AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thanks, Shirley. Good night.” She ended the call and turned to Rafe. “Dad wouldn’t have set up that meeting with me at the warehouse if he was having dinner with Hugh followed by a contract negotiation. He wouldn’t have had time.”
“Probably not.”
A ball of ice formed in her stomach. “Unless he aim was to give himself an alibi,” she whispered, and immediately felt guilty. “No, I don’t believe that. Dad might be angry with me for refusing to marry Hugh when he thinks that will make me happy, but he wouldn’t hurt me or burn his own warehouse.”
Rafe glanced at her. “According to Jon’s research, Stewart Group is losing money.”
“I don’t know why that’s happening, but Dad wouldn’t take the easy way out and use the insurance money to pay down debt. Is it possible someone told Dad about the warehouse fire, and he drove to the industrial complex to see the damage for himself?”
“Let’s start our search at his office since that’s where he should have been at 9:00.” He parked in her driveway ten minutes later and escorted Kristi inside with Jackson and Eli on their heels.
Cal and Jon met them in the living room. “What happened?” Cal asked.
Rafe waved Kristi toward the stairs. “Go change while I update them and get water to take with us.” As she hurried upstairs, Rafe began to tell his teammates about the night’s events.
Kristi grabbed fresh clothes and dashed into the bathroom. She looked like she’d cleaned out a chimney. Black smudges streaked her face and clothes.
Minutes later, she exited the bathroom, dressed in clean clothes. After brushing the tangles from her damp hair, Kristi tossed her brush onto her dresser, grabbed her phone, identification cards, and keys, then returned to the first floor kitchen.
Rafe turned. “Ready?”
She stared at his clean face. “You’ve already showered and changed.”
He smiled. “The military trained me to shower fast.”
Jackson slid his medic bag over his shoulder, and scooped up the three bottles of water on the breakfast bar.
“You’re going, too?” Kristi asked.
“I promised the doctor I’d keep an eye on you. I can’t do that from here.”
They walked to Rafe’s SUV. Rafe said, “Office first since that’s the last place on his schedule for tonight. If we don’t find your father, we’ll go to his home.”
Fifteen minutes later, he parked in front of Stewart Group’s headquarters. “Wait for me to come around,” he murmured as Jackson exited the SUV.
While he circled the hood, Rafe scanned the area. “Will the night guard let you inside the building?” he asked when he opened Kristi’s door.
“I have everything I need, including a VIP Stewart Group identification card and keys to the building. Even if the guard is new, I’ll be able to get inside.”
“Let’s go,” Jackson said. “I don’t like being out in the open.”
“Same,” Rafe murmured.
Kristi walked to the glass doors at the front of the building and knocked to get the night guard’s attention.
When the man glanced up, he scowled. Kristi sighed. A new guard. Great. How long of a delay could she expect?
The guard stood and approached the door with his hand resting on the butt of his gun. When he stopped on the other side of the door, he said, “Stewart Group is closed. We open for business tomorrow at 8:00 a.m.”
“I’m Kristi Stewart. Alan Stewart is my father.” She held up her VIP card and her driver’s license. “Open the door, please.”
He unlocked the door and held it open. “Who are they?” he asked, indicating Rafe and Jackson.
“My boyfriend, Rafe, and his friend, Jackson. Is my father here?”
“I don’t know. I came on duty a few minutes ago.”
“Check,” Rafe said. “You must have a log of who’s in the building.”
