Perhaps she should have phoned ahead, but she suspected Ryan would ignore her call and if that happened, she wasn’t sure of her next move. And she’d wanted to see this place for herself. Maybe even catch a glimpse of the enigmatic Christian Roth.
She’d looked Roth up on the police files after her meeting with the colonel and his sidekick, Father O’Brien, that morning. There had been nothing of any interest. If the colonel had anything on him, they were keeping the information to themselves. She hated that.
Beside her, Jess fidgeted.
Jess had recently turned sixteen. Faith had seen the photos of her before she’d been abducted. She’d been a pretty, if slightly plump teenager. Nothing out of the ordinary. Now she was almost ethereal, her body slender, her face slimmed down so the bone structure showed clear beneath her skin. But her eyes held the biggest change. At times, they appeared haunted and much older than her years.
“Will she really be here?” Jess asked.
Faith knew she was referring to the woman who had found her. “I hope so.” She turned to study the girl. “Why does she mean so much to you? What’s so special about her?”
Jess considered the question. “I was in a dark place, and she brought me out of there. She saved me.”
It didn’t make sense to Faith. And she hated things that didn’t have a rational explanation. There must be one; there always was. She just had to find it. Dig and dig and keep digging, and it would be there.
“But how? What did she do exactly?”
She’d asked these questions before, and it was always at this point that Jess became vague.
Now she saw the girl’s eyes lose focus as though she was searching inside herself. For the first time, she sensed she might get some sort of meaningful answer and she leaned in closer. But at that moment, the man on the reception desk waved to Faith and the connection was broken.
He held out the telephone, and Faith hurried across. She took the receiver; it was Ryan. She spoke with him before handing the phone back. “He’s on his way.”
Faith was pacing the floor when the elevator doors opened. Ryan hadn’t changed at all—she suspected he might even be wearing the same outfit he’d had on that last night they’d worked together. Either that or he bought his clothes in bulk. But he seemed well.
And he wasn’t alone. The man from earlier was at his side. Faith tightened her grip on her bag and stepped forward to meet them. Jess came up beside her.
Ryan nodded to the girl. “Hello, Jess. How have you been?”
“Okay.”
Ryan turned his attention to Faith. “Faith, you look like shit.”
Faith grinned. “Aw, thank you, Ryan, sweet and diplomatic as always.”
“So how have you been? Are you all right now?” He sounded uncomfortable, but he’s always hated talking about illness so she let him off, but not too lightly. “Thanks for the concern and all the flowers and the visits and…”
He shifted from foot to foot. As well he should. “Sorry. I’ve been busy. New job…”
“So we meet again,” a man’s low voice said as Ryan trailed off. For a second, he appeared relieved at the interruption then he frowned. Now why was that?
Faith turned her attention back to the other man and almost wished she hadn’t. His eyes were heavy-lidded, almost sleepy, behind a thick fringe of lashes. They scrutinized her from head to toe—lingering at various points along the way. For the first time in her life, she wished she wasn’t quite so scrawny and maybe that she’d had a haircut in the last two years or put on some makeup. The thought shocked her rigid.
His full lips curved in a slight smile as though he could read her thoughts, and he took a step closer.
Faith fought the urge to step back. Instead, she made herself give him an equally close scrutiny. It was supposed to have been offhand—as though two could play at that game—to prove she wasn’t affected. Which was stupid. Because she was; her pulse racing, her mouth parched. But once she’d started staring, she couldn’t tear her gaze away.
While she was tall, she still had to tilt her head back to stare into his face. She left that quickly, not wanting to make eye contact again, and moved down the strong column of his throat, broad shoulders, encased in leather, lean hips—encased in more leather. He looked like some sort of gang leader, drug-dealer type. So what was he doing with Ryan? A client?
Ryan sighed. “Faith, this is my new partner, Ash Delacourt.”
Her gaze shot to Ryan’s face, but she could read nothing from his expression. He had a new partner? The idea hurt, but that was stupid. “We’ve already met,” she said. “Though he failed to mention he was your partner.”
“It’s sort of a new thing.”
Beside her Jess took a step forward and held out her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Delacourt.”
She had better manners than Faith, but then Jess wasn’t reeling from the shock that Mr. Leather-Clad, Bad-Guy look-alike was Ryan’s new partner.
He took Jessica’s hand. “And to meet you, Jessica.” His voice was a rough purr that sent shivers down Faith’s spine.
She forced her gaze around to stare at Ryan. “A new thing?”