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“And doing so would probably get her, and others, hurt. I never go into a place without a plan, and as much information as I can dig up.”
Mark swallowed. Alex was right, of course.
“Mark, your heart is in the right place. And there are other girls there to help, too. Men like her boss are never content to just have one girl under his control.” He was quiet for a long moment. “Why are men so evil toward the most vulnerable?” he muttered then sighed. “I have rescued far too many women out of similar situations.”
“I know. That’s why I called you.”
Alex was quiet again. Mark waited. The older man was wise, and Mark respected him too much to interrupt his thoughts. “It is challenging with who her family is, especially if she doesn’t want to be found.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re right, though. That restaurant needs to be closed.” He was quiet again. “Have you contacted Chase about it? That kind of thing is right up his alley.”
“I don’t know him well enough to feel comfortable calling him about it.”
Alex chuckled. “All right. I’ll get in touch with him and have him call you. Seth is also stateside right now, and may be able to lend a hand if needed.”
“What should I do in the meantime?”
“Be a friend. Find out as much as you can about the Café and its owner. The more information we have, the better.”
Thirty-Six
Emily staredup at the brick three-story townhome as she walked along the canal late Friday morning. Her fingers were still sore and her hand ached from where Geoffrey squeezed it, but she’d woken up consumed with the idea of playing again. It was as if the violin called to her across the space between her place and Mark’s. The Mendelssohn violin concerto played1loudly in her head; the one Mark had been playing the first time she saw him. The music flowed through her veins and seeped into her heart, warming her body in a way it hadn’t been in years.
Was Mark home? The front curtains were closed.
Was it too early? It was almost eleven.
Was he a late sleeper? Should she have come after lunch? He didn’t have rehearsal today, but they hadn’t discussed what times were okay for her to come over.
Should she have texted first?
Yeah, she should texted first.
She turned, intending to retreat up the canal several yards and text him, but someone called her name.
She spun around, but no one was there.
“Emily! Up here.”
It sounded like Mark... but she couldn’t see him.
“Second-floor window.”
She looked up to see Mark waving to her. She waved back.
“Hang on. I’ll go open the door.”
She bit her lip and walked slowly back to the townhome. A few moments later, metal scraped and the door opened. “Hi,” he said with a grin.
“Hi.” She shifted on her feet. “How did you know I was here?”
He pointed to the side of the door, where a rectangular box was fastened to the doorpost. “Video doorbell. I got a notification.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
He nodded. “You haven’t seen those?”
