* * *
Drake didn't look that surprised to see him. Brice wanted to smack the smug grin off the man's face, but he couldn't. Not when he needed his help.
"Brice Masterson, what a pleasant surprise." The dark haired devil's smile was sharp, and Brice assumed, insincere.
"I need to talk to you."
"Of course," Alex said after a moment, then stepped aside to allow Brice to enter. The walk down the hall to his office was silent, and neither man said a word until both were seated and staring at each other over the large desk.
"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" A hint of a smile played at the corners of Drake's lips.
Brice took a deep breath. Irrational thoughts tumbled through his brain. Just this morning he'd been confronting Janna about spending the night in this very house, and now he was here, about the beg his rival for help. Now was not the time to give in to the urge to knock out the smug bastard's teeth.
Alex watched Brice as the silence stretched on, finally speaking first. "Look, if this is about Janna spending the night, I can assure you that nothing happened."
"I know," Brice said. "That's not why I'm here."
If Alex was giving the pretense of being surprised earlier, genuine confusion was evident on his features now. "Then what is this about?"
"Janna's missing, and I need your help."
"Of course," Drake replied without hesitation. "But I'm not sure what I can do. What's happened?"
Brice sighed. "You remember my cousin Chester? I'm sure your paths have crossed at one event or another."
Alex nodded. "Yes, I seem to recall he was a man with a certain...alcoholic charm."
"He's a lush, but generally harmless. Until I helped put his father in federal prison. He's holding a grudge, and I think he's kidnapped, Janna. I'm afraid he'll hurt her to get to me. And I don't know where he's taken her."
"Where do I fit in? I assume you've alerted the authorities?" At Brice's nod, he continued. "And you've hired someone, or a lot of someones, if I know you, to look for her." Brice nodded again. "Then what can I do to help?"
"I need to find my cousin, and I need to do it quickly. He can't get far before he needs to crawl into a bottle. And since Daddy's in prison, he's been cut off from his usual allowance, so he's probably exhausted nearly all of his resources. That makes me think he's on one of the properties his father owns. The problem is, I'm not sure how many properties my uncle has. I'm certain his business hasn't been legitimate in years, and there's no telling what shells he's got his holdings hidden under."
Brice stared directly at his rival. "I know you've got a guy in Public Records, or the Assessor's Office, someone who finds information for you when you need it."
Alex's face was an impartial mask. "What makes you say that?"
"Look, let's cut the bullshit for once. We've hated each other for years. And we've been business rivals for nearly as long. I know you're capable of getting information on a piece of real estate faster than anyone else. That's how you beat me to the punch with that little piece of property I was eyeing for a new energy-efficient industrial park."
At his companion's raised eyebrow, Brice continued. "See? I'm not going to pretend that I don't keep tabs on you, so do me the same favor. You've never been to the Feed the Homeless fundraiser before, and yet you happened to turn up this year, and end up at my table?"
Alex rested his chin on his hands, perhaps to hide his smile behind his fingers. "Could be a coincidence."
Brice shook his head. "Sure it could be. And you could have just taken an interest in my girlfriend for purely platonic reasons, just like you did with nearly every girlfriend I had my senior year. Who just happened to end their relationships with me before taking up with you."
Alex leaned back and sighed. "Point taken. But I'll have you know, though I may have started out with the intention of seducing Janna, I didn't follow through with it."
"I know," Brice said, waving his hand to stop them from going down that road. "I trust Janna. She wouldn't do that to me."
He stared into the steel gray eyes of his adversary, one he was trying to convert to an unlikely ally. "So, do you have a guy who can get the information I need or not? I can dig one up myself, but I don't want to waste time. Will you help me find her?"
Alex nodded. "Janna is my friend, and I have few enough of those to let one go easily. I'll call my guy right now, see what he can do."
Brice let out the breath he'd been holding when Drake dialed the number. His foot tapped nervously as his thoughts raced. While he fed Alex the information he needed for his employee, his body wanted to rush out into the night, to drive, to search, to hunt. Sitting still was killing him. Each moment she was slipping further away.
He just prayed that she could hang on a little longer.