Part 27 (1/2)

Cline frowned. ”I should think, if that were the case, the police would be the ones asking questions.”

”We're hoping to persuade them to help us,” Autumn said. ”We believe this man may be involved, but we need proof.”

The manager shook his head. ”I don't know...There's the question of customer privacy.”

Autumn reached out and caught his arm. ”The little girl who's missing is Ben's daughter. Please, won't you help us?”

The manager looked up at Ben, pity in his eyes. ”Let me keep a few of these. I'll ask around. Maybe someone will remember him.”

”That would be great.”

”Let me speak to Andrew before you go. He's worked here off and on for years.” Ben and Autumn followed the manager over to what appeared to be the store's lone employee. Unfortunately, Andrew had no recollection of the man in the sketch. Disappointment settled over them both.

”I'm sorry, I truly am.” Cline hung onto a small stack of copies. ”I wish we could have been of some help. Maybe, as I said, one of our customers will recall him.”

”How about former employees?” Ben asked. ”People who have worked here and left? Maybe they would remember him.”

”I can give you the names of the few who have worked here part-time.”

”Thanks,” Ben said. ”We'd appreciate that.”

”There aren't many, of course. Burlington is a very small town.”

They left the store with the employee list in hand, leaving numbers with Cline where they could be reached if the blond man made an appearance in the store or if anyone remembered seeing him. They went into stores up and down both sides of the street but the result was the same.

”I'll have Pete Rossi follow up on these other names. Maybe one of the ex-employees will remember something.”

”Maybe.”

But neither of them actually believed it was going to happen. Burlington appeared to be another dead end.

Ben spent Tuesday night at home, as he had the last three nights. He needed time to think, try to construct his next move in the search for his daughter.

And he needed to consider his disturbing feelings for Autumn.

He had told her the truth at the lake. He was crazy about her. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this way about a woman, wanting to be with her every minute, dreaming about her, aching to be inside her even when they had just made love.

It was frightening.

Especially when it was clear Autumn didn't feel the same way about him.

Oh, she wanted him, all right. The s.e.xual attraction between them sizzled with invisible sparks whenever they were together. As he sat propped up in bed, an old Robert Ludlum novel open on top of the covers, merely thinking about her made him hard.

The s.e.x was amazing, but the cold fact was that Autumn wasn't looking for a long-term relations.h.i.+p. Her few affairs had left her wary and uncertain of men. She was afraid of getting in too deep, afraid it wouldn't work out between them and she would wind up getting hurt.

Well dammit, so was he.

Ben sighed as he sifted through his uncertain thoughts. For an instant, it crossed his mind that the safer route would be to end the relations.h.i.+p before Autumn did and he was the one who got hurt.

The notion was fleeting. Ben McKenzie wasn't a man who gave up on what he wanted without a d.a.m.ned good fight and in that moment it occurred to him that Autumn Sommers was exactly what he wanted-exactly the woman he needed. Whatever happened, wherever their search for Molly led them, Autumn had become an important part of his life and he would do whatever it took to keep her there.

It wasn't time to give up on her yet.

Just like it wasn't time to give up searching for Molly.

Ben set the book aside, then reached over and turned out the lamp. But as he lay in the darkness, aching for Autumn, thinking of Molly, he couldn't fall asleep.

After their return from Burlington, Ben had again declined to spend the night at Autumn's apartment and this morning he had missed her climbing cla.s.s for the very first time.

All her fears surfaced. He was tired of her. It was over between them. Ben didn't want her anymore. She tried to steel herself, told herself she'd known it would come to this sooner or later, but the sick feeling in her stomach wouldn't go away.

When her cell phone rang in the women's locker room as she changed out of her climbing clothes, her insides tightened even more.

”Doug Watkins called,” Ben said simply. Though his tone was strictly business, a warm tremor ran through her. ”He wants to see us down at the station.”

”What time?”

”As soon as possible. You still at the gym?”

”I was just leaving.”

”Good. I'm calling from my office. I'll meet you in the lobby.”

Autumn hung up, left the locker room and headed for the elevator. Her pulse was still thrumming from the sound of Ben's voice and she wanted to kick herself for the antic.i.p.ation swirling through her.

Ben was waiting when she walked through the elevator doors. For several moments, he said nothing, just stared at her as if he hadn't seen her in years, as if he wanted to eat her up with a spoon.

”I've missed you.”

Her eyes widened as he pulled her into his arms and very thoroughly kissed her, ignoring the startled looks of the women who walked out of the elevator behind her.

By the time the hot kiss ended, her knees were shaking, her stomach floating. ”Come on,” he said, taking hold of her hand. ”We need to get moving.”

They headed for the stairs leading down to the parking garage and climbed into Ben's Mercedes. He started the engine and drove the car out into the street.

Autumn leaned back in the deep leather seat. ”So I guess you were busy this morning,” she said, just to keep her mind from straying to that kiss.

He nodded. ”I hated missing the lesson but we're about to do a master lease on that building across from our store near Pioneer Square-the one A-1's been trying to get their hands on. My real estate agent has been working his a.s.s off to line up tenants for the property before A-1 can sew up their deal.”

She relaxed a little. He had been working, not trying to avoid her. Still, she couldn't help wondering where he'd been spending his nights. ”That's great, Ben.”

”I'm getting really tired of those guys. I think it's time I did something besides just sit around and let those jokers try to ruin me.”

”Any ideas?”

”A few. I've got great people working for me. Be interesting to see what we can come up with.”