening the garage door and zooming from the driveway. Even in a modest car, he drove with an unapologetic air, always over the speed limit and cutting other drivers off on more than one occasion.

  But they made it to the coffee shop in time. So there was that.

  As Logan parallel parked, she found herself biting her thumbnail. Realizing what she was doing, she dropped her hand.

  “I didn’t know you were a nail biter,” he commented.

  “I’m not. Not usually.” Her stomach flip-flopped.

  “Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts about this.”

  “No.” She waited to catch his gaze before continuing. “Not at all. I haven’t seen Charlie in a while, and I… I’m nervous about that.”

  “Hm.” His eyes narrowed.

  Wow, she was a bad liar.

  “Anyway…” She opened the door. Time to make a hasty exit before he could interrogate her further. “I’ll call you when we’re done talking. I’ll make it as quick as possible.”

  He nodded. “Be safe.”

  Wondering what he meant for her to be safe from, she closed the door and walked around the corner to the coffee shop. She’d only visited the tiny, cozy spot a few times, but it held good memories. This had been the neighborhood she and Charlie had shopped in when they were decorating her apartment a few years back.

  Here was hoping today didn’t spoil those memories.

  Soon as she entered the coffee shop, she clocked every inch of it. No Charlie.

  A ball of tension forming in her abdomen, she went to the counter and ordered a green tea. She’d already had two cups of coffee at Logan’s, thanks to Kim using the last filter to make a pot that morning, and would bounce off the walls if she had any more.

  To-go cup in hand, she snagged a window table right after a couple picked up their laptops and left. It would have been nice to be keeping an eye on Logan. It didn’t feel right having him around the corner, where she couldn’t see him.

  What that desire was about, she didn’t know. The man still aggravated her to no end. Although, honestly, he also got her riled up in ways she would never admit to him.

  But the need to keep him close went deeper than a simple attraction. Maybe it was the life or death situation she’d been through that had bonded them together. He’d certainly been wild eyed enough when he came into the back yard earlier. Almost like he’d seen a ghost.

  It had been somewhat flattering, his freaking out over her not answering her phone. After the cold shoulder she’d gotten, any sort of attention felt nice.

  The front door opened, and Charlie hustled into the coffee shop, putting her musings to an abrupt end. Bustling over, he gave her a firm hug.

  “Look at you.” He took a step back to study her.

  “Do I look different?”

  “You’re tanner. Thinner.” He frowned. “Not in a good way. They don’t have carbs in Europe and Asia?”

  “Trust me,” she laughed. “They have plenty, and I tried them all. This is just what walking and biking everywhere in place of sitting at a desk all day does to me.”

  “Well, you look happy.” He took the seat across from her.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.”

  She fingered the corner of her lips, looking for a smile she might have missed.

  “You look the same,” she decided.

  At five eight, Charlie stood about an inch shorter than her. While she was lanky and with black hair, he had always been stockier and sporting light brown locks. They’d received very different genes.

  “I don’t know where to start,” he said. “I have a ton of questions about your trip, but you said you have something important to tell me. Are you okay?”

  “You asked me that already, and yes. I’m okay.”

  She pressed the tip of her tongue against her teeth. Shit. She really should have rehearsed this. Now that they sat across from each other, she had no clue how to bring up Logan, Bryce, or the trafficking ring.

  Best to start with Bryce, she decided. He was the target. She could bring Logan into the story as the hero.

  Even if he was more an antihero.

  Before she could say a word, Charlie’s phone started ringing.

  “Sorry. I’ll silence it.” He pulled it from his back pocket but paused when he read the screen. “It’s Mom.”

  “O-kay.”

  Why was that a big deal?

  “She already called me on my way here,” he said. “And I didn’t answer. Maybe I should.”

  “Okay,” Terri repeated.

  “Hey, Mom,” he answered. “I’m here with Terri.” He blinked, listening to whatever her response was. “Oh.”

  The way both h
is voice and face fell sent Terri on high alert.

  “What is it?” she demanded.

  Her brother acted like he didn’t hear her. Or maybe he really didn’t.

  “Right,” he said. “I’m going to come out there today… I can make time. It’s fine… I don’t know…” His gaze slid to Terri. “I’ll ask her. Anyway, I’ll leave within the hour. See you soon. Try and rest, okay?”

  The second he hung up, Terri launched questions across the table.

  “What’s up? Is something the matter? Why are you going to Girard?”

  “Dad had an accident,” he sighed. “He fell off a ladder. He’s not seriously injured, but he could be in the hospital for up to a week.”

  “Oh my God,” she gasped. “That sounds serious.”

  “Well, Mom insists it’s not.” His lips pulled into a grim line.

  “Of course she made it sound like it’s no big deal. She’s that way with everything. You’re going out there? I am, too.”

  “Are you sure? We both don’t need to go.”

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  He stood from the table. “Don’t you have settling in to do?”

  “I have nothing to do.” She stood as well, making sure to grab her tea. “I’m coming.”

  “We can ride together, if you want. I’m just going to get home and… Oh, wait.” His face pinched. “I can’t leave right away. I have this meeting, and I—”

  “It’s okay.” She waved her hand. “I’ll go now. You get there when you can.”

  “Thanks. See you there soon.” He gave her a quick hug. “Hold on. What’s the important thing you had to tell me?”

  “It’s…” She bit her tongue. “You know, it can wait till tonight or tomorrow. Let’s make sure Mom and Dad are good first.”

  “Sure,” he said, though she noticed his gaze lingering on her for an extra beat.

  They went separate ways outside the coffee shop, thank goodness. That meant no risk of Charlie seeing her get into a car with Logan.