Addison
I LED JAKE back into the ballroom and saw my mother speaking with one of Asher’s paralegals. My father was nowhere to be seen, but that didn’t surprise me. He often used these events to schmoose and find new business. My mother laughed (less fakey than normal) at something Tori said, and I sighed. Tori Smithers was actually a lovely woman, but she liked my parents, so she’d never be one of us. I didn’t see Dylan, so I made a beeline for my brother, bypassing my parents altogether.
“Where’s Dylan?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I was just going to ask you the same thing.”
“I saw her headed to the restroom,” Tori provided, having joined us. “Hi Addie.”
I smiled. “Hi, Tori. Sorry, I’m a little distracted tonight.”
She hugged me. “No worries.”
“Will you check on Dylan, please?” Asher asked.
“Yes, of course.”
“She was pretty upset,” Tori said.
“Why?” Asher demanded.
“Well, hello, children,” my mother said as she approached us.
“Hi, Mom,” I said. “Where’s Dad?”
“Speaking with one of his cronies, I’d imagine.”
I dragged Jake forward and used him as a shield. “This is Jake Parker.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Allen,” Jake said.
She gave him a limp handshake and smiled her signature smile before clasping her hands in front of her. “You too.”
“Mom, we’ll be right back,” Asher said, setting down his drinks and guiding me away. “We just need to do something really quick. Tori, come with us, please.” As we headed to the restroom, Asher turned on her. “Why was Dylan upset?”
“Try not to scare Tori with your caveman tone, Ashey,” I warned.
“It’s okay, Addie. He doesn’t scare me.” Tori smiled. “Your mother was a little harsh.”
She filled us in on my mother’s abhorrent words, and I watched my brother’s expression harden.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, and walked into the bathroom. A few women milled around, but no one I knew. “Dylan?”
Nothing. I turned to one of the women at the sink. “Have you seen a redhead in a green gown?”
She shook her head.
“I did.”
I turned to see Gwen Wolcott walking into the stall area. “About five minutes ago, speaking with an older gentleman near the front door.”
“An older gentleman?” I asked. “Can you describe him?”
“Around six feet tall, big man, brown hair, in his fifties. I’m sure you know him, though. He owns Bridge City Property Management. I can’t remember his name, but he was on the news the other night when one of his employees was found dead.”
“Randal White?” I asked.
“Yes, that’s the man,” Gwen confirmed.
Randal White was among the Portland’s rich and powerful and, despite a small PR cameo on the six o’clock news, he’d managed to stay out of the spotlight. Wondering what the heck Randal White wanted with Dylan, I rushed back out to the hallway and right into Jake.
“Whoa, you okay?” he asked, as he steadied me.
“No. She’s not in the bathroom. Apparently, she was seen talking to Randal White by the front door. I have a weird feeling, Jake. Something’s not right.”
“All right. It’s okay. We’ll go find her together.”
I took a deep breath and let him guide me toward the entrance. So Dylan was talking to the owner of her old company. No big deal, yet my insides were churning. I hurried, forcing Jake to do the same.
Asher was hot on our heels. “She’s not answering, Jake,” he said. When I glanced over my shoulder, Asher held up his phone. “It goes straight to voice mail.”
“She probably turned it off for the event,” Jake reasoned.
But my stomach twisted in knots. Maybe she was so upset about what my mom had said, she was avoiding Asher’s calls. Just to be sure, I pulled my own phone out and tried. It didn’t even ring before voice mail picked up.
We scoured the entryway and found Randal White speaking to another businessman by the door. Dylan was not with them. I made a beeline for the tycoon, but Jake grabbed my arm and tugged me back.
“Let me handle this, Addison,” he said before marching forward.
I tried to follow him, but Asher put his hands on my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. “Give him a chance,” he whispered.
We turned to watch Jake ask Randal about Dylan.
“That poor girl,” Randal said, frowning. “I pulled her aside to tell her I was sorry about the security guard attacking her, but she was pretty upset about something. She said she had to leave and took off. I’m sorry, but she didn’t say where she was going.”
“Mom,” I seethed. My stupid mother and her stupid mouth.
Asher squeezed my shoulders again, but his full attention was on Randal. Without looking at me, he said, “I’m sure Dylan’s just upset somewhere, Addie. Why don’t you go find Mom and Dad and recruit them to help us look?”
I wanted to argue, but when Asher looked at me, his eyes were heavy with worry. “We need to find her, Addie. We need their resources. Please. You can get Dad to help us. I know you can.”
I forced back tears and nodded. He gave me a quick hug and sent me on my way. I found my mother and father speaking with the Murphys and marched right up to them.
“Oh, there she is now,” my father crooned, reaching a hand out to me. I took it and let him kiss my cheek.
Struggling to keep my tone civil, I said, “Mr. and Mrs. Murphy, it’s lovely to see you both.”
“You as well, Addison,” Mrs. Murphy said. “The party is wonderful, and I can’t believe all the items you were able to get for the bidding. The auction promises to be a lively one.”
I smiled, sick to death of stalling and desperately wanting to drag my parents out by their hair. “Yes, the city’s generosity has been heartwarming. I just need to borrow my mother and father for a moment, if you’ll excuse us?”
The Murphys waved us away and I linked arms with my parents and hurried them away to a quiet hallway.
“Addison, what is going on?” my mother snapped. “Is it necessary to manhandle me like this?”
“Trust me, Mother,” I hissed. “You don’t want me to say what I have to say in front of your friends.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The way you treated Dylan.” I crossed my arms. “I cannot believe how cruel you were.”
“I wasn’t cruel. I told her she cleaned up well. It was a compliment. I didn’t know she could look so… so civilized.”
I gasped. “Nasty, ugly, ungracious words!”
“Addison,” she warned.
I looked to my father, but he just stood there, looking uncomfortable.
“No! You are done treating Dylan like a second-class citizen,” I ground out. “She’s part of our family—”
“She is not!”
“She is! And she’s going to be legally sooner than later, because Asher loves her. I love her and he’s going to marry her. So you need to wrap your mind around that, or you will lose us both.”
She sighed. “Don’t be so dramatic, Addison.”
“Dramatic?” I asked. “You haven’t begun to see dramatic. Do you know Dylan was shot at this week?”
My mom looked away.
My father nodded. “We heard about the incident. But I’m not sure what you think that has to do with us.”
“The man who shot at her… he wants her for information she doesn’t have. They haven’t caught him yet, so he’s still out roaming the streets, probably looking for the chance to get another shot at her.”
Mother scoffed. “That man’s got to be halfway to Canada by now.”
“He could be.” I shrugged. “But that’s not a gamble I’m willing to take with my best friend’s life. But apparently you are.”
They both stared at me. “I hope you’re not insinuating that we had anything to do with that fiasco,” Dad said.
“With that one… no. But with this one… yes. Definitely.”
“This one?” he asked.
I glared at my mom. “Yes. Apparently after Mother insulted Dylan, she took off. So now she’s upset and wandering around Portland while some lunatic is gunning for her.”
Mother’s expression softened. She looked down and shifted her stance. “You can’t blame us for Dylan’s actions.”
Father had no comment.
“I can, and I will. And so will Asher. If you hadn’t attacked her, she wouldn’t have taken off. If something happens to her, do you really think either of us will ever forgive you?” I asked.
Mother looked to Father. When he dropped his gaze, she turned to me. “Addison, be reasonable,” she said.
“Reasonable?” My voice skipped an octave. “This is me being reasonable. Dylan has thick skin, Mom, so I’m sure this isn’t the first time you’ve been mean to her. Is it?”
My mother’s hardened gaze was all the confirmation I needed. I wondered how many times she’d dressed down my bestie when Asher and I weren’t looking. Dylan should have said something, but I knew her well enough to understand why she hadn’t.
“You know what, Mother? Dylan has way more class than you could ever dream of. In fact, I feel like I’d be doing the “in” crowd of Portland a favor by marching up to that microphone over there and letting them know all about the real Victoria Allen.”
She gaped at me, her eyes wide.
“Don’t think I won’t do it. I’ll tell them all about what a pretentious, condescending, two-faced—”
“What do you want from us?” Father asked.
I was so relieved I almost cried. I took a deep breath, relaxed my shoulders, and turned to address him. “Daddy, my best friend is missing. You didn’t come through for her when she was in jail, and I’m still really upset about that. But trust me, if you don’t throw every resource you have at finding her now, neither Ash nor I will ever forgive you.”
Mother stepped forward, “Addison, that is ridiculous. You can’t possibly think we can use our resources to help that—”
Father held up a hand, silencing her. We locked gazes. He must have seen how serious I was, because he nodded and pulled out his phone. “I understand, Princess. We’ll do everything we can to help your friend.”