“Slow down with all the questions. No, I’m afraid I haven’t seen her. She wasn’t here when the police came.”

My heart pounded. Okay, that was good. It was probably a simple burglary, and Melanie was okay. Still, where was she?

“What happened? Why were the police here?”

“I’m not really sure. They forced their way in and then taped off the place. I was around, and I came out when I heard the noise, but I couldn’t find anything out. They weren’t here for long. I figured her alarm went off or something.”

The young woman was, well, young. She was a cute little thing, wearing that T-shirt. She looked Irish. She had blondish-red hair and blue eyes. She was also no help at all.

“When were the police here?”

“Two nights ago.”

“Two nights ago?” The night Talon and I had driven to Denver. “Have you seen her since then?”

“I haven’t, but she and I don’t exactly run in the same circles.”

Damn. If she’d needed me, she would have called, right? I kept telling myself that. “If you do see her, could you tell her I’m looking for her?”

The young woman smiled again. “Sure, I can do that. But you’ll have to tell me who you are first.”

“Oh, of course.” I pulled my wallet out of my back pocket, opened it, and pulled out one of my business cards. “Jonah Steel.” I handed her the card.

“And will she know what this is about?”

I nodded.

The woman held out her hand. “I’m Lisa O’Toole. Nice to meet you.”

“You too.” I shook her hand quickly and then turned.

“Why are you in such a hurry?”

I turned back around, and she was smiling, her hips tilted in a seductive pose. Really? She was going to try flirting with me now?

“I have a friend waiting for me at the bar across the street. Please, just tell Melanie I’m looking for her. And that I’m worried about her. I need to know she’s okay.”

“Will do, Jonah Steel.” Lisa winked.

She must have been a trust fund baby to live in Melanie’s building. Or maybe she was older than she looked and had a job.

I was one to talk about money. My brothers, sister, and I had never had to worry about money. Still, we worked hard, running the ranch. We could’ve sold it if we’d wanted to and pocketed enough money to support the next several generations of our family. But both my grandfather and my father would no doubt be rolling over in their graves had we done so.

So her loft had been burglarized. She was probably staying at a hotel. She would have called if she wanted to, or at least answered my calls. Clearly, her sneaking out of my house had been a message. She didn’t want me.

I’d live with it.

I had to.

Still, something niggled at the back of my neck—that bizarre feeling when something wasn’t right.

I swished it away with a gesture. Nothing a martini couldn’t solve. I walked to the elevator, descended, and then strode over to meet Bryce. I spied him right away sitting at a cocktail table, a beer in his hand. A martini sat at the empty spot. Good man. I ambled over to join him.

“How’d it go?” he asked.

I picked up the drink and took a sip. Not CapRock but not bad. “It didn’t. She wasn’t home, and her door was blocked off with police tape.”

“What?” Bryce set his beer down without taking a sip. “Is she okay?”

“As far as I know. I talked to her neighbor. Melanie wasn’t there when the police came, so it was probably a burglary. Why didn’t she call me, though?”

“Didn’t you tell me she sneaked out of your house a couple days ago? Maybe…”

“You can finish the thought. Maybe she didn’t want to call me.” I took a long drink of my martini. “I can fucking handle it.” Though I wasn’t sure I believed my own words.

“Well, just keep calling. She has to answer eventually. Maybe.”

“I just can’t shake the feeling that something’s not right.”

“So she’s not home. She’s probably at work.”

“No, she’s not. She took a leave of absence.”

“Really? Why?”

“I don’t know all the details.”

I did, but I didn’t feel at liberty to divulge Melanie’s business. I hated lying to Bryce. I’d gotten pretty damned good at it, though. Here I was, having already convicted his father in my mind, and I hadn’t told my best friend about my suspicions. I needed some more concrete proof before I could act.

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Bryce said. “She’s probably out shopping or something.”

Melanie didn’t strike me as much of a shopper. She could get beige cotton panties anywhere. And though her clothes were nice, they were deliberate and professional. Sexy as hell on her, but not anything she couldn’t get from an online catalog.

Of course, the woman did have to eat. She could be somewhere as simple as the grocery store.

“You’re probably right.”

Too bad I didn’t believe myself for a minute. Maybe she truly didn’t want to talk to me. If that was the case, I would make peace with it. Not like I had any other choice.

“So what did you think about today?” Bryce asked.

“What do you mean?”

“About our visit with Larry.”

Of course. My mind was so full of worry for Melanie. I had all but forgotten about the visit with my uncle. “I’m not sure we got anything new.”

“You still think I know one of the attackers?”

I wished I hadn’t voiced this theory to Bryce after our first visit to Larry, but that had been before I found out about his father’s potential involvement.

“I don’t know, man. I’m not sure I know shit about anything right now.”

“You could be right, though. His words did seem to indicate that. I just don’t know who the hell it could possibly be. I don’t know anyone like that.”

I opened my mouth, not having a clue what was going to come out, when my cell phone buzzed. Saved by the bell, literally. I looked at my phone. “You mind if I take this? It’s Marjorie.”

“Go ahead.”

I put the phone to my ear. “Hey, Marj.”

“Joe, you have to come home.” Her voice was high-pitched and shrill. Something wasn’t right. “I have to talk to you now.”