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She had never shared anything with Sydney. They never had that typical sister relationship. Perhaps that would change once they were reunited. She would make more of an effort.

Today she would focus on Sydney. Jamie had said he’d found a couple of emails he wanted her to have a look at.

Forget Beck she told herself as she left the house, but it was kind of hard since she had dreamt about him last night again. They were on the beach. She’d jumped up out of her sleep drenched in sweat. After she’d showered and changed, she laid awake for the better part of the night thinking about Beck and the fight they had. Thinking about the kiss they had shared. Wanting…

“Wanting what?”

She wasn’t going to answer that question. Not today she told herself as she headed out the door.

Marklynn arrived at the office just after eight, told Cate she didn’t want to be disturbed unless it was an emergency, and closed her door.

The only thing she couldn’t lock out of her mind was Beck and that stupid dream. She couldn’t forget about her conversation with him. Sydney was missing and yet he made her feel as though she was responsible for Sydney’s behavior.

Well, she didn’t ask to be her sister’s keeper. Her mother had decided that Sydney couldn’t take care of herself on her deathbed and made Markie promise she would. Nan had also told her it was her job to look after Sydney.

Markie leaned back in her chair remembering the fight they’d had after Nan’s stroke.

•  •  •

“I’m going away for a few days,” Sydney said looking at Markie over the rim of her mug while she drank her coffee. Since she arrived at Nan’s that morning, she hadn’t said much but paced the floor so Markie knew it was coming.

Sydney had only been home a week. Nan was released from the hospital two days ago after suffering a mild heart attack and she was leaving, again.

Yes Nan was fine, but Markie was afraid. She couldn’t lose Nan. It was obvious Sydney didn’t care. Her place was at home with her family not jet setting around the world doing God knows what.

Turning off the tap, Markie yanked a sheet of paper towel from the fixture mounted to the wall and the silver holder crashed on the counter. Sydney jumped.

“Nan just got out of the hospital,” Markie said glaring at her sister. “She needs you here.”

“Nan doesn’t need me. She has you. You’ve moved in,” Sydney said looking at the blanket and pillows on the pullout sofa bed. “The place is clean and her refrigerator is stocked. You take care of her better than I ever could. You don’t need me here either.”

“This is not a competition, Sydney. Beside, I can’t do it all by myself.

“Really? You’re doing just fine by yourself.”

Sydney emptied the coffee in the sink and rinsed the cup before turning it down in the dish drainer. Grabbing her purse from the counter, she headed towards the door.

“What do you mean by that?”

Sydney turned around, biting her bottom lip. “Nothing.”

“No. If you’ve something to say, say it. Don’t go crying to Nan. She needs her rest.”

“I guess we can’t all be the pillar of strength you are.”

“As usual, I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” Markie focused on trying to mount the paper towel fixture back on the wall.

“Nan told me about your settlement regarding your sexual harassment suit. I didn’t even know you were unhappy at work. She said you quit your job.”

Markie paused for a brief moment to glance at Sydney then back to her task. She would need a screwdriver to mount back the fixture and Nan didn’t have one.

“I can’t talk about it. Besides, there’s nothing to tell.”

“Just like there is nothing to tell about Jared,” Sydney said. “I heard the wedding is off.”

She put down the paper holder. Nan would be up soon from her rest and she needed to prepare her lunch, not talk about Jared.

“That’s what I thought.”

“You can think what you like. You’re never around anyway. You breeze in to say hello and you’re gone. We’re not a family just a pit stop for you when you need something.”

“Why should I hang around? You’re just fine on your own. I don’t know why I came home.”

“You came because of Nan, remember?”

“Nan is fine and you’re fine. I don’t see the need to be here.” Sydney slammed the door and left.

“Sydney!”

“M
arkie? You okay?”

The voice pulled her back to the present away from the painful memory. She opened her eyes and saw a very polished Jamie standing at the door in a suit and tie. Did he own a suit? She never thought so. Brooks Investigations promotional gear was all he ever wore.

His hair was cut low making the Mohawk almost non-existent. Who knew? And the beard was also trimmed and lined.

“I’m…aah fine,” she said looking at him with raised brows from his head to his polished-shine shoes. She had to rub her eyes to ensure she was indeed seeing clearly. He was also wearing dress shoes, not the black boots laced up to mid-calf.

“Yeah, I know I clean up nicely,” he grunted. “Go ahead and get it out of your system. Cate just took a picture with her phone. She said I should get out of the office more instead of hiding behind a computer all day.”

As much as she wanted to tease him about his attire she couldn’t muster up the energy. The memory of the fight with Sydney was too fresh in her mind, and that was one of many over the years. She and Sydney weren’t sisters. They were strangers.

Jamie entered her office with a copy of the two emails in hand he’d retrieved from Syd’s computer. One was from Macy Henning confirming an appointment for a photo shoot with Syd and the other from the editor of an interior design magazine. He had said he would drop them off before heading to Beck’s office.

She should apologize for snapping at him last night after that disaster with Beck. The truth was she didn’t want to bring it up. And if she didn’t bring it up then he wouldn’t. Solution—leave it alone.

“Thanks.” Markie took the emails from him glancing at two sheets of paper. “Have you gotten in touch with Macy or the editor?”

“Macy is on vacation, as you can see in her email to Sydney. Her assistant said she’ll be back tomorrow morning and has scheduled a meeting for us to meet with Macy then. As for the magazine, Cate called the editor. He’s out of country returning tomorrow as well. She left a message for him to call us.”

“Is there someone else at the magazine who can talk to us today?” Markie asked annoyed. That feeling of helplessness was starting to get to her. She was tired of waiting and wanted to do something. Anything.

“No one at the magazine wants to talk to us and there is no point in wasting our time by forcing our way in. The email came from the editor. We’ll talk to him together. Okay?”

There was an underlying edge to Jamie’s voice that he tampered with a gentleness that he didn’t often show. He was being what she wanted right now…a friend.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Jamie sat back in the chair studying her, elbows resting on the chair arm, his fingers steepled together, ready to spout some words of wisdom she didn’t want to here.

“Just had a telephone conversation with Beck.” He watched her as he spoke as if waiting for a reaction. When he didn’t get one, he said, “I’m heading over this afternoon to meet with him and his team.”

“Good,” she said shifting her eyes to her laptop. When the mail icon popped up, she opened the new mail. It was from Cate wanting to schedule a lunch meeting with a potential client. New business.

“He asked if you were in today. Said he has been trying to reach you.”

Until she found Sydney her schedule was put on hold. “I’ve been busy.”

“Busy brooding.”

She shot him a look that told him if he valued his life he should back off. He ignored the warning. Typical Jamie style. He would say what he had to say and then shut up. She didn’t want to hear what was on his mind because most of the time he was right.

“I’ve never seen you this worked up about someone in a long time. Not since that idiot, Jared. Mind you I’m not sure what happened with him and I don’t really care.”

“Is there a point to this?” She looked up from the computer, eyes blazing.

“Yes. My point is I think Beck is good for you, Markie. Okay, okay you don’t have to give me the death stare.”

“Thanks for the emails. Is there anything else?”

“I’m going.” Jamie pushed himself up from the chair. “Beck wants you to call him,” he said, on his way out the door grinning.

Markie pushed Beck and Jamie to the back of her mind and went to work trying to find out all she could about the magazine Sydney was on assignment for and Macy Henning, the journalist.

In the email from the editor there were specific instructions about a photo shoot. Sydney was taking pictures of Macy’s house? That had to be a mistake. She had to reread the email again to ensure she hadn’t misinterpreted the content. But there it was in black and white.

As far as she knew, Sydney didn’t have a job. She lived for the next get-rich-quick scheme. What else was she hiding? Markie reached for the box she’d taken from her sister’s apartment and removed the lid.

By the time Markie had finally lifted her head out of the box, it was well past eight that evening. This was the second time she’d gone through the box, and like the first time, she found nothing, only more unanswered questions.

And if she thought working straight through the day would help her frame of mind, she was wrong. Coming up empty handed further soured her mood.

She was still upset, but it wasn’t with Beck. It was with herself. Her thoughts were all muddled. The fear that Sydney was hurt haunted her. Losing her parents was bad enough. She couldn’t live with the thought of not having Sydney at all in her life even if it was only once a month. Beck needed to understand that. She didn’t know why but he just did.

Markie was packing up her desk when Carlos passed by her office and stopped to pop his head in. Picking up the gun off her desk, she placed it in her hand bag.

“Heading out?” he asked looking at her brief case.

“Yes.” She figured Jamie put him up to it.

“I’ll walk you out.”

She was going to say no but why not. If someone was watching her and decided to attack, she would gladly unleash Carlos on them even if his bark was bigger than his bite.

“Thanks. Give me a minute.”

She said her goodbye to Carlos in the parking lot a few minutes later and instead of driving home she found herself in Back Bay. Beck’s neighborhood. It was ritzy and upscale. Newbury Street to be exact.

Jamie had included Beck’s address in the file he’d prepared for her and she’d committed it to memory. Who knew she would be driving past his high-rise condo complex, making a u-turn and parking across the street from the glass tower?

What she was doing in front of Beck’s condo she wasn’t entirely sure.

•  •  •

Beck stood leaning against the balcony railing staring across the city. He’d called Marklynn at least six times throughout the day. All his calls went to her voice mail and not one was returned. At one point, he’d connected to Cate and was told Marklynn was unavailable.

“She was just being stubborn,” he muttered to himself.

It was hard keeping his mind on work as the day went on. Once he’d met with Jamie and introduced him to his team it was all work until he’d left the office an hour ago. He thought about his conversation with O’Malley about being watched. He wanted to know she was being careful, to tell her to be careful.

The first thing he did when he stepped in the door was to check his voice mail but she hadn’t called. He thought he would give her more time. So, he’d showered, then grabbed a beer from the fridge and headed out onto the balcony to wait.

Picking up the cordless from the patio table, he decided to call her again. Sitting around waiting for things to happen was not in his character. He was all about being proactive. If he wanted something he went after it. And he wanted Marklynn.

She should be on her way home. If he didn’t get her, he would go to her house. His cell phone rang and he grabbed it.

“Dalton Beck.”

“You’re a jerk.”

He smiled in relief not caring that she was still mad at him. The only thing that mattered was that she’d called.

“I know and I’m sorry.”

Silence.

“I’d a perfect evening planned yesterday,” Beck explained as he sat down on the lounge chair propping his feet up on the railing. “I wanted to make love to you. The evening didn’t go as planned and I turned on you. I’m sorry about what I said. It wasn’t my place to judge you.”

Silence stretched on…one…two…three minutes. He waited.

“You don’t understand about Sydney.” Her was voice heavy with sadness.

“No I don’t. Tell me about her.”

Beck heard the wailing siren and the horn of a fire truck over the phone and stood up looking over the balcony. He saw the flashing red lights of the truck as it raced passed the building.

“Marklynn, where are you?” he asked as he entered the condo.

Silence.

“Jamie said you’ve a lead on Sydney through a couple of emails he found.” He grabbed the security card for the underground parking lot and exited the condo wanting to see if his instinct was correct.

He reached the elevator and jabbed at the button and kept at it until the door opened. The elevator had only taken a few minutes to arrive on the floor, but it was too long for him.

“Yes,” she said after a while. “We won’t know until tomorrow if they’ll pan out.”

More silence.

“That’s positive.”

When the elevator hit the ground floor, Beck sprinted past Ray, the security guard in the lobby. His nose was buried in the paper and he lowered the paper raising his large frame out of the chair from behind the security desk to see where Beck was headed.