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I had expected the first time I rode in a car with Banks and Rhys, it would be a joyous occasion. I’d imagined we’d be heading somewhere for a day of fun together.
It turned out, I was wrong.
Because as Banks pulled his vehicle into the parking lot at Harper Security Ops, there was an overwhelming sense of foreboding lingering in the air.
In an attempt to settle myself, I’d tried to take a few deep breaths.
Everything from the moment I left the cemetery and saw Henry standing on the sidewalk just a couple hundred feet away felt like a whirlwind.
I’d gone to Banks, because I wanted to confide in him. I hadn’t expected everything that came afterward, everything he’d committed himself to doing.
His determination to find out what happened to Graham and locate Henry for me warmed my heart. Without me even needing to ask, Banks was just going todo it for me. Just offering to help with those two things had been more than enough—certainly more than I’d expected—and yet, it wasn’t enough for him.
Banks decided he needed to go above and beyond the call of duty by urging me to stay at his place. Admittedly, I’d struggled with it. I hadn’t wanted Banks to view me as a charity case or someone who needed looking after, but once I heard the desperation in his voice when he all but begged me to let him do what he needed to do in this situation, I couldn’t turn him down.
And somehow, despite all that I’d been feeling, being with Banks and Rhys yesterday helped to turn my day around. After we’d discussed my situation, Banks insisted on making me some lunch, and the two of us ate together. Rhys woke up shortly afterward, and we wound up going to visit Robin. Not only was she thrilled to see her grandson, but she appeared to be just as excited to see me, too. Following our visit with Robin, Banks drove me back to my place, so I could pack up some things I’d need for the next couple of days. Once I’d gotten that accomplished—something that took me longer than necessary since I was still unsure how I felt about what was happening—he brought the three of us back to his place, and we all had a wonderful evening together. We played with Rhys and had dinner. And after Rhys had gone down for the night, Banks and I curled up on the couch and watched a movie. The two of us had shared a handful of kisses, but things never went beyond that. It seemed Banks was a bit preoccupied.
Now, it was first thing in the morning on Monday, and Banks had decided all three of us were heading into Harper Security Ops today. Apparently, it was the first part of his plan, something he needed to do in order to fulfill his promises tome.
I decided it was best to just go with the flow, since he was the one doing all of the tough work. But just because I wasn’t putting up a fight didn’t mean I wasn’t feeling concerned about all that was happening.
I was worried—not just for me, but for Banks, too. And thoughts of Henry had been on my mind from the very moment I saw him outside the cemetery.
My dog was alive.
My last connection to Graham.
Even if he realized that was the case, Banks refused to be stopped. He intended to locate my dog and bring him back to me. The thought of having Henry back thrilled me at the same time it made me realize just how much I loved the way Banks cared about me. It was so sweet.
As for Banks’s actual plan, I had no clue what it was. The only thing I was aware of was that he wanted to get here first thing this morning, so we could get inside, talk to whichever members of his team he wanted to, and they could decide on where to go next before we had to get back to the house, so Rhys’s nap schedule wouldn’t be interrupted.
After he parked, Banks got out, lifted Rhys out of his seat, and turned to lead us toward the building. And just as he took his first step in that direction, Banks reached for my hand. It felt like such an intimate gesture—a big moment—and yet, Banks seemed to do it without giving it a second thought. I liked the way it made me feel, even if it made my belly tremble just a bit harder.
It was all so effortless for him—carrying Rhys in one arm while holding my hand using the other.
The moment we stepped inside, we were greeted by Avalon, who appeared overjoyed to see the three of us there together in the capacity that we were.
“Good morning,” she greeted us.
“Good morning, Avalon,” I replied.
“Morning. Are the guys here?” Banks asked, cutting to the chase and clearly not interested in anything much besides the task at hand.
Avalon nodded. “Yep. They’re in the conference room.”
“Perfect.”
Without giving anyone else a chance to speak, Banks took me by the hand again, and he led me away from Avalon’s desk. I turned back to look at her and offered an apologetic expression. She didn’t seem the least bit upset. In fact, she was smiling back and waving her hand in a way that indicated she was urging me to move forward with Banks, wherever he planned to take me.
A moment later, Banks came to a stop, released my hand, and placed his palm flat against the small of my back. He guided me forward into the room, where two men were already waiting for us.
No sooner had he directed me to a seat, Banks declared, “Guys, this is Lamise. Lamise, this is Blaze and Paxton. Blaze is one of our private investigators here, and Pax works in the kidnap and ransom unit with me.”
They offered chin lifts in my direction as I said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
Banks and I both sat down, the guys making comments about Rhys, then it was time to get down to business.
“So, I gave you both a little bit of information about the situation yesterday, but I wanted to give you the full details this morning, so we could figure out together what the next best step is here,” Banks announced.
