Sienna

On the morning we're supposed to take our flight home back to New York, I whimper into the plush mattress, attempting to snuggle down further into the comforter.

Not an ounce of me wants to go back. Returning to New York means returning to my responsibilities and being constantly alert for when Travis will strike. It's been quiet since the night I was followed, but it doesn't bring any sense of peace. Instead, I feel like I'm in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by sharks, and at any given second, they'll choose to attack.

I roll over to bring myself closer to Lincoln, but all I meet are empty sheets. Where did he go? He was here last night with me when I fell asleep.

Attempting to calm my racing heart, it's no use when I bolt out of bed, grabbing a silk robe from the bathroom to tie around my waist. If Travis found us here and decided to make his move now, he'd take Lincoln out first. He knows how important he is to me. That, or he'd use him for ransom to get to me before he killed him.

My fears evaporate as soon as I pad barefoot into the penthouse's living room. Lincoln is on the couch with a bunch of papers surrounding him, seeming deep in thought. Bags are heavy beneath his eyes, more than likely from lack of sleep, and coffee cups are littered on the end table beside him.

"Linc?"

He drags his eyes away from the computer on his lap, sending me a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Morning. I grabbed a variety of things from the bakery down the street. Figured you'd be hungry."

I eye the arrangement of goodies in the box placed on the kitchen counter, grabbing a freshly baked croissant. "Have you eaten?" I ask.

"I'm not hungry. I've been... Well, I've been busy."

"I can see that."

Skipping the barstool, I stride right over to him and am thankful that he shuffles the papers to the side, placing his laptop beside him so I can plop down onto his lap. He needs a break from whatever he's spent hours doing. Judging from the papers surrounding us, I'd say it's more investigative work to try and locate Travis. "Did you find anything?"

He wraps his arms around my waist and kisses my shoulder, sending a flurry of butterflies loose. "Sort of. I paid a guy to dig into Travis's parents and found something...interesting." He leafs through the papers until he grabs one in particular, holding it in front of me to read. It's a birth certificate from the hospital where I was born, but it's not my name listed. It's a girl named Felicity Porter. She has Travis's last name and is only four years younger than me, judging by her date of birth. "Did he ever mention having a sister?"

A sister?

I shake my head. "He was an only child, just like me. It's one of the things we had in common. At least I thought..."

"This could lead to nothing, but I'm going to dig a little deeper here and see what comes up. Felicity seems to have fallen off the map around four years ago, and I wouldn't be surprised if she goes by another name now. Granted, this could have been due to her being adopted and wanting a different name, but one would think she'd use the legal route to do so and have proper documentation."

"You think she changed her name for a different reason?"

Lincoln shrugs. "Could be. Or, as I said before, this could be nothing. With his family being religious, I'd bet his mother having an affair didn't go over so well. And with him being too young to remember, he wouldn't have realized if she were pregnant and gave the baby up for adoption. It could mean he has no idea his sister exists, but it could also mean he found her, and she's doing whatever it takes to help her brother."

"I don't... I mean, I just can't believe he has a sister. His mother was so concerned about her reputation that she gave up her other child? A child that could have grown up in a home full of loving individuals? Who knows what horrors she's faced growing up in the system." A shudder racks through my body, causing Lincoln to pull me in tighter.

"I'll find out more, okay? I'm waiting for this guy to call me back with more details."

"Linc..." Swallowing a bite of croissant, I twist in his lap to hook my arms around his neck. "You're exhausted. You need rest."

"We have the plane ride home for that." This man and his damn work ethic. I know it's ironic as soon as the thought pops into my head, but coming from someone who works non-stop, he needs the next couple of hours to relax. There won't be time for it when we return to New York.

"Can you at least take a bite of this for me?" Holding the croissant to his mouth, he relents and bites an edge off. A hint of chocolate remains on the corner of his lips, and when he darts his tongue out to lap it up...

"Sweet and sugary," he hums, a smoldering glare settling into his eyes. "You know what it reminds me of?"

"Eat a whole one, and you can show me rather than tell me."

He rolls his eyes. "I'm fine, Sienna. Truly. I'm close to figuring something out, and there's no second to waste."

I stare at him with the papers sprawled around us, the multiple coffee mugs, and the rigid set of his jaw in his tired yet determined expression. This version of him is like noticing him in a brand new light.

"Have you ever thought about giving the company to Jett?"

His eyes snap to mine. "What?"

"Giving the company to Jett," I repeat. "Have you ever seriously considered it?"

"Why would I give my father's company over to Jett? You've heard my mother's concerns about him using Carmen to get his shares. Imagine what he'd do if he owned the company."

"I understand her concerns, but what do you want? Before taking over the company, you wanted to be a cop, Linc. That's all you dreamed of being. This..." I wave around at the various papers. "This is you in your element. I've never seen you so..."

He arches a brow, willing me to continue.

"Enamored with something."

He scoffs. "You've seen me enamored with something. I'm enamored with something right now." Squeezing my hip for emphasis, I bat his hand away.

"Something, not someone. I just can't help but wonder who you would have been if everything with your father hadn't happened." I hold my breath, realizing I'm walking on a thin line, but Lincoln doesn't seem angry or upset, just confused. "If you hadn't hung onto the guilt you felt about not doing what he wanted and taking over the company, who would you be?"

"A cop," he answers. "I would have finished school and lived out my dream career, but those weren't the cards I was dealt."

"Just because these were the cards you were dealt doesn't mean you can't pick new ones and start the game over with a fresh hand."

"I—" He pauses, letting that sentence marinate as if he's never thought of his situation having such a simple solution. "If I gave up my father's company, I'd be letting him down. The second Jett took over, he'd run it into the ground or, worse, sell it. I can't let that happen."

"But couldn't your mother ensure that didn't happen? She could hire someone else to take over the company, right? Or she could run it until she felt Jett was capable of taking over it. All I'm saying is you don't have to be stuck, Linc. There's a way out of this. You know as well as I do, your mom would never ask you to stay in a position you didn't want."

"Who made you so damn logical?" He teases.

"I'm being serious!"

"I know, I know." Releasing a sigh, he drags a hand through his hair. "You would be okay if I was just a cop?"

Just a cop?

"I'm not sure what's more offensive. You assume I think being a cop isn't a hard job or that I would disapprove if you decided to be one."

"Okay, that came out wrong. I just meant... I mean, you'd make more than me, and—"

"I make more than you now."

"But you'd make a lot more."

Pulling away from his embrace, I shoot him a look of disbelief. "It sounds like you're more worried about this than me. Is your masculinity that fragile, Lincoln?"

"What? No, I'd..." He chuckles. "Truthfully? I'd be the best stay-at-home cat dad there ever was, but with our future being together, we have to talk about these things. If I ever decided to follow through and be a cop, the loss of income is something we'd need to discuss eventually, right? I'd want us both to be okay with it."

Our future. A unit. A package deal.

I've never gotten this far with any of my previous relationships. Thinking about living with someone and sharing a life with them didn't feel natural until I met Lincoln. Now, it seems too natural. So much so that his concern over me having to pitch in more money so he can live out his dream seems ridiculous. Of course, I'd support him. I love him.

"I'm more than okay with it." I finish my croissant and lick my fingers clean, smirking when Lincoln's gaze drops to the motion. "Besides, how could you ever think I'd turn you away from a position with a sexy uniform that requires you to carry handcuffs?"

His eyes darken ever further. "Miss Stone, you and that dirty mouth will be the—" The shrill of his ringtone causes me to jump. He mutters a string of cuss words as he grabs it off the table, stilling when he reads the contact. "It's Jett."

"Why does that surprise you?"

"Because he never calls me." After another two seconds of contemplating, he swipes to answer, placing it on speaker. "Hello?"

"Lincoln." His tone is cool, calm, and collected, but underneath it all... Something is wrong.

"What happened?" He asks.

"It's...Carmen. She's gone missing, and I'm unsure if your person of interest has something to do with it. I figured you'd want to know in case when I find her, he's there."

All the blood pounding with lust seconds ago has instantly chilled. My body is frozen in place, unable to move, and the heart-crushing realization that I should have known this would happen causes the guilt to fester immediately.

Travis would do anything to get to me, including using those close to me, and I ran off with Lincoln without thinking of what that would mean for Riley and Carmen, isolated and alone, ready for the taking.

What the fuck was I thinking?

"Of course, It's Travis. Who else would do something like this?" Lincoln sneers.

A long pause of silence, and then, "That's what I'm trying to figure out."

"You're still in Los Angeles, right? I need you to attend the meeting tomorrow. Sienna and I will leave within the hour, and—"

"I'm already back in New York," Jett replies. "If all goes to plan, Carmen will be found by the end of the day. I've got...people searching for her. I don't expect it to be a long wait."

People? What people? Jett seems too calm for all of this to be happening. It's almost as if... As if this has happened before. Carmen had mentioned the people she worked with were dangerous. Maybe I should have relayed this tidbit of information to Lincoln.

"If he's there, be sure he doesn't get away," Lincoln says firmly.

The laugh that comes through the other end of the phone is horrifying. A lethal, sinful nightmare come to life. "Whoever was responsible for her capture or partook in any part of it won't be leaving that room, brother. I'll make sure of it." A promise of death, but with the phone call being recorded, he's vague. Has he killed before?

"R-Riley," I can hardly manage to get out. I'm as still as a statue on Lincoln's lap. "Is Riley okay?"

"Security is already outside of their apartment, keeping a watchful eye. She's safe," Jett reassures.

Well, that was thoughtful of him. I never thought I'd use that adjective to describe him, but... What if he really does care for my best friend?

"Why the hell do you have access to security?" Lincoln blurts but then sighs, putting his fingers on the bridge of his nose. "None of this is important right now. I'll ask the questions later. If you hear something, let us know. We'll be there as soon as we can."