She nodded. “Yes. I travel a lot with Hugh—used to travel with him—sometimes internationally so they’ve got most employees’ pertinent information in case there’s ever a disaster.”

“Until they do a DNA comparison they won’t know for sure that it’s you, but it’s sure not Neal Lynch’s type. Which brings me to the bad news. He’s in the wind.”

In the wind? “He’s…gone?”

“Yeah,” Hurley said, his mouth pulled into a tight line. They went to pick him up this morning and he was already gone. Doesn’t look like much is missing, but a woman he’d brought home last night was there and had no idea he’d even left. They’ve run his cell phone records and he received a call from a burner phone about ten minutes before Oceanside PD showed up at his place. Now he’s either ditched his phone or turned it off because they can’t track him. Not the actions of an innocent man.”

A heavy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Despite the hurtful words Roman had said earlier about her, she glanced at him. His expression was unreadable, but he reached out and squeezed her hand in silent support. She looked back at Hurley. “Timing of that phone call can’t be a coincidence.”

“Nope. And the call originated from somewhere in Vegas. So it could be the guy who came after you yesterday. My money’s on it being him because I don’t believe in coincidence.”

Iciness settled over her as she tried to digest everything. Neal and whoever he’d hired to come after her were still out there.

“What are they doing to hunt him down?” Roman asked.

“They already got a warrant and have frozen all his assets so he doesn’t have access to any money right now. He could have accounts we don’t know about, but they’re digging into all his records trying to find out if Lynch’s got any extra houses or something that will lead them to him.”

“What about the man who came after Taylor yesterday,” Roman continued, his body language never changing.

“We’re still looking for the guy, but so far we’re coming up empty. There’s just no evidence to go on. It’s another reason for you,” Hurley said, looking at Taylor, “to get back to California immediately. You need to make an official statement and lay low for a while. At least until Lynch is caught. And he will be. Without funds he’s going to be fucked…uh, screwed. Once he’s caught he’ll turn on the guy he hired to come after you. A man like him has no loyalty. Is there a place you can go after you’ve made your statement?”

“Yeah, maybe,” she murmured, the wheels in her head turning. She didn’t even want to think that far ahead. She needed to talk to the Oceanside PD then figure out what to do about Hugh’s funeral. After that she’d worry about everything else.

“How are you going to get back home? It’ll take some time but considering the situation, I think we can arrange an escort—”

“I’m taking her,” Roman interrupted.

She looked at him in surprise. “Um, that’s not necessary. I’m sure you can’t wait to get rid of me,” she snapped with more heat than she’d intended. Gah, she hadn’t wanted him to know he’d hurt her. Without waiting for his response, she turned back to Hurley. “I can either drive or Powers Group has a company jet. I can probably use it. I just…normally I’d talk to Benjamin Escobar—he’s head of security there—but I don’t know if I can trust him.”

The detective’s eyebrows raised slightly. “Why do you say that?”

She lifted her shoulders as Roman’s phone started buzzing in his pocket. In the small room it was easy to hear. He pulled it out and glanced at the caller ID. His jaw clenched once before he met her gaze. “I’ve got to take this, but whether you take your company jet or not, I’m going with you.” At that, he got up and left, his rubber-soled shoes silent as he entered the hall and moved out of sight.

Frowning, she turned back to Hurley. Taylor wasn’t certain what she’d expected, but it wasn’t that. She’d thought Roman had wanted her gone so why was he insisting on coming with her? Maybe he felt he owed it to Vadim. Shaking off the thought, she said, “Remember the man I told you about last night, Gordon Simpson?”

“The one waiting outside the PD?”

“Yeah. Escobar is his boss. I guess he could have been working for just Neal, but I don’t know. Escobar is kinda scary. I don’t see any of his guys doing something without him knowing.” Which she knew made her sound like a little kid, but she didn’t care. Benjamin Escobar had an edge to him.

Hurley snorted softly. “Well, scary or not, Escobar vouched for you. Went on record with the guys at Oceanside and said there was no way you killed Mr. Powers.”

She straightened in her seat, surprise jolting through her. “He did?”

“Yep. I don’t know for sure but it sounds like he’s got a good relationship with the department there and he made sure the detectives on the case knew his thoughts about you.”

“Oh.” She bit her bottom lip, digesting the newest piece of information.

“I’ve already passed on the info about Simpson though so hopefully by the time you get back to Oceanside they’ll know more about why he was at the station. If it had anything to do with you, they’ll find out. Powers was an influential, powerful man. They’re working around the clock to close the case.”

“Good.” That didn’t mean she believed Escobar wasn’t involved. But why would he have vouched for her to the police when he barely knew her? They’d worked at the same company for a while but he was not a warm, friendly type. That being an understatement.

She felt as if her brain was about to go into overload and she just hoped she could count on the man as an ally.

* * *

Roman didn’t stray too far down the hall as he answered his phone. If it was anyone else, he’d have ignored the call, but when Wyatt Christiansen called, he answered.

“Hey, boss,” he said quietly.

“Roman. What’s going on with Taylor Arenas? Has she been arrested?” That was something he liked about the man. He always got right to the point.

“How do you even know about that?” And how did Wyatt know Taylor? His billionaire boss was happily married but that strange sense of possessiveness swept through Roman again nonetheless.

He snorted softly. “Vadim.”

Roman wondered why Vadim had mentioned it to Wyatt at all. “She’s fine and no, she’s not being arrested. I’m taking her back to Oceanside in the next hour or so.” Because no matter what she said, he wasn’t letting her out of his sight. Ever since they’d left his house earlier, she’d been quiet, withdrawn. He’d thought maybe she regretted the kiss they’d shared but after what she’d said in Hurley’s office about him wanting to be rid of her, he realized she’d heard what he said to his brother. Roman wanted to kick his own ass for saying that lie out loud. As soon as they were alone, he was going to explain to her why he’d said it.

“How are you getting there?”

Roman paused. He respected his boss, but his personal business was just that. Personal. And he was off for the next few days so it wasn’t like this would interfere with his work schedule. Unless he was missing something here, Wyatt should have no reason to be asking about Taylor. “Respectfully, why do you want to know about Taylor?”

Wyatt let out a short sigh. “I’ve been trying to hire her away from Powers Group for years. Vadim’s assured me she’s innocent and I…I respected Hugh Powers. I just want to make sure Taylor’s all right.”

“More like you want to get a head start on the headhunting,” he said dryly. The words were out before he could censor himself. He liked and respected his boss a lot, but he was always very aware of their professional relationship. Unlike Jay, Wyatt’s right-hand man, Roman didn’t have that type of relaxed relationship with the billionaire where he always said what was on his mind.

To his surprise, Wyatt let out a sharp laugh. “You’re not totally wrong. She’d be a big asset to me if I could hire her, but Vadim asked me to help out.”