Page 156 of Taken Away

He took one look at her face and closed the door behind him.

“Right,” he said. “That’s not your ‘we’re out of Pinot Gris’ expression.”

Aubrey tried to smile. Failed.

“Hi, Deck.”

He studied her for a long beat.

Then he crossed the room and pressed a quick kiss to the side of her head.

“Hi yourself,” he said gently. “Show me.”

Aubrey swallowed. Her throat felt too tight.

She gestured toward the desk.

“Start with that one.”

Declan moved closer.

The top folder read:

LANGFORD

One dark brow lifted.

“Well now. That’s ominous.”

He flipped it open.

The first page stopped him.

“Jesus,” he murmured.

University of Pennsylvania.

He paged through quickly.

Tuition statements. Housing invoices. Book reimbursements.

Quarterly. Every semester.

“Tell me this is a very good forgery,” he said.

“It’s not,” Aubrey said.

He kept reading.

His finger landed on a line near the bottom of a statement.

“Aubrey Langford,” he read. “Student ID. That’s you.”

“Yes.”

He turned another page. Then another.

Finally, he hit the checks.