Page 59 of Winter’s Fire

Or the battery ran out, or the phone was broken or lost—all the possibilities they’d considered to explain Diana’s disappearance.

“I know that, Sir. I know I’m probably worrying for nothing, and there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation, but talking to Lisa yesterday got me wondering if maybe there’s a connection between her friend’s disappearance and mine. I mean, what if something has happened to both of them? I’m worried, Sir. I don’t know what to do for the best.”

Interesting. He’d take up the whole discussing-the-mission-with-an-outsider thing with Lucy later—the more pressing matter was dealing with Sasha’s distress. “You’ve done the right thing, coming to us. I’m going to need your friend’s details—full name, address, all her phone numbers. There are people I can call who can check up on her officially. Her Dom too, if you tell me what you know about him.”

“It’s all right, Sasha. You’ve trusted us with your worries, you can trust us with the information,” Lucy added. “Sir knows what he’s doing.”

The churning in Logan’s gut went into overdrive. Coincidences like this one set all his senses tingling, and not in a good way. If there was a connection between the disappearances of Diana and her boyfriend, and Sasha’s friend and possibly her Dom as well, experience told him that Nenufar was more likely to be the front for some sort of illegal activity. Had they witnessed something they shouldn’t have? Or was the reason something even darker?

Lucy passed Sasha a pen and a sheet of paper. While she was busy writing, he exchanged a glance with Lucy. If he was reading her expression correctly, there was a good chance her instincts were telling her the same thing his were telling him.

“Sasha, how much do you know about your friend’s relationship with her Dom? Do you know if they get on all right, or do they argue a lot?”

“I… don’t really… I mean, I’ve never seen them row, but…”

“Go on. Whatever you can tell us, it all helps.”

“Yes, Sir. She told me once that their relationship can be quite volatile, but not to the point where he’d truly hurt her. They do argue—what couple doesn’t?—but they always make up.”

“What are you thinking, Sir?”

That was his woman all over—calm and purposeful, even when under pressure.

“I don’t know yet.” The idea sloshing around at the back of his mind was half-arsed and barely formed. He was probably grasping at straws, the connection was tenuous at best, and relied on at least one monumental what-if.

He took the paper from Sasha, and gave it a quick once-over. The names weren’t familiar, not that he’d expected them to be. “Thank you for this. Try not to worry—I’m sure they’re perfectly fine, and the lack of a response can be explained very easily.”

“Should I tell Jed and Master about this?”

“I think it’d be a good idea to let them know you’re worried about your friend, and if Dante wants to talk to me, please let him know he can contact me at any time.” Logan dug out a business card in the name of his undercover identity, complete with the number of the burner phone he was using for the assignment. “Would you like to stay here with us until they get back?”

Lucy pressed another tissue into Sasha’s hands. “You’d be very welcome.”

“No, it’s all right, but thank you. They’ll be back soon. I’m sorry I bothered you both with this. To be honest, I feel quite foolish now. Perhaps I have overreacted.”

“I’m sorry our conversation put you in this position,” Lucy said.

“No, it’s okay. Better for me to look like an idiot than for something horrible to have happened to them and no one raise the alarm. But if something has happened, at least we can start doing something about it.”

“As I said, you’ve done the right thing. Leave it with us, we’ll find out what’s going on. Would you like us to walk you back to your accommodation?”

“No, it’s fine, thank you.” She gave them both a wan smile. “Believe it or not, I do feel better, now that I’ve told you. Before I go, though, could I ask you both something, please?”

“Of course.” Though he agreed, Logan was wary.

“Who are you? Really? You’re not just ordinary guests, are you?”

Rumbled—but only if they admitted it. “Sasha, my name’s Simpson, not Bond, and Lisa is definitely not Miss Moneypenny. We’re no different from you, Jed and your Master. We just happen to know people who can ask the right questions. Which means you now know people who know people who can ask the right questions. Okay?”

“Ah. Whatever you say, Sir. And thank you.”

Logan saw her to the door and watched her make her way back to the hotel until she was out of sight.

“Phew, that was close.”

“Not really.” Logan closed the door. “No matter what I said, she’ll believe what she wants to believe, but even if she had the resources to dig into our identities, all she’d find is what we’d want her to find.”

He turned to Lucy. “Now I believe you and I have something to discuss.”