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"Of course, how can I help?"
I was playing with fire. I knew that. But this was about my mother. I hadn't even looked for her beyond checking homeless shelters. Not in a proper way. I'd believed she left me behind. But what if she hadn't? What if I'd been blinded by that beliefand gotten it wrong? Now was the time to make it right.
"I see you're holding an auction for the Almed Fund, and I'd love to participate. Maybe I can help with the auction." That should be easy.
She squealed in delight, and I could picture her flouncy blond hair and perma-pink cheeks. "Oh my gosh, I love everything about this. You do realize you'll be auctioning a date with yourself, right?"
What? No. I’d thought I could organize.
My stomach sank. It didn't matter, because I needed access to Connor Lohman, and that was where he was going to be. "Sign me up. Can't wait to auction myself off."
KAYA
Two weeks later, I realized I'd miscalculated.
When I had seen the article about the charity auction, I'd assumed I could get a spare moment to speak to him. That would have been simple. But oh no. In fifteen minutes, I was going on the auction block.
No matter. I could adjust. I had to adjust. Iwouldadjust. He was my first lead in five years.
In this room stood the wealthiest of London’s elite. The problem with this crowd was they were so incestuous it was easy to spot anyone who didn't belong.
The impostors, the interlopers. Like me.
But I was good at blending. My entire purpose in life was to hide in plain sight, and I had gotten really good at it.
But moments like this, where I was out in the open for everyone to see, made me twitchy and edgy.
I could fake the confidence and belonging with the best of them though. But knowing I needed to look as bored as the rest of the socialites and actuallymaintainingmy cool were two different things.
I had been waiting all night for this. Hell, I’d been waiting weeks for tonight.
The last man to see my mother alive was there, and I wasn't leaving until I talked to him.
Damn my mother and her secrets. I'd had to untangle the web of secrecy she left behind. She'd gone to meet Connor Lohman about his boss, and he was going to give her everything, fully grass on everyone.
She'd left me at home alone that night, and she'd never come home. I was fifteen.
He knew something. If Connor hadn't just been the mealy-mouthed middleman, I would have suspected he'd done something to her. Hell, maybe he had walked her right into a trap. But Mum was too smart for him, and he was afraid of her for some reason. But he had to at least know what had happened to her. All I needed was to talk to him.
I'd given him a bright sunny smile, cocking my head at an angle so that the hair I dropped over my face covered half of it. Hopefully, the most anyone would ever get of me for facial recognition, if that was even going to be a problem, was my profile.
One quick glance told me exactly where he was.Showtime.
I sauntered over to the bar with a smile. Just close enough that he might notice me and, very likely, the daring dip of the back of my dress. But not so close that I was all up in his face. Not obvious. I kept telling myself to breathe deep and not blow this. What would my mother do? That was the question I kept asking with every step of this ridiculous adventure. Whose bright idea was this?
Yours.
Right. The bartender approached with a grin. "Hello, beautiful. I'm Tucker. I can serve you tonight. What would you like?"
I took note of Connor's gimlet. "I'll have what he's having."
Connor turned. His head angled, a smile already on his lips. He scanned my body first, his smile growing wider. And then his grin froze in place when he reached my face. What the hell was that supposed to mean? It was sort of recognition, but it was also... fear?
That wasn't right.
I forced myself to smile back. "Hello."
He seemed to shake off the stun of seeing me. "You have good taste in drinks."
