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“Why?”
“My sister is with him. She left two weeks ago and I haven’t been able to reach her. I’m worried about her, Mr. Maddox. She cleaned out my checking account and run off with him. She has obligations, contracts to fulfill. Her agent has been in touch with me several times to see if I’ve heard from her. Ruth is in danger of losing a job she wanted more than any other in recent years. This isn’t like her.”
“First, it’s Brent. Second, you said your sister is under contract. What is her job?”
“She’s a model. Companies all over the world beg her to model for their ads.”
“Is she working under her own name?” Trace asked.
“She uses the name Roxanne.”
Trace’s eyebrows rose and Brent whistled.
“Now you understand why this is unusual. Ruth wouldn’t skip a contracted job.”
“Anything else you aren’t telling me?” Brent asked.
Bridget went still. How did he know? “Why do you ask?”
Trace’s boss folded his arms across his chest and waited her out. Good grief. This guy would be fabulous at interrogation. One long look from those icy eyes and any sane bad guy would fold like a suitcase. “She cleaned out my checking account before she left town.”
Trace frowned. “Do you model, too?”
That brought surprised laughter from her which she regretted. Bridget grabbed her ribs with a moan. “Not hardly. I’m a librarian at a local high school. In a bad year, my sister earns ten times what I make.” She stopped. Blood drained from her face. “Oh, no. How could I miss that? I was mad that she left with Hugo and cleaned out my account, and I didn’t think about how ridiculous that was. She doesn’t need my salary.” Tears stung her eyes. “Ruth was begging for me to find her and I left her in his hands for two weeks.”
She set aside her tray and threw off the covers. “I have to find her. What if I’m too late?”
“Whoa, Bridget.” Trace replaced the covers and nudged her back. “I told you. We’ll find her. The best thing you can do for your sister is heal. We need you at your best to give us information about her and Hugo.”
“You don’t have a direction to look,” Brent pointed out. “The world is a big place. We need a location to start.”
“That’s why I was in Chile. Do you know someone who can get in to see Pedro Torino to ask him what he knows?”
Brent and Trace exchanged glances. Both men’s faces were blank, but those eyes were alive with secrets. Okay. Enough with holding information close to the vest. “Trace, you’ve been holding back on me for hours. Time to tell the truth.”
He looked at his boss. “Sir?”
Brent stared at her a moment before turning to Trace. “Tell her. Explain the consequences. I’ll be back.”
After Brent left, Bridget scooted over and patted the side of the bed. “Sit, Trace. Talk to me.” How bad could it be?
She thought about Trace’s job and the area where he’d found her. Bad, she decided. The news could be terrible. As long as he didn’t tell her he’d killed Ruth, she could handle the rest.
He sat and wrapped his hand around hers. “Did Sam talk to you about me while we were in Chile?”
“Not much.” Not as much as Bridget wanted to know. The mysterious stranger who’d rescued her in the alley had fascinated her. Still did. “She said you were a sniper and very good at your job, that you were a protector and had saved the lives of your teammates.”
“We were in Chile on a mission, Bridget. I had an assigned target.”
She studied his face and the stoic resolve showing in his eyes. “You were successful, weren’t you? Of course you were. According to Sam, there’s no one better. Who was your target?”
“Pedro Torino.”
Even though she’d been expecting the news, the words were still a kick to the gut. Pedro was her best lead to find Ruth. Now where would she go for information? She eyed the stone-faced sniper and prayed he and his friends were as good as they claimed. Otherwise, she had no hope of finding her beloved sister.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Trace watched Bridget closely for any signs of rejection and disgust. To his surprise, she looked resigned. “Do you want me to go? I can send in Sam if you would be more comfortable with her.” A healer instead of a killer although the medic was as deadly as the rest of Shadow when she needed to be.
