Unfortunately, she didn’t make it more than two steps before Henry caught sight of her. His brows lowered and he jerked his head Yasmin’s way, “Looks like your bird came home on her own.”

Volkan’s head swivelled around and his eyes lasered in on her. He grabbed her as she tried to skitter out of his path. His fingers bit into her arms and he hauled her against his chest.

“Where the fuck were you?” he thundered.

Men eased away from them, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.

“I was… I was…” she stuttered, her thoughts scattering in the face of Volkan’s rage. She gathered them quickly and spoke as fast as she could. “I went out for lunch with Zeynep. I wanted to check with you, but she told me you were out at a business meeting. As long as I was with one of the family, I didn't think you would mind.” She threw Zeynep under the bus, not even remotely feeling bad about it. The other woman would’ve done the same to her.

“Thank god you’re okay.”

Volkan crushed her in his arms, tucking her head under his chin. She could understand that he might think she’d tried to escape, but why was he so worried about her safety? What was she missing?

Finally, he ended the embrace, but kept his grip on her arm and stepped back to address the men assembled. “Obviously, the search is no longer needed. Please go back to your regular duties.”

Without waiting to watch the men disperse, Volkan pulled her toward his office and pushed her inside. Janie didn’t look at either of them as they passed her, busying herself with the paperwork in front of her.

When Volkan closed the door, Yasmin turned to look at him, backing up a few steps when she saw the deep frown he still wore.

“I don’t understand what’s happening,” she said, trying to look and sound innocent. Maybe if she’d put more thought into her actions, she would’ve realized there was no way Volkan would let her go without knowing where she was going and with who. She was the idiot for believing Zeynep when she told Yasmin that Volkan had left. Obviously, the other woman had either lied to Yasmin or been misinformed.

“I went to find you in your office so we could get lunch together and you were gone.” The clear distress in Volkan’s voice told Yasmin just how worried he’d been. “I thought you’d wandered off and gotten hurt.”

She hesitated, then approached him slowly, reaching out to touch his arm. It was maybe the first time she had voluntarily touched him.