So he was back to finding where Michael Rowland was being kept. He rewound to the start of the news story and slowed the speed of the video, advancing it frame by frame as he studied the teenager. The cops walking him into the police department didn’t look like they believed he was guilty. They looked protective. But the cops weren’t going to tell him anything, either.

He wasn’t even going to chance asking.

He paused the video, freezing a frame that showed the woman walking beside the boy. She looked more than protective. She was snarling at the reporters.

For the first time since he’d seen his own face on the news, Cade smiled. “I’ll start with her.” She’d guarded Michael like he was her own kid. She’d know where he was hiding.

Cincinnati, Ohio
Sunday, March 17, 10:40 a.m.

“That would be great, Miles,” Dani said into the phone, breathing a sigh of relief. Dr. Miles Kristoff had agreed to take her shifts at the clinic for the next four days. “I’ll owe you one.”

“No, you won’t,” Miles said kindly. “You worked Christmas and Thanksgiving for me for the past two years so that I could spend the time with my kids. You deserve the vacation. Where are you going to go?”

“Nowhere. I’ve got two new foster kids and they need me.”

“Oh.” He was quiet for a moment. “The boy on the news?”

Dani sighed. “Yeah. But let’s not spread that around, if you don’t mind. We haven’t had any reporters skulking about and I’d like to keep it that way.”

Miles made a rude sound. “Vultures, you mean. I get it. They won’t get a word from me. Let me know if you need anything else.”

Diesel looked up from his laptop when she ended the call. He’d been scowling at his screen for the past hour, while she’d cleaned the remnants of his chocolate chip pancakes from the kitchen and the boys played downstairs with Meredith. “Everything okay at the clinic?” he asked.

She nodded. “I’m off for a few days. That will at least give me time to get them settled and resolve their school situation.” She bit at her lip, glancing toward the front window. They’d kept the drapes shut in case a reporter came by, but she actually had a larger concern. “I’m worried about their mother,” she confessed.

Diesel closed his laptop and gave her his undivided attention, which didn’t really help matters. When he looked at her like that, she felt powerful and important. And she realized once again how much she was going to hurt him.

He’d been worshipping her for eighteen months. There was no way any woman could live up to that. Much less me. No matter how much I want his fantasy to be true.