The Charger was waiting for me when I pulled into the driveway. Its unfamiliar presence had me coming to a slow rolling stop behind him.

The driver side door opened as I cut the engine and a tall figure unfolded himself from behind the wheel.

I got out and met him between the two cars.

“Mr. Rutherford.” I pocketed my keys. “This is certainly a surprise.”

I accepted the hand he offered me.

“I apologize for the late hour, Mr. Kincaid, but I was hoping we could talk.”

I pulled in a breath. “Right now isn’t the best time for me. I’m in a hurry.”

“It would be but a moment of your time. I believe this might be a matter of great importance.”

Intrigued, I motioned to the house, inviting him in. I hoped whatever was on his mind would be shared quickly.

Neither of us said a word as we walked up the steps. I let us in and he followed me into my office. I took us to the sitting area rather than the desk.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Rutherford?”

“Tiberius, please. Mr. Rutherford was my father.”

“Kieran.” I went to the drink cart and poured us each a tumbler of scotch. “What brings you?”

He accepted the drink and I took the sofa across from him.

“We never got a chance to talk at the auction,” Tiberius started. “I understand it’s not the normal sort of place for conversation, but I feel it might have made what I’m about to tell you slightly easier.” He took a sip of his drink. “I knew your father. Not very well, but he was on good terms with my father. They shared many of the same ... interests.”

I knew what that meant and took a swig of my own drink.

Tiberius chuckled. “Yes, that sums up my own thoughts on the matter as well.” He lowered his gaze to his drink.

“Was Gabrielle the first?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Forgive me.” He gave his head a reproaching shaking. “This is quite out of the ordinary for me.” He fixed me with those eyes that seemed to possess their own light. “Was she the first girl you ever purchased, is what I mean to ask?”

Not entirely confident in the line of conversation, I nodded.

“How long have you known her?”

Impatience won out. “Mr. —”

“Bear with me.” He offered me a smile. “I promise there’s a method to my madness.”

Feeling the urge to tell him to leave, I answered, “Seven years.”

He nodded as if that made sense. “I thought as much when I saw your face.”

“My face?”

He sat back. “During the auction, when the curtains were drawn back on her. It was the face of a man who’d been hit in the stomach by an elephant. It made me curious to your relationship with her.”

I considered his response, picking it apart to determine his true purpose.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what—”

“Where is she?”

The question momentarily threw me. I had no answer, no explanation as to why Gabby was missing or why I hadn’t phoned the police. Normal people asked those questions and expected realistic answers. No one would understand that Gabby’s father had had her abducted, or that I was blackmailing him to get her back. It just wasn’t done outside of some Liam Neeson movie.

“She’s ... it’s complicated and a personal matter.”

He was quiet for a long stretch of time, time spent with contemplation narrowing his eyes.

Finally, just when I was ready to think he’d dropped the matter, he adjusted himself on the cushion, making the soft leather rustle.

“Can I tell you a story, Kieran? I know that’s a bit unorthodox, but I assure you, I have a point.”

I leaned back, confusion overruling my original desire to ask him to hurry up.

“Of course.”

He finished the last of his drink and set the glass down on the coffee table.

“I was eighteen when I bought my first girl — Amanda. She was the prettiest girl I’d ever seen. Her father had forced her into the auction to feed his many habits. I fell for her. I knew I wasn’t supposed to, but I didn’t care. I was ready to leave it all behind for her, become a farmer and live on a farm with her forever. She loved animals and I wanted to give her everything.” He met my gaze with a wistful grin. “I had a year with her before my father found out.” His smile slipped. “I never saw her again. She just vanished off the face of the earth one day. I looked everywhere. Spent millions trying to track her down. But if my father was good at anything, it was making things disappear. Losing her nearly destroyed me. Even to this day ... I sometimes see her in my girls and all that pain comes right back.”

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, struck by how familiar his story was. He could have been talking about me and Gabby. “That can’t have been easy.”

“It wasn’t.” he took a deep breath. “It still isn’t, which is why I’m here.” His steely gaze bore into me. “I know about Gabrielle.”

I stilled all over. My heart gave a violent knock on my chest, the excited leap of a startled birds before hitting the glass.

“Where is she?”

He shook his head. “First, tell me about her.”

I blinked. “What? Why?”

He shrugged. “Because we’re sharing.” He spread his arm across the back of the sofa. “Tell me about Gabrielle.”

“Tell me where she is first!”

“You first.”

“If you’ve hurt her...”

He put a hand up between us. “I’m responsible for many things, but hurting a woman without her consent is not one of them. I assure you, she’s safe where she is.”

“You son of a bitch! Where is she?”

I hadn’t realized I’d leaped to my feet until I was towering over him.

“Mr. Kincaid, please, I did not come here to fight with you.”

“Then tell me where she is.”

The man sighed heavily. “I suppose it’s only fair. I have her at my warehouse. She was brought there and she’s unharmed. Now, indulge me.”

I forced my knees to bend. The cushion took the drop off my weight with only a single, stiff bounce.

“What the hell can I tell you about Gabby?” I chuckled wearily, hand rubbing at my chin. “I never deserved her. In the three years that I’ve been in love with her, that’s all I kept telling myself — I don’t deserve her. She’s too sweet, too innocent, too shy. I couldn’t even get her to look me in the eye when we were talking. I couldn’t get her to stand still long enough for even a full conversation. She always seemed to be running from me, and I thought maybe she had the right idea. I had nothing to offer her and what I wanted to offer her, it didn’t feel like it was enough.” I paused to run the fingers on that same hand back through my hair. “Everything changed the night of the auction. The moment those blinds opened and I saw her...” I shook my head. “My whole world seemed to come crashing down around me. You have no idea how close I came to breaking that fucking glass, grabbing her, and taking her home.”

Tiberius offered me an understanding half grin.

“I wasn’t leaving that place without her, whether because I won her, or because I killed the fucker who out bid me, but I wasn’t letting anyone else take her.” My chin lowered until I had the place between my feet fixed in my line of vision. “But I finally had her. She was mine. She was my Gabby. She was in my bed, in my arms. And the craziest thing, she loves me, too. She wants me, too. She lights up when she sees me. I never thought I’d have that. Not with her. I never thought I’d find that kind of peace.”

I blew out a breath and lifted my face to his.

“You want me to tell you about Gabby, but I can’t. You can’t hear about her and understand what it means to be with her. You can’t understand how beautifully broken she is. How each shattered piece is imperfection, and yet when you see her smile, it’s fucking poetry. Being with her, feeling her in my arms, waking up in the middle of the night and seeing her face on the pillow next to mine, I would give up everything, sell my soul even to have that forever. So, to answer your request, no, there is nothing I can tell you about her that would properly describe how much I love her.”

His fingers drummed lazily on the armrest. A pink tongue snuck out and poked at his bottom lip.

“What would you give for her return?