The Only Shark In The Sea (The Date Shark Series Book 3) (27 page)

It all tumbled out of her mouth, her thoughts barely keeping up with her tongue. Unsure of his response, she pinned her bottom lip between her teeth and waited.

“Are you serious?” Vance asked.

She nodded, though her confidence was slipping.

“Yes,” he said quickly, “but not just because I don’t like being in my apartment. I had already been considering and had pretty much decided to move.” His hand moved from her shoulder and slid onto her cheek. “I want to be with you…all the time, because I feel good with you and I love spending time with you and because I love…”

“So sorry for cutting in,” a booming, jovial voice interrupted. Vance scowled at Michael Moniteau while Natalie tensed to the point of barely being able to breathe. “I usually give a few words at these things to acknowledge all the hard work everyone has done during the year and congratulate a few key players who’ve really made a difference, and I was hoping I could steal Natalie away for a few minutes to introduce her to the crowd.”

Vance looked less than pleased with the turn of events. Natalie felt like she was going to pass out while at the same time strangely confident. She’d taken a huge risk asking Vance to move in with her…and he’d actually said yes. More than that, she was almost positive she knew what he was about to say before Michael had interrupted him.

Before Vance could step in and try to save her from this, she looked at Michael and said, “Of course. It would be my pleasure.”

Michael smiled triumphantly and Natalie had the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she leaned in toward Vance and brushed her lips against his cheek before pulling back. He was too stunned to react when Michael directed her toward a stage to their left. Natalie hated the idea of being up in front of people, especially if she had to do it next to Michael, but knowing Vance would be waiting for her when she escaped gave her enough strength to persevere.

Before meeting Vance, Natalie had seen everyone around her as a potential source of more pain and judgment. That really hadn’t changed. People could still be cruel and demanding and hurtful. People like her father demanded respect through manipulation and fear. People like Michael often expected it because of their wealth and prestige. The difference between them and Vance was that he earned her respect and love through kindness and compassion. Understanding that seemed to put everything else in perspective.

Chapter 29

The Roof

Stifling his irritation at Moniteau was only possible by focusing on his pride in Natalie for taking control and not being afraid. Moniteau annoyed him to no end, but Natalie couldn’t have been less interested and had surprised him by not shying away. As Vance walked back to the table to wait for Natalie, a man who seemed familiar but he couldn’t quite place walked up to him.

“Vance Sullivan, right?” he asked. Vance nodded and accepted his extended hand. “Donald, Natalie’s boss.”

“Oh, right, sorry, it’s been a rough few weeks. I knew you were familiar, but I couldn’t remember from where.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Donald said. “You’ve had a lot on your mind.” They shook hands, then Donald stuffed both his hands in his pockets before glancing to where Moniteau was leading Natalie onto the stage with several others. “Thank you for coming,” he said without taking his gaze off Moniteau. “He insisted she come, but I knew she couldn’t handle Michael’s personality alone. He’s a big client for us, but he’s a bit much to take sometimes.”

“I can imagine,” Vance said.

Donald shook his head as he watched Moniteau parade himself around on the stage. “She’s been doing a lot better lately at work, but still, I figured this would be too much to ask of her without some backup, so I really appreciate you coming.”

“It’s really no problem. We pretty much spend most of our time together anyway,” Vance said.

Moniteau started speaking, going on and on about how great his employees were and how much he appreciated them—and eventually moved on to introducing the people he had brought up on stage. Trying to pay attention so he could make sure Natalie was all right, he was suddenly distracted by an unexpected face in the crowd.

Grabbing Donald’s arm, he pointed across the ballroom to a balding, frumpy man loitering around the edges of the room. “Do you know that man?”

Donald narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “I’ve seen him in the lobby of our building a few times, but I don’t have any idea who he is. Why?”

“He lives in Natalie’s building and he seems to have some kind of interest in her I can’t figure out,” Vance said worriedly. “Is there any reason he would be here tonight?”

“Unless he works for Moniteau, I can’t see how he even got in,” Donald said. He now seemed concerned as well. “I know Natalie alerted security that someone was trying to get in contact with her that she wasn’t interested in talking to. She tried to play it down, but I got the sense she was pretty worried.”

Vance dragged a hand down his face. Of course Natalie tried to minimize the risk her father posed. “This isn’t the guy she warned security about, but I’m beginning to think he’s connected in some way. He always seems to know things he shouldn’t and is always around when you wouldn’t expect him to be.” He glanced back up at the stage, seeing that Natalie was the only one left standing with Moniteau.

Feeling that something was wrong, he turned to Donald and saw the same expression on his face. “Should I get security?” he asked.

Vance nodded. “I think that might be best, just in case. At the very least, that man, I think his name is Howard, shouldn’t be here if he wasn’t invited.”

In agreement, Donald took off toward a well-built man with an earpiece. Anxious to get Natalie away from any risks, he tapped his foot impatiently as Moniteau rambled on, extolling Natalie’s intelligence and skills. It seemed to take forever before he finally wrapped up his thoughts and escorted Natalie down from the stage. When they reached the bottom step, Vance was there waiting.

“We need to leave,” he said as he took her hand.

She didn’t ask questions, just grabbed his hand and looked ready to bolt. It was Moniteau who slowed them down with objections. “Dinner hasn’t even been served. Please, you must stay.”

Out of patience, Vance rounded on him. “We’re leaving,” he snapped.

“Vance, what’s going on?” Natalie asked worriedly.

Even Moniteau seemed concerned now, especially when security came striding toward him. “Is there a problem?” he demanded when they reached him.

One of the security guards stepped up and said, “We’ve detained a man who snuck in without an invitation. He claimed he was a guest of Ms. Price’s, but he seemed quite agitated and is clearly not being honest.”

Natalie paled and clutched Vance’s arm. “My father?”

“No,” Vance said quickly, “that weird Howard guy from your building, but I think there’s something odd going on with him.”

Moniteau took control after seeing Natalie’s reaction and pointed at the man who had spoken. “You will escort these two to their car.” His attention switched to the second guard. “I want to speak with this Howard.”

The guards nodded and went their separate ways, the one assigned as Vance and Natalie’s escort ushering them and Donald toward the entrance. “Maybe she shouldn’t go home,” Donald said as they rushed out of ballroom.

“I’ll take her to my apartment. She’ll be safe there.”

Several more security guards joined them at the entrance. One handed Vance a card with Moniteau’s contact information. “Mr. Moniteau will contact you later this evening to make sure Ms. Price is safe and well, but should she need anything, he asks that you contact him immediately.”

“Thank you,” Vance said as he stuffed the card in his breast pocket. He may have thought the man was obnoxious, but there were obviously reasons he did so well in business.

His car was waiting by the curb of the sweeping valet loop when they arrived and a uniformed valet stood ready to open the passenger door. The bright overhead lights of the awning left the interior of the car dark until the valet opened the door and lit up the passenger’s seat. The tension of not knowing what was going on had Vance on edge. His sole concern was protecting Natalie, not getting answers right that minute, so he quickly helped her into the car and shut the door. He had just turned around to thank the security guards for their help when his car lurched away from the curb and blasted into traffic.

For half a second, nobody moved. It took that long for panic to set in and everyone to start moving. Vance and Donald both started to run after the car, but it was already impossible to distinguish on the dark city streets. Feet pounded on the pavement behind them and Vance spun around in a panic and started babbling. “OnStar. My car has OnStar. We have to find her. I can’t let anything happen to her.

His panic made him clumsy as he tried to get his phone out of his pocket to call OnStar. The guard next to him grabbed his arm and forced him to focus. “Who took Ms. Price?”

“I didn’t see.” His hand pressed against his mouth as he berated himself for his stupidity. “I didn’t even look. I thought the valet on the sidewalk had the keys.”

He gave Vance a rough shake and demanded, “Who do you
think
took Ms. Price? You were worried about someone other than the man we have detained, right?”

“Her father,” Vance said. “Walter Townsend. He’s been harassing her, threatening to find her and make her pay for something that happened when she was a teenager. What happened was his fault anyway, but he blames her for some reason.”

The guard released his arm and started speaking to his fellow guards, demanding someone get police on scene and figure out who and where Walter Townsend was. Vance shouted for him to call for Peter Morrow as he dialed OnStar and barely let the woman who answered give her introductory greeting before speaking over the top of her.

“My car’s been stolen. My girlfriend is in the car still. Kidnapped. She’s been kidnapped. You have to find the car right now.”

Startled by his brusqueness, she still sprang into action as soon as she processed all the information. It took a few precious seconds to give her the information she needed to access his car’s location remotely, but she was back on the line quickly. “Mr. Sullivan, I have a location for your car, but…it’s stationary.”

“What?”

“It’s not moving. It’s only about three blocks away from where you are at the hotel.”

He didn’t wait for security or police. Donald and one of the guards ran after him as soon as they realized he had taken off, shouting at him to wait, but he refused to listen. His heart felt like it was going to explode by the time he reached the road the woman told him to turn on, and then his knees buckled when he saw his car sitting there with the doors wide open and no sign of Natalie anywhere. A crippling sense of failure swept over him. He’d promised to protect her, and he hadn’t. It was like losing Stephanie all over again.

Cop cars screeched to a halt on the road beside him and chaos reigned as they searched the car for any clues as to where Natalie had been taken. Donald helped pull him up from the ground when an officer approached Vance with questions after telling him that Peter was on his way. He asked the same questions the security guards had, and Vance gave the same answers, wishing he had something more to offer.

He didn’t even know where Natalie was from. He was able to tell them her name used to be Clara Townsend and it was a small town, but that was it. It could have been local or clear across the country. He had no idea. All he knew was that her father was dangerous and hell bent on making her pay for his mistakes.

“Howard!” he said, grabbing the cop’s arm when he tried to walk away. “Howard has something to do with this. Always hanging around, knowing stuff he shouldn’t, even delivering the letter from her father. He gets her mail somehow. He must have seen the invitation to the gala and knew she would be here tonight.”

“He’s refusing to talk without a lawyer present,” the officer said.

Shaking his head, Vance spun around and stalked away from the cops and his car. The security guard followed him, no doubt knowing exactly what Vance intended. The man was a good six inches taller than him and considerably more built, so Vance could only hope he wouldn’t try to stop him from getting at Howard. He couldn’t let Natalie be hurt again.

Storming into the hotel, the security guard immediately took the lead and directed him toward a back room. Security and police littered the hallway, but no one said a word when the security guard with Vance opened a door and nodded. Vance stalked in and grabbed the front of Howard’s shirt. “Where is she?” he demanded through clenched teeth. “Where did he take her?”

“I don’t know!” Howard insisted.

“Why were you here tonight? How did you even know? Did you go through her mail again?”

“I don’t know anything!”

Vance’s fist slammed into his jaw, yet no one stepped in to stop him. Blood dripped down his face as Howard blubbered. “I was trying to warn her,” he whined.

“What?” Vance yanked him forward, free hand still locked in a fist. “Why have you been stalking her?”

“I wasn’t stalking her. I’m a P.I.,” he said as he wiped away tears and blood. “Her father hired me.”

It took everything Vance had not to punch him again. Howard seemed to recognize that and cowered back against the chair. “Why on earth would you help that bastard find her?”

“He told me she had ran away, because some kid raped her in high school. He said she was just scared to come home and he wanted to help her.” Blood and saliva spilled onto his chin as he whimpered. “How was I supposed to know it wasn’t true?”

“Did you even think to look it up or do some research, you idiot?” Vance shoved him back against the chair.

“It seemed pretty straight forward at first, but then…when I found her, something didn’t seem right.”

“But you told him where she was anyway?” Vance clenched his fist until it ached, trying desperately to control his fury at the man.

“I didn’t know,” he whined.

Glowering down at him, he made sure the man knew he meant what he was about to say. “If he hurts her again, I will personally make sure you are held equally responsible, do you understand me?” The man nodded furiously. “If there is anything else you know, you had better give it up right now or you
will
pay for withholding information.”

“I’ll make sure of it,” a voice threatened.

Vance glanced up to see a furious Michael Moniteau standing in the doorway. The pitiful Howard cowered and caved. “All I know is where he’s from, some little town in Michigan called Spring Hills. I swear I don’t know where he’s taken her.”

Storming away from the sorry excuse for a man in the chair, Vance stalked up to Moniteau. In his head, he knew he should let the police do their jobs and stay out of the way, but there was no way he was sitting still and waiting for them to find her. “I assume you have a helicopter?”

Moniteau scoffed. “Of course I do. It’s on standby on the roof.”