Lucas’ skin began to tingle uncomfortably. “What’s wrong?”
The other man cleared his throat. “There was a mix-up in the Caymans. The island police picked up a man who looked like Vincent Bernardi as he was trying to access your brother’s account. But when my men arrived to take custody, it wasn’t the right man.”
“Fuck!” Lucas exploded. “Are you kidding me?”
The agent groaned into the phone. “My men knew it wasn’t Bernardi immediately, but we don’t have jurisdiction there. We had to let the locals make the arrest.”
Lucas thought his head might detonate, so great was his anger. “Well, you didn’t have to tell me it was a done deal and he was in custody until you knew for sure.”
Lucas’ hands began to shake as he realized he had to call Maxie. “You’d better hope Bernardi hasn’t gotten to Maxie, or I’m going to make sure you lose your job and reputation.”
He cut off the call and dialed Maxie’s cell phone, but it went directly to voice mail as it sometimes did when she was at work. He wasn’t reassured and called Nick Power, Maxie’s boss, on his cell.
“Nick, it’s Lucas Monroe,” Lucas said when Nick answered on the first ring.
“What can I do for you?” Nick asked.
Lucas ran a trembling hand through his hair. “I know I sound like a crazy man, but can you ask Maxie to call me? It’s urgent,” Lucas said, his heart pounding in his chest for reasons he couldn’t put into words.
Logic said he had time to get in touch with her, but his gut screamed something else.
“Andrea, can you give Maxie a message?” Lucas heard Nick ask someone in the office.
He couldn’t hear the
rest of the conversation.
“Okay, as soon as she’s back from her doctor’s appointment, Andrea will let her know,” Nick said.
“Thanks,” Lucas said numbly and disconnected the call. Doctor? She hadn’t mentioned an appointment at any time this week or when he’d dropped her off at work this morning.
Not that he needed to know everything, but when he added her behavior to her secrecy, his feeling of unease grew. Was she sick and hiding it from him? he wondered, his stomach churning.
Okay, he thought, trying to calm himself down. He needed to prioritize. First up, he needed to let her know about Bernardi, so he called her back and left a message to call him, that it was urgent. Then he dialed Tyler Dare and had him work on getting security in place again as soon as possible.
Unable to bring himself to rejoin the business meeting in the conference room, he headed for his office, where he paced the floors. Nothing about today made sense, and he wasn’t comfortable.
At all.
Kade and Derek met up with him after their meeting ended, shutting themselves in his office, giving them privacy.
“Hey, man. What’s wrong?” Derek asked.
“The Feds fucked up and I can’t locate Maxie.” He explained the phone call and Maxie’s unexpected, at least to Lucas, doctor’s appointment. “My skin is itching like something is seriously wrong.”
Kade frowned. “Want me to ask Lexie if she knows anything?”
“Would you? I’m losing my mind.”
Kade pulled out his phone and made the call. “Hey, baby. Have you heard from Maxie?” He listened, glanced at Lucas, and shook his head.
Shit.
Lucas forced himself to breathe.
Kade wrapped up the call and refocused on the problem at hand. “Try her cell again,” he said, not once questioning Lucas’ gut or worry, which he appreciated.
He walked over to his desk, where he’d placed his cell, and the phone rang. He answered immediately.