Inc.'
Austyn registered her reluctance.
He didn't have the heart to push her.
After a moment of silence, he nodded. 'Okay, let's go to bed. We can talk about it tomorrow."
Klea said nothing
Austyn carried her back to bed.
Soon, he fell asleep with Kira in his arms.
Kira opened her eyes when she heard his rhythmic breathing.
She caressed his face.
"I'm sorry..." she muttered.
Austyn woke up with a headach
His temples throbbed.
When he didn't see Kira next to him, he thought she was in the bathroom.
Shy wasn't.
He washed up quickly and bounded down the stairs.
There was no one in the dining room or living room.
'Elsie?' Austynentered the kitchen
"Good morning, Young Master. The housekeeper wiped her hands on an apron. 'T'll be out in two minutes with your coffee. Breakfast is on the table "Where's Kira?" Elsie paused. 'I thought she was upstalis with you."
"You didn't see her come downstalis?'
Elsie shook her head. 'No, I don't think so. I've been up since six thirty. If Young Madam came down, I would have heard berMaterial © of .
Austyn whirled around before she finished her last sentence
He ran back up the stairs and checked every room.
Kira wasn't there.
He called her on the phone.
His heart sank when he heard the buzzing from a nightstand drawer
He pulled it open and saw Kira's phone inside.
Austyn rushed downstairs.
Elsie shouted something, but he didn't slow down to catch it
He called Glans, who claimed Kira wasn't with her.
Austyn jumped into his car and aped to Giana's apartment.
He had to see for himself.
But diana wasn't le
Austyn found her alone in the living room
Mr McCarthy, I thought Kira went home with you.'
Glana had waited on the front steps when Austyn got on the phone with the mall's manager.
He was given access to the live security feeds from inside the mall,
That was how he found Kira
Glana had waited outside until she saw Austyn come out w
Then she went home, thinking everything was fine.
thought you guys made up. What lupproed?! Ansty asked lenselt that same question.
out with kira in his arms
Kira's Gone
He thought Kira had forgiven him, too.
She called him 'honey' and went home with him.
She fell asleep in his arms.
But was all of that a show?
Austyn cast his mind back.
When did Kira leave the house? And why didn't he hear anything?
Are You Willing To Pay The Price?
Austyn way usually a light sleeper
But the past four days had been exhausting
Still, he would have felt something if Kira got out of bed.
Athought suddenly occurred to him.
That glass of water
Kira had brought two glasses
she said one was form
He had set it down on the nightstand, but she insisted that he drink it
Thinking of this, Austyn's face tumed deathly pale.
Kira had drugged the water..
she must have planned this all along.
She only went home with him so she would have the opportunity to put the drug in his water.
Austyn was both angry and anxious at the same time.
What was Kira thinking?
Where had she gone off to?
He was wrong; she hadn't come to grips with her father's death
Not at all.
Griet must have pushed her over the edge.
She wasn't in the right state of mind.
Austynsilently berated himself for not being more vigilant.
He thought she was admirably strong to pull herself together so fast
but she hadn't
She had fallen apart but kept up an appearance of normality
And he fell for it.
Austyn bounded into the bedroom when he heard Giana's scream. "What's wrong?
Glana stood with her back to him, shading
When she finally turned around, Austyn froze
He saw the familiar ceramicum in her hands.
"I found this.."Giana was in a daze. "I found this behind the desk
Kira had left Leland's um there along with a note.
She apologised to plans and asked her to help find a columbarium for the urn.
Austyn stood rooted to the spot.
The note filled him with a sense of foreboding.
kice would never leave her father's um unattended unless she was going to...
Austyn left Giana's apartment with a heart heavy with guilt and dread.
He took the urn with him.
Kica must have left her phone at home because she knew he could track her with it.
The area around the villa was not covered by CCTV cameras.
Austyn needed help.
He called Luca and Damian in the car
He told them Kira was missing and asked them to do everything they could to find her.
Both jumped to it unce they realised the seriousness of the situation.
Austyn forced himself to rein in his Imagination, which had gone wild with all sorts of horrible scenarios. People handled griet differently.
Kira could have just wandered off to find a hotel to hole up in, needing some peace and quiet for herself. Or she could we been delven to drepair and decided to end it all
Are You Whing To Pay The Tricer
Austyn shook his head and banished that thought.
He drove to Stamford University and talked to the dean.
A carpus-wide manhunt turned up nothing
Kira had not been to school for weeks.
Austyn called Giana again and asked about Kira's favourite haunts.
He went to the city library, the ice cream parlours Kira frequented and the esplanade, but the search was futile
Finally, Luca called with an update.
"Your house at Ardmore Park is not covered by traffic ca
cameras. I had to get traffic cam footage from a street about one there. Kira got on a bus at half past tive am. It was the earliest one available."
"Where did she go?" Austyn gripped his phone.