And if it happens again tomorrow?
Rael couldn’t think about that right then. Especially when part of him badly wanted to hear that voice again, to be near the tiger.
What the hell was going on?
Chapter Two
I COULD get used to this.
The Langham Hotel was the epitome of luxury, from its vaulted ceilings and chandeliers right down to the white leather couches in the lobby. Rael checked in, then went up to his room. He whistled as he took in the wide windows that looked out over the river.
“She wasn’t kidding about the view.”
He dropped his bags and jacket onto the bed. He’d planned on two nights in Chicago, and checking out of his previous hotel had been a pleasure. But now that he was done for the day, he found he couldn’t relax.
He hadn’t been able to shake the tiger from his thoughts.
Did I miss it in my notes? Rael pulled the folder from his bag and then grabbed one of the complimentary bottles of water. He sat on the couch, opened the file, and read through his findings.
By the time he finished, he’d found a couple of mentions of Anson’s exotic pet, but no pictures. There was, however, plenty of information about Anson Prescott’s father. Tom Prescott had been a genius. He’d founded Global Bio-Tech, which right from the get-go had been a high-flying pharmaceutical company. He would still have been in charge if cancer hadn’t reared its ugly head a few years previously. Anson had been almost twenty-one at that point. But it hadn’t been in young Anson’s hands that Tom Prescott had left his company. No, he’d entrusted it to his stepson, Dellan Carson, sixteen years older than Anson and, from what Rael could glean, Tom’s right-hand man for several years.
Makes sense, I suppose. Anson was too young to be running a company.
Then why was he running it now? And why was Dellan no longer on the scene?
Rael booted up his laptop and opened a search engine. After half an hour, he was no better off. There was no mention of Dellan once Anson had taken over the company.
Did something happen to him? And if so, why isn’t it out there? Because people didn’t vanish into thin air. There had to be some record somewhere.
Rael reached for his phone. There was one route he could take that might prove useful. He scrolled through his contacts until he came to Kyle. Rael mentally prepared himself for Kyle’s reaction to his call.
Kyle didn’t disappoint.
“Hey, gorgeous. So you’ve finally come to your senses, huh?”
Rael chuckled. “No, Kyle, I am not going on a date with you.” They’d worked together on the same newspaper when Rael was starting out. Kyle was an experience not easily forgotten.
“Why the hell not? I’m witty, charming, sexy, devastatingly handsome….”
“You forgot modest,” Rael added.
“Yeah, that too.”
Rael laughed. Sarcasm went right over Kyle’s head. “Listen, I’m calling because I need your help. You still have your contacts in the police department in Chicago, right?”
“Honey, I have a zillion contacts, but yeah, I do. What do you need?”
“I’m after anything you can find on a Dellan Carson. Stepson of Tom Prescott. About thirty-eight years old. Was the acting manager of Global Bio-Tech in Chicago until Tom Prescott died a year ago, leaving him in charge. Since then he’s disappeared off the radar.”
“Okay, I got all that. Gimme a while to get back to you, all right?”
“Sure.” Rael glanced around the luxurious suite. “I’m chilling in an awesome Chicago hotel for the night.”
“Alone?” Rael didn’t miss the hopeful note in Kyle’s voice.
“Yes, I’m alone. And I still don’t want to go on a date with you.” It wasn’t that Kyle was unattractive. Rael would fuck him in a heartbeat, it had been that long since he’d gotten laid. It was just….
You know exactly why you won’t go on a date with him. Kyle wouldn’t be happy with a one-night stand. And that was all Rael had to offer. Anything more and there were consequences.
“I could come over, and we could have a drink for old times’ sake,” Kyle wheedled.
Rael let out a heavy sigh. He really didn’t want to hurt Kyle, but….
“Hey, it’s okay,” Kyle said softly. “I know how I get around guys. I cling. I obsess. After two dates, I’d be proposing. After a week, I’d be turning up at your place with a U-Haul containing all my worldly goods.” Kyle laughed, but Rael knew how much truth lay behind his words.
“Someday you’re gonna find the perfect guy. You know that, right?”
Kyle snickered. “From your mouth to God’s ears. Lemme go see what I can find.” And with that he disconnected.
Rael picked up the dining card and checked out the menu. Hey, if Anson’s picking up the tab…. He shook his head. That wasn’t Rael’s style. Besides, it was way too early to be thinking about dinner. He’d only just grabbed a sub after leaving his no-show interview.
And there he was, back to the tiger again. Okay, seeing a tiger in such a setting was impressive, not to mention bizarre, but that voice had really shaken him. He kept replaying those words over and over. Did I imagine it? Too little sleep and too much coffee might explain it, but….
In his heart, Rael knew it had been real. Because it wasn’t only the voice. There was the way he’d felt when the tiger had gazed into his eyes, the way Rael had wanted to lie at its feet in submission.
It all added up to one damn big mystery.
Rael kicked off his shoes and stretched out on the couch, a pillow stuffed under his head. A little nap couldn’t hurt, right? Who knew when Kyle would be getting back to him? He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, focusing on the rise and fall of his chest as he sometimes did when he needed to relax. He was succumbing to the warm fuzzy feeling that preceded falling asleep when his phone vibrated its way across the coffee table.
Blinking, Rael answered it without glancing at the caller. “’Lo?”
“Hey. You sound drowsy. Did I wake you?”
Rael struggled into an upright position. “Damn, you work fast.”
Kyle laughed. “That’s me, a regular Speedy Gonzales. Okay, you ready for this?”
“Hit me.”
“Dellan Carson is listed as missing.”
That woke him up. “Say what?”
“And it gets better. So is his dad. Well, sort of.”
Rael snorted. “Sort of missing?”
“Jake Carson disappeared when Dellan was seven. Seven years after that, Dellan’s mom had him declared dead. I guess she figured he wasn’t coming back. Not long after that, she married Tom Prescott. She met him when she was working as a barista. One of three jobs, mind you. Hardworking lady. Then two years later, Anson is born.”
“Who had Dellan declared missing? His mom?”
“Uh-uh. She died about a month before Dellan disappeared. Anson had him declared missing. The word is he’s running the company until Dellan shows up again.”
“And from the look of things, he’s running it very successfully.” Rael tried to piece it all together. Dellan was in charge of the company, then disappeared, leaving Anson to oversee it in his stead.