Second-in-Command (Men of Hidden Justice 2)

Damien’s low mutterings interrupted my inner tirade.

“Um, Boss?”

“Yeah?”

“Little bird is in flight.”

I blinked. “What?”

“Melissa. She’s outside the building.”

I was out of my chair in a second. “What the fuck?” I yelled.

He pointed to his monitor. “She took the front elevator down and walked out the door. She’s headed east.”

“How the fuck did she get the elevator to work?”

“She had a pass card.” He typed something on the keyboard. “Sofia’s, actually.”

I headed for the stairs, not able to wait for the elevator. “Track her. Call my cell.”

As I bounded down the stairs, I saw a text from Sofia saying she’d been called into the hospital on an emergency. “Be back later. Left list and money on table.”

Obviously, Missy had found them.

Outside, I found her quickly. She was walking slowly, not in a hurry. She wore the clothes I’d bought her and a jacket of mine that was way too big, so she was easy to spot. Sofia had given her a pair of sneakers that were a little large, so she shuffled somewhat. Her appearance would have made me laugh, except I wasn’t in a laughing mood. I was furious. Why had she left? And most importantly, what the hell was she thinking?

When Damien had told me she was outside, my first thought was she was doing something stupid, like trying to find Xander on her own or trying to run away. But I realized quickly that wasn’t her plan. She wasn’t sneaking out, and she wasn’t rushing. In fact, she stopped to peer into a couple of windows, and I realized it was part curiosity and part a chance to give herself the opportunity to catch her breath. This was costing her a lot of spent energy.

My first instinct was to rush forward, grab her, and take her back to the safety of the warehouse. To scream at her for whatever harebrained idea she had going on at the moment. But part of me was curious and wanted to know where she was headed. So, I followed behind her, making sure she didn’t spot me.

At the corner, she stopped, leaning on the pole for a minute, then pushed off and headed for the parking lot of the store she had asked about last night. I frowned in confusion. What on earth was she doing?

Then it hit me. The stubborn little minx decided to do her own shopping. But why? The money and list I had left were meant for Sofia—had she really thought I had left it for her? That I was giving her carte blanche to wander the streets? I shook my head. Of course she had. I had already discovered her stubborn, independent streak. Why should it shock me she saw the list and made such a ridiculous leap?

We would be discussing that error of judgment in full. But for now, I was going to let her have her fun. No matter how angry and anxious it made me.

She seemed to perk up a little once she got in the store. Or the shopping cart she pushed helped steady her. I wasn’t sure which. I took a hand basket as I followed her, adding an item or two I picked up blindly in order to look as if I was supposed to be there. She never noticed me. She never noticed the men staring at her or their admiring gazes—even in her slightly bizarre outfit.

They noticed my glare, though.

I was angrier than ever at her lack of awareness. If she had looked around, she would have seen me, but it appeared as if she was blind to anything but her target. She meandered through the grocery section, putting a couple of small items in the cart, including a bag of chips and a bottle of root beer. I had snacks in the apartment but she had never asked for them, and I wondered if she had thought about having to carry them back the few blocks to the building. Or how she planned to get in since the pass card only worked on the elevator.

As I trailed after her, I couldn’t help but think of the same situation Matteo had found himself in with Evie. He had blown a gasket when he’d found out she was alone in a mall and had her followed, refusing to listen to her explanations. He’d escorted her home, angry and frustrated. I had advised him not to make her a prisoner in her own home, but now I found I understood his anger. I wanted to pick Missy up and drag her out of the store even if she screamed and protested. Lock her away where I knew she was safe.

Matteo would howl in amusement if he saw me now.

Once she got to the clothing section, she looked around in amazement, then started lifting things off the display hangers, holding them up, replacing them, then picking something else. She put a couple of pairs of the stretchy pants that Sofia had bought her in the cart but seemed unable to come to a decision on shirts. I noticed a lot of what she held up was very girlie—flowers, lace, that sort of thing. She set them all aside and instead chose a couple of simple long-sleeved shirts. She had a pen in her hand, and I watched her calculating what she was spending, which made me want to laugh again. I could buy her anything she wanted in this store and not worry about it, but of course, she would have no idea. I realized what she was putting in the cart were the lower-priced items instead of the ones that she wanted. Budgeting as she went. I watched as she leaned heavily on the handle of the cart, her energy level depleting rapidly. I had a feeling she was regretting this little outing. And frankly, I was done.