Free Lost and Found by Tamara Larson Page B

information. He didn’t have a harem of gorgeous women? It just didn’t seem right. He was exactly the kind of man women said they wanted: funny, intelligent, passionate, not to mention rich and gorgeous. Okay, so he was a bit volatile. There wasn’t any doubt in her mind that Duncan could be dangerous if provoked. He’d proved that tonight when he’d reacted so strongly to the news that Theresa was gone. Jessie could easily imagine him wrapping his powerful fist around her friend’s skinny neck and squeezing if Clay had been anymore antagonistic.  
    Knowing this, Jessie wasn’t even vaguely threatened by Duncan . He’d been heartbreakingly gentle with her both this morning and later at his apartment. She wondered if any other man would have been so patient with her. She wasn’t an expert, but she was pretty sure that most men would not be content with making out on their couch for an hour without some kind of culmination.
    Looking back on her decision to go to his place, she shook her head in disbelief. What kind of women went alone to the apartment of a man she’d just met? Cop or not, it was a TV movie waiting to happen. He could have been a serial killer or a date rapist or a Satan worshipper looking for a virgin to sacrifice and yet she hadn’t hesitated to meet him. It was crazy, but she trusted him implicitly, already. Volatile or not, he was everything she’d ever dreamed about, which both thrilled her and scared her to death.
    “What about Theresa?” Jessie finally asked, after they’d walked a few more blocks. She looked up at him expectantly, noticing how the neon signs reflected off his dark hair and made his eyes appear black instead of blue.  
    “Theresa? You think I dated Theresa?” Duncan asked angrily, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to confront her. “What do you think I am? A pervert? She’s only seventeen. I’m thirty and don’t have a taste for little girls, as you should have noticed by now.”
    Jessie faced him and placed her hands low on his chest, rubbing in what she hoped was a soothing manner. His face was as hard as granite, and he wouldn’t look her in the eyes. People at a nearby café stared at them and she pulled Duncan into a nearby alley. “I’m sorry, Duncan . I had to ask. She’s more than another runaway though, isn’t she?”
    “She’s my sister. My half sister. I’ve been looking for her practically non-stop for the past two weeks.” He ran both hands through his hair in a frustrated gesture. “Listen, I’m sorry if I lead you to believe otherwise, but I didn’t know this was going to happen between us.” He glanced down at her hands against his stomach. “I just thought it would be easier if people thought this was just a routine missing person’s case.”
    “You were her guardian? She ran away from you?”
    “No, she was living with our grandmother in Ontario . I haven’t seen or talked to any of my family in eleven years. Theresa left two months ago without a word, and the fleet of private detectives the old lady hired hasn’t had any luck tracking her down. That’s why she called me. After all this time, she thought I could help.” Duncan ’s voice was bitter, and Jessie suddenly realized how alone the detective was in the world. After her parents died, she’d thought she was the loneliest person in the world, but at least she had Jamie. Duncan didn’t seem to have anyone. No family, no women, just a dog. Only the thought of his reaction to her pity stopped her from wrapping her arms around him and comforting him like a hurt child.  
    “Why didn’t she call the police?” Jessie asked.
    “Publicity. Grandmother is paranoid about the Press. There was a scandal when I was born. My mother never bothered to ask the name of my father. It got leaked, and Grandmother never recovered from it.”
    Jessie wondered why the Press would care so much about his family, but didn’t want to pry. “So she thought private detectives would be