Gone Missing

GONE MISSING
 Copyright © Rose Middleton, 2023
 First published 2023
 Published by Rose Middleton
 URL: https://www.rosemiddleton.com
 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a database and retrieval system or transmitted in any form or any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the owner of copyright and the above publishers.
 This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
 Cover art Angela Stevens @ Cats Pyjamas Design
 ISBN 978-0-6450767-9-0
 Readers are advised that the following work contains portrayals of elements such as child abduction, sex scenes and themes that require a mature outlook. 
 Please join my mailing list for writing updates, priority cover reveals, exclusive excerpts, deleted scenes and more at:
 https://www.rosemiddleton.com
 
 
 Also by Rose Middleton
 
 
 
 
 Finding Sanctuary
 
 
 
 Wandering Souls
 
 
 
 Brave Hearts
 
 
 
 Kindred Spirits
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Love on the Line
 
 
 
 Gone Missing
 
 
 
 In Hiding
 
 
 
 Next Target
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Shadow Soldiers
 
 
 
 Riley
 
 
 
 Gabe
 
 
 
 Hollywood
 
 
 
 Ben
 
 
 
 Magnus
 
 
 
 Damien
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Watch for more at Rose Middleton’s site.
 
 
 
 
 Table of Contents
 Copyright Page
 Also By Rose Middleton
 Gone Missing (Love on the Line, #1)
 Gone Missing
 1.
 2.
 3.
 4.
 5.
 6.
 7.
 8.
 9.
 10.
 11.
 12.
 13.
 14.
 15.
 16.
 17.
 18.
 19.
 Epilogue
 Sign up for Rose Middleton's Mailing List
 Further Reading: In Hiding
 Also By Rose Middleton
 About the Author
 Also by Rose Middleton
 Shadow Soldiers (Romantic Suspense)
 RILEY
 GABE
 HOLLYWOOD
 BEN
 MAGNUS
 DAMIEN
 Finding Sanctuary (Contemporary Romance)
 Wandering Souls
 Brave Hearts
 Kindred Spirits
 Find them all at www.rosemiddleton.com 
 Gone Missing
 Love on the Line Book 1
 © Rose Middleton
 2023
 1.
 “You’re firing me?”
 Lucinda Green sat with a rigid spine, despite the rapid pounding of her heart. She stared across the impeccably neat mahogany desk at the man who’d saved her life. The very notion that he could fire her rolled her stomach, making her nauseous. Between the anxiety and the bile stinging the back of her throat, she prayed she didn’t throw up all over his tidy workspace.
 She waited for an answer.
 Silent.
 Patient.
 He said nothing.
 The sympathy in his wise blue eyes wasn’t enough to quell the panic rising in her chest. Her mind screamed at him, demanding an explanation.
 “Lucy, please.” He sighed, shifting in his high-backed chair. The leather creaked as he moved. “It’s not that simple.”
 “Well, either you’re keeping me on, or you aren’t. Which is it?” Her heartbeat drummed in her ears.
 Putting his hands together, he rested his chin on his fingers and studied her. In his mid-fifties, Howard Walters, had been her rock. Regal and stoic, he was every bit the gentleman he’d been the night he found her. He’d steadied her ship, aligned her wayward rudder, and put her ass back on the straight and narrow.
 Without him, she’d probably still be twirling around that stage in nothing more than a G-string, stuck in a life of bad biker boyfriends and dollar bills.
 She dreaded the thought that he’d turn her back out onto the street. How could he? They hadn’t found her son, yet.
 “It’s not that I want to let you go,” he said softly. “You know how I feel about you.”
 Lucy’s cheeks heated and she bowed her head to stare at her hands, folded in her lap. Her fingers were white from gripping each other to stop from fidgeting. She knew exactly how he felt about her. Guilt niggled at her for not returning the sentiment but she couldn’t force an attraction, not when he seemed more like a father than a lover. Still, the proud veteran hadn’t held it against her the way some men did when rejected. She couldn’t be more thankful if she tried.
 Raising her eyes again, she took in the familiar office of his private investigations firm. The smell of aged leather permeated the air, just as it had done the first day she stepped into the room. Howard enjoyed old-world charm, and it suited him. This was his domain and he ruled it with authority and a sure hand, everything she’d needed back then.
 “Do you remember the day we met?”
 How could she forget? Even in the dingy-darkness of the sleazy bar, he’d stood out from the usual riff-raff. Dressed in a suit with his graying hair fashioned in a neat-back-and-sides look, he’d captured her attention without effort. Unlike the regulars, he didn’t crack onto her, but just like the regulars, his presence made her question what the hell she was doing there.
 Maybe more so.
 “I remember,” he continued, “and you know what struck me as most odd, Lucy? The sadness in your eyes. You didn’t want to be under that spotlight any more than you had to be. I couldn’t walk away from that, but I look at you now, and I see some of the sadness has come back. It’s the job, the disappointment. You need to get out before the grind turns you into dust.”
 She felt her eyes stretch wide as the panic ballooned. “You think I should give up searching for my son?”
 With a sad smile, he shook his head. “Not give up. Just take a break, focus on something else for a while. You need to get out of the PI game and find the joy in life again.”
 Get out of the game? Her heart almost stopped. He was talking madness. What kind of mother gave up looking for her son? Adrenaline forced her to her feet and she paced over to the