Asher Read online

  Mickie’s predecessor, Lana, had been with the girls for over a decade—managing their day-to-day schedule and care—until she and Chandra had had a falling out. Chandra’s son, Edward, had urged his mother to fire Lana. So Mickie took over and was currently completing a trial six-month contract with the family. That contract was just about up, and, of course, everything blew up at the end.

  She and the twins and their mother had been booked into a famous and well-respected hotel in Shanghai—the same one Mickie was required to stay in now—when a knock came at the door. Not suspecting anything wrong, Mickie had walked over and opened the door to find two gunmen. She’d been knocked out almost immediately. Later the morning of the kidnapping, about eight a.m. on Monday, the hotel’s housekeeping staff had found her, still knocked out and tied up on the floor beside the bed, yet the twins were gone. One of the twins was a diabetic, and the other one dealt with never-ending stomach issues.

  The twins had been kidnapped, and Mickie had been dumped. She wished she’d been taken with them. At least then she could have maintained their health, helped to keep them calm, if not safe. She worried about what could happen to them. Why were the twins taken? Blackmail? Ransom? Their mother was well-known and wealthy. So trying to grab a chunk of her money made sense.

  Since the twins and Chandra were Americans by birth and the local authorities were of no help, she had called in for a US team. Mickie just didn’t know who was being sent or how many would be in their team.

  After several more rounds of pacing, she collapsed on the bed. Chandra had told Mickie not to leave the hotel room, the scene of the crime—in case the twins found their way back here, plus to meet the team Chandra had hired—and the walls were crowding in on Mickie. A knock sounded on the door. She straightened up slowly, and the knock came again.

  When a voice she recognized from the dim recesses of her mind called out to her, she raced to the door and opened it. She stared at Asher in shock. He put one finger to his lips and then slipped inside with another man beside him. The door was shut and locked; then he went to the windows, and immediately the second man pulled out a device and checked her room over.

  She realized just how much more serious this could get. When the second man finally said, “All clear,” Asher turned, looked at her, and said, “Good afternoon, Mickie.”

  She shook her head. “You?”

  He shrugged. “Why not me?”

  She didn’t have an answer. She didn’t have any answers.

  “Before we get into this heartwarming reunion,” the other man said, “I’m Ryker. Nice to meet you. What can you tell us about what happened?”

  And, just like that, it became all-business right from the start. She sagged onto the bed again and explained it once more.

  “Do the kidnappers know about the medical conditions of the twins?” Ryker asked.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “This is about a wedding?” Asher asked in confusion.

  “I don’t know that either. It seems far-fetched to me, but I know that weddings at this level cost upward of one million dollars.” Asher just stared at her, and she could see the shock registering in his eyes. She nodded. “And I think that’s why, when Chandra refused a potential client because her schedule is booked for five years …”

  His jaw dropped a little more. “Seriously?”

  She nodded. “You must remember. We’re talking about the megarich here.”

  “Right,” he said, swallowing with great difficulty. “And maybe something else is behind it that we don’t know about.”

  “It’s hard to say,” she noted. “I highly doubt the future bride will have any inclination to speak up if there’s any truth to it.”

  “We do find, when people explain their actions, which we later find out are lies, that they are involved for a very unrelated reason,” Ryker said.

  “And I was thinking about that too,” she said. “We were at their home in Switzerland for the longest time, and then Chandra came to do research on two upcoming weddings—one in Japan in four months for the prime minister’s niece and another in China in eight months that she had promised to do for the president’s granddaughter. We landed first in Japan, then came to China.”

  Asher, his arms crossed, asked, “And the twins traveled with their mother all the time?”

  Mickie shook her head. “In the six months I’ve worked for her, I haven’t done any traveling. And Chandra had been gone most of the time. I don’t know why she brought the twins this time.”

  “Were they happy to come?”

  She shook her head. “No, they weren’t. They don’t like traveling. They want everything the same. They thrive on routine. They hate change and are getting worse in that regard. They like the things that they know, the places that they recognize, the food that they love. They are truly happy when home, in Geneva, in their garden, with their pets. They are miserable when you take them out of that environment. And it brings on more tantrums and emotional outbursts.”

  “So then we need to find out from Chandra why she brought them to Japan and China.”

  “And I’ve asked,” Mickie said, “but she hasn’t given me a decent answer.”

  “That’s where we start then,” Asher said. “Do you know where she is?” As he spoke, he glanced at his watch. She remembered that about him from before; he was very time conscious.

  “No,” she said. “She left me her cell phone though.”

  “Her cell phone?”

  “Yes, she’s in incredibly high demand. Her office handles most of the calls. Anybody who’s dealing with her on a personal level has a phone number to call her directly.”

  “Interesting.” He held out his hand.

  She gave him the phone and asked, “Does she know you’re here?”

  “To the best of my knowledge,” Asher said, “she’s the one who brought us in.”

  Chapter 3

  Mickie stared at the man she’d loved, since forever, trying to see the younger man inside this older, seasoned warrior. But it was hard. She found no twinkle of laughter in his gaze. More lines were around the corner of his mouth. His forehead and jaw were more sculpted, but the tick was still there. The tick in the corner of his jaw as he studied the phone in his hand. She used to reach up and kiss it all the time, telling him that he needed to calm down before that became a permanent feature of his face.

  Apparently he hadn’t calmed down because it was there right now. He’d filled out a lot more than she remembered too. His forearms and biceps were massive. He wore a T-shirt, but it looked like it was two sizes too small. Then again he’d always had trouble fitting in clothes. If they fit in one spot, they didn’t fit in another. He stared at the phone, hit a button, and held it to his ear. When a woman answered on the other end, he said, “We’re in China. Where are you?” He looked over at Ryker and nodded. “We’ll come to you.”

  He turned and walked toward the door. Mickie bolted to her feet, slipped on sandals, and said, “I’m coming with you.”

  He looked at Ryker, who returned his stare and then shrugged.

  “It wouldn’t be my choice to have you with us,” Asher said.

  Immediately she felt hurt wobble inside. She hadn’t expected it to be him in the first place. She’d seen him maybe eight years ago, totally by accident, at an event. But that had been all since they broke up their relationship a decade ago.

  “It doesn’t matter what you think on this subject,” she said. “If there’s any chance of finding the twins between here and there or at any location, I need to come.”

  “Are you bringing your black medical bag too?”

  Her first thought was it might have been an insult, but his expression held interest and curiosity, not mockery. She reached down, grabbed her large purse, and threw it over her shoulder. “It’s all in here.”

  “Good,” he said. “Then come.” But then he stopped, looking at her and pointed at her small travelling bag.

  “The
rest of my things will be fine,” she said with a frown. “I don’t really have much else with me.”

  At that, his lips turned down, as if critiquing her very casual clothing. “We’ll take it anyway.”

  “I’m not a warrior like you,” she muttered. “I’m a nurse.”

  He nodded, picked up her bag and opened the door, letting her step out in front of him. The hotel door was locked, but Asher had spent a little longer at the door than necessary. She frowned at him, but he ignored her. That was something else she wasn’t used to. Normally he was very attentive. Always there for her. She had to remember why it was that they’d broken up because all she remembered right now were the good times.

  The men said something behind her, but she didn’t hear what it was. When she turned, they had already moved rapidly past her and toward the elevator.

  “Are you coming?” Asher asked.

  They’d walked right by her, and she still stood in the hallway staring at Asher. She gave her head a shake and said, “Yes,” and ran after them.

  Once outside, the whole time they walked along the street to Chandra’s hotel, Asher was busy checking blueprints on his cell. Ryker had gone ahead, only she didn’t know where.

  Mickie walked at Asher’s side. “What are you doing?” she asked curiously.

  “Checking for exits. Checking for cameras. Making sure we’re not walking into a trap.”

  “Can you really do that from out here? So far away?”

  “I can make a best-guess effort,” he said. “But, if it’s a well-laid trap, it’s pretty hard for anybody to fail-safe that.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

  “It’s not meant to,” he said. “You were targeted. Or rather the three of you were. They dealt with you very efficiently and took what they wanted.”

  As if that didn’t make her feel even guiltier. “Must you say it like that?” she asked, hating that her voice trembled.

  He looked up, surprised. “Like what?”

  “Like you blame me too,” she said. “Isn’t it bad enough that I’m racked with guilt already?”

  “Didn’t you say that they came in through the hotel room door with guns, and they were obviously well-trained?”

  She nodded.

  “You’re what? Five-five, 130 pounds?”

  Again she nodded, hating the fact that he’d hit the number right on the head. She’d been trying to lose a little bit of weight, but it hadn’t seemed all that important. Until now, … damn it.

  “You couldn’t have done anything then,” he said gently. “Short of having killer martial arts skills and hidden weapons, what would you do?”

  “Of which I don’t have either,” she said, “so I did nothing because I couldn’t.”

  “Just acknowledge what happened and move on,” he said. “They won’t get a second chance.”

  “You’ll protect me?” she asked drily. “I’d have thought you’d throw me to the wolves.”

  He jumped, turned to look at her, and asked, “Why would I do that?”

  And left her feeling foolish.

  Asher wasn’t sure what was going on in Mickie’s head, but he didn’t have time for it. He’d compartmentalized his brain and had safely put Mickie back where she belonged. In his past. They had had a great thing, and they had chosen to break it off. They’d each gone their own way. The end. At least it would be if she stayed where she’d been put. Only that wasn’t Mickie’s style.

  At Chandra’s hotel, Asher immediately headed straight for the front reception desk. He could sense Mickie’s surprise at the directness of his approach. He nodded at the front desk clerk and said, “We’re heading up to see Chandra Chancer.” The name had helped her establish her CC brand.

  The man picked up the phone in an instant and said in stiff English, “I must report your presence.”

  “That’s good,” he said with a big smile. “Make sure you tell everybody.”

  At that, the man looked at him and said, “Sorry?”

  But Asher waved a hand. “Not to worry.” Then he turned and snagged Mickie’s arm and tucked it into his and headed toward the elevator.

  “What was that all about?” she whispered as soon as they were inside. She watched as the door opened at another floor, but he quickly shut it, stopping anybody else from getting on with them. “Wow. You really don’t like to share, do you?”

  “No,” he said. “You should remember that well. Not that I was possessive. More that I wanted as much time with you as I could.” Shit. She wouldn’t stay put. “I’m sorry. Obviously I don’t have this all packaged up in my history as well as I thought it was.”

  “No,” she snapped. “That was a low blow.”

  He acknowledged it with a quick nod and said, “Sorry. It won’t happen again.”

  Inside, he was like, Damn it. You definitely will do that again.

  “And, just for the record,” she said, “I never cheated. Nor do I like sharing.”

  “I know,” he said. “I never cheated either.”

  “And trust wasn’t the problem. I always trusted you,” she said.

  “Trust we had on both sides,” he said. “That part we had down pat.”

  She winced at that.

  He nodded. “It was a long time ago.”

  “I know,” she said.

  Just then the elevator opened, and he stepped out. He held an arm in front of her, stopping her from walking past. When he realized it was clear, he walked forward to the proper door and knocked. Instead of it being opened right away, the door behind them opened. He studied the gunman standing there, staring at him, and nodded. “Nice to see you again,” Asher said. The man frowned. “You were at the elevators before us,” he said.

  Surprise lit the gunman’s face. He crossed his arms over his chest.

  Asher looked at him and said, “Are we allowed in or not?” But he said it in such a bored tone that she didn’t quite understand what was going on. The gunman stepped to one side, and Asher walked into the big suite.

  Immediately Mickie raced over to the older woman sitting on the settee, looking like she’d taken a massive blow to her life. Then again, she had. When your children were kidnapped and were particularly vulnerable ones, like these twins, life became that much more difficult.

  Chandra looked up at Asher, gave him a half-broken smile, and said, “Thank you for coming.”

  He nodded and said, “First, I need to know why you brought them to Japan and China.”

  “It was a half-ditched effort to help educate them,” she said. “I don’t like coming to Asia, and I was looking at reducing my business, and I thought it would be one chance for them to see Tokyo and Shanghai. They are phenomenal cities, but the twins have become much more afraid lately.”

  “Afraid, why?” Asher asked. He could feel Mickie trying to reach out, mentally telling him to go easy, but he didn’t have time for easy.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “It’s one of the reasons why I was cutting back my schedule. I hired Mickie here to stay with them all the time, so they wouldn’t feel quite so isolated. But, being as they are, they often feel isolated anyway. As long as they have each other, they’re okay. But lately it seemed like they were withdrawing more and more.”

  “So, you thought a trip halfway around the world, where you would be working all the time, would help?”

  She gave a broken laugh. “Right. When you say it like that, it sounds nuts. If I wanted to get them out a little more, I should’ve taken them to Geneva for a day or over to England or up to Norway. Tokyo was such a shock to them that they refused to go anywhere but to stay in their hotel. The only thing they saw of the city was what could be seen from their hotel room window for the whole four days.” He glanced at Mickie to confirm that.

  Mickie nodded. “They were very unhappy with all of it. We traveled by private jet, but they didn’t like that either.”

  Asher glanced back at the mother. “And why a private jet?”

&nbs
p; She looked at him in surprise. “It’s the only way I travel.”

  He nodded, thinking of the megarich again. “And I’ll need information on anyone you’ve refused to plan a wedding for.”

  “Well, that’s a lot more people now than before. My schedule is fully booked. I’m currently planning the wedding for the niece of the Japanese prime minister.”

  “So why are you in Shanghai?”

  “I was trying to combine business trips. I have a wedding here in eight months. I wanted to get part of the details worked out. It’s behind schedule already,” she added crossly.

  “Is it normal to plan two places at once?”

  “Of course,” she said. “Sometimes it’s hard to find time for these long trips. As it is, I combine my travel as much as I can. At the end of this trip, I was supposed to be right here in Shanghai—to work, to plan, to research the next wedding on my plate. At the moment though, all my plans are on hold. I’ve told everybody I’m sick and not traveling right now.”

  “When is the wedding for the Japanese prime minister’s niece?”

  “Four months, so time is running out.”

  He stared at her for a long moment.

  She looked up at him, her lips kinked up in the corner. “I get that you don’t have anything to do with weddings, and I imagine you don’t have anything to do with weddings at this level, but it does take one year to organize them, and I would much rather have two years.”

  His eyebrows rose at that.

  She nodded. “Just accept it. This is a long-term industry. It’s one of the reasons why I can’t exactly cut down very quickly. I can say that I won’t do any more weddings in the next five years, but I still must complete all my wedding commitments already made for the next five years regardless.”

  “So, if a person wanted you to do their wedding, how far in advance would they have to book it?”

  She sighed. “Close to five years by now.”

  “That’s a long wait for any engaged couple,” he said.