“Inna.”
“Fine, seven months. Seven months and we—”
“What the hell do you want?”
She froze. Her eyes went wide, and she gripped the dress tighter against her chest. Her mouth opened once before the words finally came out. “I want to find my father.”
Silence fell. She didn’t add anything to it. Just stood there and let it sit between us. I understood exactly what she meant.And that was precisely the problem. Finding her father meant touching Iker’s business before my plan was fully in place.
“Then find him,” I said and turned to leave.
“I meant, help me find him.” She followed me across the room. “I can’t do it alone, and you know that.”
I opened the door. “And what makes you think I can?”
“You found where Cole and I moved to without being told,” she said. “You can track and find my father. I’ll give you the date, the year, everything I have.”
“No.” I moved, and she followed.
“Just find where he went or how he disappeared. I’ll go to him myself.” She was raising her voice. “My father wouldn’t just vanish like that. Maybe something happened to him, or someone got rid of him, or—”
I stopped walking for two reasons. One, she was loud enough for Cole to hear from wherever he was in this penthouse. And two, she was standing in the hallway wearing next to nothing. That was a problem of a different kind entirely.
I faced her, and she stepped back immediately.
“It’s still a no. Get back in the room.”
“We can still do it tonight.” She steadied her voice, trying to make it sound like a reasonable proposition. “You can close your eyes and pretend I’m that woman from the event. I don’t care.”
Foolish girl.
And looking up at me like that with those eyes, she was pushing me somewhere I decided not to go tonight. I didn’t know how I ended up with my hand against the wall beside her, or when exactly the space between us closed to nothing. I pressed her against the wall, looking down at her.
“When I say no,” I said quietly, “I mean it. Don’t push me.”
“One year.” Her voice dropped, and I caught the wetness sitting behind her eyes. “I know you can do this. I’m not asking you to get involved in my family’s mess. I just need you to findhim. Track him. That’s all. One year and I will be whatever you want me to be.”
I looked at her for a long moment.
“Go back to the room.”
I left. This time she didn’t follow, and I didn’t look back. I stepped out of the penthouse and walked towards the elevator.
The elevator doors opened, and I stepped in.
Who gave her the impression that she could request and expect results? The power in this arrangement was mine. She was here because she didn’t have a better option, and she was supposed to understand that. She was not supposed to stand there with wet eyes and a one-year offer to make me feel like I was the one losing something by walking away.
One year? Who said I even wanted her that long?
And what the hell did Iker want with her father? What did the man do, see, or get involved in that was worth taking him off the street? That question sat with me, getting louder every second until I gave in.
I pulled out my phone and called Akim. He answered before the second ring.
“Boss.”
“Get on your screen. I want everything about my wife’s father. Every CCTV he has ever walked past, every person he has ever spoken to, everywhere he has ever been. Hack whatever you need to hack. I want the full picture.”
“Right away.”
