Free Missing by Noelle Adams Page B

comfort—was rather worrying.
    She shouldn’t be feeling anything of the kind for him, and
definitely not this much.
    The pull of all the other feelings was too strong, however. Nathan
might just be an occasional lover to her, but he was hurting.
    Making sure she sounded mild so the conversation didn’t
become too intense, she asked, “Is something going on with them?”
    Even her mild, casual question must have triggered his automatic
defenses. He wasn't a man who opened up—to anyone. He glanced away from her
with a half-shrug. “No. Not really. It’s nothing.”
    That was clearly a lie, but it was one Lynn almost accepted.
They shouldn’t be confiding in each other anyway. That wasn't who they were.
    She didn’t like to not know things, though, and she didn’t
like that something might be wrong with the girls. “Okay. I guess Victoria is
in the middle of those notorious high school years. I’m sure that’s great fun
for you.”
    Nathan chuckled and looked more comfortable at her wry tone.
“Sometimes she’s Victoria, but sometimes I really think some malevolent spirit
has possessed her.”
    “What do you expect? She’s a teenager. But she’s the same
person she always was. It’s just that, at that age, everything is the
most important thing in the world, everything is life or death. That’s what it
really feels like. She’s not getting in trouble or anything, is she?”
    “No. I don’t think so. I don’t know everything she does, but
I would know if there was a major problem.”
    Lynn knew what he was referring to. She had no doubt that
his security followed the girl everywhere and would report if anything looked
amiss.
    He continued, glancing away from her again, “Sometimes I
think she hates me, but I don’t think she’s really getting in trouble.”
    His tone was dry, as if he wasn’t truly serious, but Lynn
wasn’t fooled.
    “She doesn’t hate you. I told you—everything feels like it’s
life and death at that age. When she’s angry or upset, it feels to her like
it’s the end of the world, but she doesn’t hate you. I promise. I was a
sixteen-year-old girl myself once, remember?”
    He swallowed. She could see it in his throat.
    “I promise Victoria doesn’t hate you, even if it feels like
you fight all the time.”
    “We don’t fight that much. Not really.”
    The words sounded genuine, and there wasn’t hidden torment
in his eyes, so she decided Victoria must not be the real problem. She asked
casually, “Has Elizabeth outgrown that teenage angst yet?”
    Nathan swallowed again. He turned his head, but not before
she caught the shift in expression.
    Something was seriously wrong with Elizabeth if he was
having to try so hard to keep his casual demeanor.
    When he didn’t answer, she murmured lightly, “I guess maybe
you don’t know for sure if she has or not, since you don’t see her very much.”
    “Yeah.” He still wasn’t looking at her.
    “Does she like being so far away at school?”
    “I…I guess.”
    Lynn’s heart was starting to race again. She knew—she knew —she
was getting at the core of whatever was bothering him. “It’s got to be hard
with her being so far away. Are you ever tempted to bring her back home?”
    There as a long pause before he replied. “Yes. I’d like to
bring her home.”
    “Why don’t you talk to her about it? Maybe she doesn’t want
to stay at school in Europe.”
    He’d been staring in front of him, at the blank television
screen across the room, but now he turned his head away even farther, toward
the windows.
    “Nathan?” she prompted, very softly, after the silence had
stretched on too long.
    He cleared his throat and turned to meet her eyes again,
perfectly composed. “We don’t talk that much anymore.”
    “It can be hard. I guess she’s about nineteen now. Did you
fight a lot before she left for school?”
    “All the time.”
    “I guess she thought you were an unreasonable tyrant who
didn’t understand her