Oliver nodded dutifully. “I know she spoke to Lauren only a few minutes before …” Suddenly he scratched his head. “Ah, shit, that was probably Zane calling her. I thought the conversation sounded a little stilted, but …”

Quinn cupped Oliver’s elbow, reminding him silently not to volunteer any information like they’d discussed. He’d only get himself in trouble if he did. Samson was mad enough, and with good reason. If they didn’t find Portia soon, they’d have to decide what to tell her father. It was a conversation nobody looked forward to.

“Talk to Lauren now. We need to know what she knows.”

“Yes, Samson.” Oliver turned to the door and left.

“Quinn, this wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Quinn nodded and took a deep breath. “He won’t hurt her.”

Samson shook his head. “You don’t know the whole story. He came to speak to me last night. Claimed that Portia’s father is deliberately keeping her a virgin even though her twenty-first birthday is in five weeks. Apparently she told him all that.”

“Is it true?”

“I don’t believe so. Her father warned us ahead of time that it’s one of the stories she uses to gain sympathy. She’s lying to him.”

“Did you tell him that?”

“Of course I did. I showed him the file. But I don’t think he was convinced.”

“How could he?” Quinn murmured under his breath.

“What?” Suspicion flared in Samson’s eyes.

“I’m saying knowing Zane, he won’t believe it just because it’s written in a file. You know him: he’ll investigate himself to find the truth.”

His mind went back to the night before when he’d seen them together. Their interactions had indicated that while there was clearly something between them, they hadn’t been intimate yet—despite the fact that Portia had been in Zane’s bed.

“That’s exactly what I can’t have him do. In either case it would be wrong: if she’s not a virgin, he’ll be furious about being duped by her, and who knows what he’ll do then.”

Quinn raised an eyebrow. “And if she is a virgin?”

Samson blinked. “If her father is really intent on keeping her a virgin until her final turning, he’ll kill Zane for robbing her of her virginity.”

“If he finds him,” Quinn added.

“We have to find him first and stop him before he does something that can’t be reversed.”

Quinn gave his boss a long look, wondering whether to ask his next question or keep his mouth shut. This time though his sense of justice won out. “What about the girl?”

“What about her?”

“If she’s really a virgin, we can’t allow her father to prevent her from losing her virginity before she turns twenty-one.” His own conscience wouldn’t allow him to stand idly by and do nothing, when somebody was clearly doing the girl wrong.

“I know that, and it’s bothered me all day. I just hope for all our sakes that she lied to Zane. Because fighting her father on this issue is not a fight I look forward to.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Zane pulled into the garage underneath his mountain cabin and brought the car to a complete stop, the chains he’d put on the wheels before reaching the mountains clacking loudly against the concrete floor. The moment he killed the engine, Portia stirred and opened her eyes. She’d nodded off only a half hour earlier with Z curled into a ball at her feet. The picture was so utterly unfamiliar, yet it warmed his heart.

“Are we there?” Her eyes darted around the garage then back to him.

“I’ll get the bags. Why don’t you and Z go in already?”

Portia opened the door, and Z jumped out, excitedly sniffing his surroundings.

“I can’t believe you have a cabin in Tahoe!”

Zane rounded the Hummer, Portia’s backpack in hand, and opened the trunk. For emergencies, he always kept a bag in his car that was stocked with everything he needed for a few nights.

“It’s not big, but it’s all I need. I always come here alone.” He stopped himself.

This was his sanctuary. He’d never brought a woman here. Not even his friends and colleagues at Scanguards knew about this place. He’d even made sure not to ask for Amaury’s real estate expertise when he’d purchased the house, wanting this to be his own little getaway that nobody knew about.

Zane grabbed his bag and shut the trunk. Portia was still waiting next to the passenger door for him. Their eyes met.