CHAPTER TWO
“You’re sure it’s okay if I stay here tonight?” Talia asked as she glanced around Lennox’s apartment.
She was fully aware she’d asked the same question a number of times already, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. She was still rattled after everything that had happened tonight and her mind could barely function.
“Of course, it’s okay,” Lennox assured her, closing the door behind them, the suitcase she’d recently stuffed full at her place a little while ago in hand. “I understand why you don’t want to stay at the cottage after the scare you had. Even though it’s on the Rybak’s property, it’s still kind of isolated that far from the main house. And with no one home at the moment, I don’t think being alone is what you need right now.”
She snapped her head around to look at Lennox, more than ready to tell him that she could decide for herself what she needed. After that patronizing Detective Green, she was done with anyone telling her what they thought was good for her.
Then she caught the look of genuine concern on Lennox’s handsome face and in his blue eyes, and the anger that had been building immediately melted away. He wasn’t like that detective. He’d cared enough to come get her when there’d been no one else for her to call. Then he’d gone even further and agreed to give her a place to stay for the night even though they barely knew each other.
And if Talia was being honest, she had to admit that Lennox had been right about her cottage at the Rybak residence. While it was nice and comfortable, it was also on the backside of the property, a whole football field away. If she screamed, no one would have heard her even if the Rybak family were home, which they weren’t. Bogdan and his wife, Vera, were away, while Maria and her older sister, Sofia, were staying with their respective friends for the weekend.
Talia had considered staying with a friend for the night, but quickly realized that wouldn’t work. Like Anna, all of her closest friends were au pairs. Unfortunately, unlike Anna, all of them lived with their employers. Staying with any of them would generate a lot of questions that she didn’t want to answer. So, it would have to be Lennox.
“Well, I’m grateful for the offer,” she said quietly.
There’d been a few times tonight when she wasn’t sure if she was going to live to see morning. But she was safe now. That was all that mattered.
“Let me put your stuff away in the guest bedroom,” Lennox said, heading down the hallway on the far side of the living room. “I have a bed set up in there for when my sisters visit. I just need to put on some fresh sheets.”
“You don’t need to go to any trouble,” Talia called out as Lennox disappeared into the room at the end of the hall. “I’m only staying for the night. Two at the most.”
“It’s no trouble,” Lennox promised, his voice a little muffled by the distance between them. It also sounded like he was fighting with something. Probably those fresh sheets he’d mentioned. “My sisters are picky about clean sheets, so I keep a lot of them. It will just take me a minute to get them on. Feel free to look around the living room or check out the kitchen to see if you can find anything you want to eat.”
Talia didn’t bother to tell Lennox there was absolutely no way she’d be able to eat anything tonight. Besides that it was way too late for food, there was the simple fact that her stomach was still churning so much that the idea of eating made her queasy.
Still, Talia took Lennox’s first suggestion, wrapping her arms around herself to calm her nerves while moving over to the closest wall to take a look at the pictures hanging there. Almost every photo was of him with one or more women who were clearly related to him, all of them a little older than he was. While there were a few pics of an older couple—his parents obviously—there were far more of his siblings, with two dozen pics covering at least a twenty-year span. From the smiles and arms thrown around each other, it wasn’t hard to see that Lennox was close to them.
“How many sisters do you have anyway?” she asked, having a hard time getting an accurate count from the pictures since the women all had the same dark hair and blue eyes he had.
“Five—all older than me,” Lennox answered from the bedroom with a laugh. “A fact they never let me forget.”
Smiling at that, Talia moved over to the wall closest to the kitchen and the collection of picture frames located there. While the ones behind her had all been of Lennox’s family, these were of him with other men in tactical uniforms she assumed must be his Teammates. There were also quite a few photos of Lennox standing by himself in various desert and jungle locales, each with him holding a weapon and looking dangerous. It was a stark reminder that Lennox was a Navy SEAL, a man who deployed frequently to scary places around the world where he was asked to do things that could easily get him killed.
That had been one of the biggest reasons Talia had been hesitant to commit to a date with Lennox even though she was attracted to him. She wasn’t sure she wanted to get involved with someone who did something so dangerous.
It was a concern that looked silly now, considering Lennox had been the first and only name that had popped into her head when the detective suggested she have someone pick her up from the police station. Talia felt more than a little guilty at the knowledge that when push came to shove, she was willing to look past all the danger to have a man like Lennox there to protect her.
He came out of the bedroom then, throwing her a grin as he walked through the living room with its big, comfy looking couch and gigantic TV and into the adjoining kitchen. “I know it’s late, but do you want something to drink before bed?”
Talia started to say no, that she was too tired to stay up a minute longer, but then realized that wasn’t true. In fact, she was wide awake at that moment. Getting to sleep anytime soon was out of the question.
“I don’t suppose you have any hot chocolate?” she asked, following him into the kitchen. “Hanging out with Maria got me addicted to the stuff.”
“Actually, I think I might. My sister, Mia, was here a few months ago with her daughter and insisted we have cocoa for movie night. I’m sure I still have some.”
Lennox opened one cabinet after another, searching for the elusive chocolate drink.
“Found it!” he exclaimed a few seconds later, pulling out a familiar blue box of hot chocolate mix. “It even has mini marshmallows.”
Lennox put water in the microwave to heat then grabbed mugs before rummaging around for what he called some “suitable late-night snacks,” though she had no idea what constituted suitable. A few moments later, she learned that Fudge Stripes cookies were apparently in that category.
“Now that we have a little time to talk, maybe you could tell me what happened tonight,” Lennox said when they were both seated at the small table in the kitchen a few minutes later. “Detective Green gave me his version of the events, but I’d like to hear yours.”
Talia felt a wave of anger again, but it wasn’t directed at Lennox this time. No, right now, her frustration was focused only on that stupid police detective and his patronizing smile. She’d known from the very first words out of her mouth that the man would never believe anything she had to say.
“I’m not sure what that guy’s problem was,” she grumbled, reaching into the package for a cookie. “He acted like I was making the whole thing up.”
Lennox considered that. “I think the detective is one of those old school cops who believes every crime is simple. He doesn’t do complicated or convoluted. He doesn’t look for a shadowy conspiracy to provide a suspect when he thinks it’s probably just some regular Joe looking to rob someone.”
She got what he was saying and had no doubt that he was right, but it still bothered her that a cop could be so blatantly clueless to what was happening right in front of him.
“I’m friends with about a dozen other au pairs,” Talia explained, sipping her cocoa. “Our employers are all in the same social circle, so we help each other when it comes to watching over the children in our care. While the kids are playing in the park, we sit and talk.”
“What do you talk about?”
Talia smiled. “Girl talk for the most part. And the families we work for of course—the arguments we overhear, who’s cheating on whom, that kind of stuff. But lately, the conversations have started going in a different direction.”
“Different how?” Lennox asked, helping himself to another cookie.
After being dismissed so readily by Detective Green, she appreciated the fact that Lennox seemed to be taking her seriously.
“All of the families we work for are extremely rich,” she said. “They’re CEOs of manufacturing companies and bio-tech firms, shipping magnates, financial geniuses, real estate moguls, and powerful politicians, so it isn’t unusual for people to show up at all hours of the day or night at their homes trying to curry favor.”
“Okay.” Lennox took a sip of cocoa that left behind a chocolate mustache that had Talia’s fingers twitching at the urge to lean over and wipe off. “Did one of those people make you suspicious?”
“Not me. The other au pairs,” she said. “About a week ago, some seriously sketchy guys showed up to speak to the people they work for. None of the au pairs were able to listen in on what was said, but whatever it was, it freaked out their employers. After comparing notes, we figured out that all the same people were going from family to family, saying something that sent them into a panic.”
Talia paused, expecting Lennox to say that she was imagining stuff that wasn’t there, like Detective Green had done. But instead, he regarded her thoughtfully, waiting for her to continue.
“It kept happening, but none of the girls heard anything the men said,” she explained, toying with the handle of the mug. “Then yesterday, Anna called and told me that those same men met with her employer, John Fredrickson. She slipped in close enough to eavesdrop and heard oen of them threaten Fredrickson. Anna said it sounded like they wanted something from him. Something related to his international shipping fleet. She got the feeling that the Fredricksons owed the men for something they’d done for them in the past, but she didn’t know for sure. Anna was going to snoop around her boss’s office today to see what she could find and when she didn’t show up at the park for the party, I was worried Fredrickson caught her. I only got more concerned when I couldn’t reach her by phone. Anna wouldn’t ignore me like that. That’s when I went to her apartment, hoping to find her.” She made a face. “You know how that ended.”
“I don’t,” Lennox admitted. “Detective Green was vague when it came to the details about what happened earlier. His description was little more than Ms. Holland was chased through some dark alleys by a big man in dark clothes .”
Talia sighed. She’d hoped to avoid talking about this part. She had no desire to relive those terrifying events, already expecting to see them replay over and over in her nightmares. But Lennox had come to help when she called. He deserved to know what he was getting himself involved in.
“I recognized the man the moment I got off the bus near Anna’s apartment,” Talia said, reaching for another cookie just to have something to do with her hands so they wouldn’t shake so badly. “I saw him standing near where we were having the birthday party at Waterfront Park. And before you ask, yes, there were a lot of people at the park this afternoon, but this guy stands out.”
“How so?” Lennox asked. “Green mentioned he was big.”
“Understatement there,” Talia muttered, nibbling on the cookie. “The guy is almost seven feet tall and built like a football player. He was wearing a suit too, which I thought was kind of weird. Who wears a suit to a park?”
“What was he doing at the park?” Lennox asked. “I mean, was he watching you, Fredrickson’s kid, or maybe one of the others? Green mentioned that the kid showed up without Anna.”
Talia thought back, trying to remember exactly when she’d seen the man and what he’d been doing. It was definitely after Jessica Fredrickson had arrived, but she’d already been worried about Anna being missing at that point.
“I’m not sure, but I think he was focused mostly on me,” Talia said slowly, shuddering at the idea that the man had been stalking her the whole time. “But he disappeared at some point and I stopped thinking about him. Until I saw him near Anna’s apartment.”
Lennox sipped his cocoa as he considered that. “So I guess the question is, did this guy follow you from the park or was he there looking for Anna and you simply got in the way?”
She frowned. “I never thought that far ahead. The guy chased me so I assumed he followed me.”
“That’s okay. I’m not sure it’s a question we need to answer right now. What happened after you got off the bus? Did this guy say anything before he started chasing you?”
“Nothing,” she said with a shake of her head. “He locked eyes with me and then started following me. There was no one else around, so I panicked a little. Okay, maybe more than a little. I started walking faster, then broke into a run. I intended to make a dash for the front door of Anna’s apartment building, but the guy was too fast. He caught up to me and I had to dart down a side alley. I’m not even sure what happened after that. I simply ran.”
“How’d you end up getting away?” Lennox asked, his gaze catching hers, somehow conveying without words that he believed everything she’d said.
She couldn’t begin to describe how relieved she was at that.
“Luck mostly,” she told him. “I ran down a narrow alley behind a restaurant. Someone had left a delivery truck right in the middle of it and there was barely any space left to get around it. I was small enough to fit, but the guy chasing me had to crawl under it. Thankfully, that slowed him down long enough for me to run down another alley and hide behind a dumpster. I called the police and stayed there until a cop found me an hour later. The guy who’d been chasing me was nowhere to be found by then.”
He nodded. “That was smart thinking. Did you ever get a chance to stop by Anna’s apartment to check on her?”
Talia shook her head. “No. But when I told Detective Green about my concerns, he sent a patrol unit over to check. Anna wasn’t there.”
“Green said Fredrickson said she flew back to Bolivia for a family emergency, but something tells me you aren’t buying that.”
“No way. Anna isn’t only my friend. She’s friends with half a dozen other au pairs too. She wouldn’t up and leave without telling any of us.”
Lennox didn’t say anything to that, but at least he didn’t snort in disbelief the way Detective Green had. That was a drastic improvement as far as she was concerned.
Across from her, Lennox sighed. “There’s nothing more we can do tonight, but tomorrow, we’ll start calling people, see what we can find out about Anna and that flight to Bolivia.”
Reaching out, he picked up both of their mugs, then went over to the sink to rinse them out. Talia sat there in silence, stunned at the casual way Lennox had announced he was going to help her find Anna. She felt like crying in relief, because truthfully, she’d had no idea what she was going to do next.
When he was finished cleaning the mugs, he came back over to the table to put the pack of cookies away, talking the whole time about some people he knew who could help track down Anna. As his voice began to grow distant, Talia realized she was practically falling asleep in her chair. No shock there. She’s been running on adrenaline for hours. Now that it was gone, she was wiped out.
“I should probably go to bed,” she said.
Even though she wasn’t sure how well she’d sleep. More likely, she’d have nightmares about that big, scary guy chasing her.
Lennox’s mouth edged up. “You do look tired. There are fresh towels in the linen closet in the bathroom if you want to take a shower first.”
She was exhausted but she supposed she should probably take a shower. She could still smell the dumpster stench lingering on her skin from all the time she’d spent hiding behind it.
“We’re going to figure this all out,” Lennox promised softly. “I promise I’m going to help you find out what happened to Anna.”
Talia nodded and gave him a small smile. “Thank you.”
As the shower’s warm water cascaded over her body a few minutes later, washing away the residue of her mad dash through the alleys, Talia found herself thinking about what kind of effect staying with Lennox might have on her job. It might be the twenty-first century, but au pairs for the elite families were still held to some rather archaic standards when it came to their personal lives. So much so that it was rare to see a married au pair or even one in a serious relationship. Wealthy people seemed to want the women they hired to watch over their children to be purer than the driven snow, not partaking in any behavior they deemed unacceptable, regardless of how the parents behaved.
Talia loved the Rybak family, especially Maria, her six-year-old charge. She didn’t want to think they’d fire her for seeking safety at Lennox’s apartment, not after the night she’d had. At the same time, she’d had friends let go for lesser things.
Telling herself there was nothing she could do about it, Talia dried off, then pulled on her pajama pants and tank top.
Lennox was in the living room on the couch, scrolling through his phone while watching SportsCenter. He looked up as if sensing she was there.
“Is the TV too loud?” he asked, grabbing the remote from the coffee table. “I can turn it down.”
She shook her head. “It’s fine. I just wanted to say thank you again. For coming to the police station tonight and letting me stay here and for agreeing to help me find Anna. For everything, really. I can’t tell you how much all of this means to me.”
His mouth curved. “Anytime.”
Talia wondered what she’d done to deserve such generosity, especially since she hadn’t given him any reason to help her. Whatever it was, she was grateful. Because without Lennox on her side, she wasn’t sure what she’d do.
She returned his smile. “Goodnight, Lennox.”
“Goodnight, Talia. Sleep well.”
With him as close as the next room, she might.