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Henry had been playing with them the moment he walked into the room. He’d known they were lying to him. Had he lied back?
And all that information he’d revealed about Midas’s mother. Truth or lies?
Midas did not know. He was sick of the games. “Find Xander Palmer,” he demanded as he spun back to glare at a frowning Oliver. “Use every federal contact you have. If he boarded a plane, if he rented a car—tell me. Let me know where that bastard is.” And, the most important thing… “Don’t let him near Alina.”
Because his father never, ever apologized to anyone.
If he’d sent Xander to Alina, it wasn’t because he wanted the lawyer to tell Alina how very sorry Henry was for his crimes.
But he might have sent Xander to kill her. Xander, the one person who would’ve had close contact with Henry. The person who could have carried out any orders that Henry wanted. Orders like…
Kidnapping. Hiring thugs to do the dirty work.
Hurting Alina.
“We find him,” Midas said as he swallowed the fear and focused on the fury that churned ever hotter within him. “And we stop him.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Four a.m. Another day of practice. Another day on the ice.
Alina didn’t wait for the driver to come around and open the limo door for her. As soon as the vehicle braked in front of the rink’s entrance, she pushed on the door and stepped outside. Snow was falling, as it had been all night. Not as heavy now. At first, she’d feared the roads would be impassable.
But Milo had managed to get them through.
There wasn’t a guard at the door. That gave her pause and she turned toward Milo.
“Everything’s okay,” he assured her as he came to her side. “After your father found out about the security issue yesterday, he hired all new guards. They’ll be here soon. Dmitri is already in the rink, and I’ll remain stationed out here in front.”
The security issue, yes. The two guards who’d let Midas slip inside. As he’d indicated, Midas had texted Bradford, and Bradford had, of course, immediately informed her father of the situation.
“We didn’t need to fire Ophelia.” Alina hunched into her jacket. “I liked her.”
Milo approached the front of the building. “I know, but she was reporting to Midas.” He typed in the security code. Swiped his key card. “Your father doesn’t want Midas near you.”
Even though she shivered, Alina made no move to enter the rink. “It’s my life.” She hadn’t told anyone about Midas flying to see Henry.
“He just…” Milo took her hands. Dependable Milo. He’d been driving her father’s car for years. He’d started with them right after an injury had taken him from the military. “He wants you safe.” His eyes swept over her. “You look so much like your mother.”
That was what Henry had told her, too. And the words made her shiver even harder as she tugged her hands free of Milo’s grip. “I’m not her.” Milo had known her mother. He’d been their driver for several years before her mother’s death. “Just like Midas isn’t Henry.” They were different people. And she was not going to just follow her father’s orders.
She would have her own chance for happiness.
Milo held the rink’s door open for her. Alina started to enter.
“Alina!” A man’s voice. One that she didn’t recognize.
She turned around and saw a man barreling toward them from the darkness. He wore a ski cap and scarf, and a long, dark coat billowed around him.
“Alina!” he shouted. “I must talk to you!”
“Get inside, Alina,” Milo ordered as he drew his weapon. Driver and guard. He always had been. “Now.”
She stumbled over the threshold but looked back just in time to see—
Two other shadows erupted from the darkness. She sucked in a sharp breath as those two shadows hit the running man. They slammed into him and drove him to the ground even as the snow swirled in the air around them all. Alina backed up.
“It’s okay!” A voice she did recognize. “We’ve got him, Alina!” Ophelia cried out.
