The Lady Vanishes (33 page)

Regina grinned. “Yeah, that’s what got me with Milton. The man kisses like he performs his tricks, with this utter concentration that just sucks you in.”

“Milton looks like he probably studied people kissing until he’d figured out the technique. No offense, but the man has some intense focus.”

“This is true.”

Celeste plucked at Regina’s quilt with the tips of her bright red nails. “There will be cameras at this banquet tonight. You know there will be talk about Father.”

Regina nodded. “Yes, but not much. He’s been gone a long time. After a little while, the fact that I’m Carter Burke’s daughter will be old news.”

“You’re nervous.”

Regina nodded. “I worked so hard to give us a normal life.”

Celeste shrugged delicately. “Fuck it. Normal is for other people.”

Bending to give her sister a hug, Regina rolled her eyes. “You have such a way with words, Celeste. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow, sister.”

The limo was crowded when Regina ducked inside. Roland and his date, a stunning blonde, sat just behind Shane, and, to Regina’s surprise, Nick and a delicate Asian woman sat on the left bank of seats. For some reason, she’d assumed Nick would bring Blake.

No one appeared to be particularly comfortable except the blonde, who was holding a glass of champagne and twining herself against Roland’s side.

Milton settled in next to Regina and took her hand. He seemed slightly nervous, like there was something bothering him. She’d thought the same thing when she’d gone home with him last night. He’d been jittery, like he wanted to tell her something, and he hadn’t brought out a single sex toy. Instead, he’d kissed her fiercely and carried her to bed, making love to her with his lips and teeth and fingers until the sheets had been a tangled mess, and she’d felt as wrung out as a washrag.

Whatever was bothering him made her even more agitated than she’d been already, but she told herself she was being ridiculous.

They made small talk as they rode, though Roland carried most of the conversation until they arrived at the Citi Performing Arts Center, and waited in the line of other limousines to be dropped off at the front entrance. She and Milton stepped out first, followed by the rest, and they were all escorted together inside an enormous banquet hall that had been decorated as lavishly as a wedding.

As the guests of honor, Milton, Roland, and Nick were seated at a table in the front with the mayor and several executives from the
Boston Business Journal
while the rest of the attendees were seated in round tables throughout the rest of the room. Regina sat with her back to most of the room, Milton next to her, and tried to ignore the feeling that hundreds of eyes were fixed between her shoulder blades.

Cameras flashed, and Regina felt Milton’s hand slide comfortingly down her back. Relaxing, she smiled at him and patted his knee under the table. When she let that hand slide up his thigh, higher and higher, his eyes crinkled in a matching smile.

After a brief introduction, dinner was served. Stuffed pork chops, winter vegetables, and creamed potatoes. Milton didn’t remember tasting any of it. When the plates were cleared, Regina put her hand back on his thigh, and Milton had trouble focusing as the chairman of the
Journal
explained the purpose of the philanthropy award. He caught her fingers before she could brush his crotch; he didn’t want to go on stage with a boner, for God’s sake, but he liked the little smile on her lips, liked having her next to him, beautiful and poised, and his.

He checked his phone with his free hand. They were supposed to notify him once Carter Burke was in custody. They should have called this afternoon, but they hadn’t yet. He wanted a chance to explain to Regina before the public found out. He tried to say something last night, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to do it.

I’ll tell her tonight, after the banquet,
he thought, hoping they wrapped up this little show fairly soon.

They played a video reel of thanks from various charities that Accendo had contributed to for the past year, including Boston Children’s Hospital, and then the three were being called up to the stage to receive their award and make a short speech.

Milton kissed her cheek and stood. “Be right back,” he said simply, and slapped Roland on the back as they climbed the stairs to the top of the stage.

He and Nick had picked Roland to give the majority of the speech, thanking the
Journal
and everyone in the audience for their appreciation. Roland stepped up to the podium first, into the blinding white spotlight, while Milton blinked and tried to see Regina at the table. There she was, smiling at him.

When Roland finished, Nick stepped up and made a short thank-you speech, an impressive feat for him since he hated speaking in public. As he stepped aside, Milton took the podium.

“Good evening, everyone,” he began. Cameras flashed, and Milton blinked rapidly and smiled wider. “Some of you may have heard that I like to perform a little magic.”

There was a ripple through the crowd, a wave of anticipation, and he calmed them down with his hands. “Don’t get too excited. I’m not performing any tricks here tonight. The truth of the matter is that the people who should really be honored are those working tirelessly for these causes, like the doctors and staff at Boston Children’s, the cause that is closest to my heart. I lost my brother William to cancer when I was twelve years old, and I have never forgotten the people who fought to save him, or the bravery of all those children. They are the ones who should be thanked, but I appreciate this honor, and encourage everyone to give what you can, be it time or money.”

He stepped back from the podium to applause, but it seemed sporadic and slightly stuttered, as if something had happened. There were quite a few whispers and people were looking at their phones. Milton squinted. What was going on?

The chairman took the podium again. “Roland Webster, Milton Shaw, and Nick Cord, I present to you the
Boston Business Journal
’s award for corporate philanthropy.” He handed each of them a crystalline statuette, and shook their hands.

Cameras flashed as they walked off stage, and several of the reporters who’d been covering the event crowded around them, focusing on Milton.

“Mr. Shaw, is it true that you helped arrange for the capture of Carter Burke?”

Milton felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. All them were asking him questions, shouting over one another. What had led him to try and find Carter Burke? Did it have anything to do with a rumored relationship with his daughter, Regina Burke?

Panicked, Milton shoved his way through the reporters with Roland and Nick’s help and hurried back to the table where he’d left Regina. Her chair was pushed back, her purse gone, and the only evidence of her was the imprint her lipstick had left on her water glass.

The lady had vanished.

REGINA RAN AS QUICKLY AS SHE COULD
in her dress, trying not to hyperventilate as she hurried to the exit. She had to find a cab; she had to get out of there. How could he have done that without telling her? Her father had been caught. He’d been brought to Boston by federal marshals.

At first she’d been too focused looking at Milton on stage to notice the distraction of the people around her, but when they began glancing in her direction, she’d seen them looking at their phones and whispering.

Wondering what all the fuss was about, Regina had tried to ignore the whispers, but the man sitting next to her, someone from the newspaper, leaned close to whisper, “Have you seen this?”

It was breaking headline news. Carter Burke had been arrested at Logan International Airport. Billionaire Milton Shaw had apparently arranged his capture, having him flown from Dubai to Boston on a private jet.

It hadn’t taken long for everyone at the table to begin studying her curiously. Her heart had begun pounding in her chest, and she’d nearly knocked over her chair in her haste to get away.

Why did he do it? Why didn’t he tell me?

As she approached the front doors to the hotel, the doorman took one look at her face and opened it immediately. “Can I get you a taxi?”

“Yes, please.” Regina had nodded, and followed him outside. She’d forgotten her coat, but she ignored the cold.

He located one for her immediately, waving to get the man’s attention, and Regina fumbled in her purse for some cash. She only had a twenty, so she gave it to him and hurried into the door he held open for her.

“Miss, are you sure—” he began, but she cut him off.

“I’m sure.” She jerked on the door handle, and he released it, allowing it to shut.

She gave the driver her address, hoping he took credit cards, and pulled out her phone to call Celeste.

She didn’t answer, so Regina left a voicemail, “Celeste, call me when you get this. Our father has been arrested. Milton had him arrested.” Regina could hear the disbelief in her own voice, the shock, and she swallowed. “I’m on my way home.”

As soon as she hung up, her phone rang. Milton. She sent the call to voicemail, so hurt and furious that her fingers trembled as she declined the call.

He called again. And again. And again before he finally resorted to texting.

Please tell me you’re okay. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you.

Her eyes burned, but she managed to text him back, just three words.

Leave me alone.

MILTON PACED THE CONFINES
of his library restlessly while Nick and Roland sat on his couch and watched, both of them still in their suits even though it was nearing 3:00 a.m. They’d dropped off Nick’s and Roland’s dates and gone to Regina’s loft, but she wouldn’t answer the door. The security camera he’d installed verified that she had entered the exterior stairwell door and that she hadn’t left, so he knew she was still there, but it didn’t help with the gut-twisting panic that had him wanting to punch something.

“Why didn’t you mention it to us, at least?” Roland asked. “I could have helped. Maybe we could have kept it quiet.”

“I didn’t think about it that much.” Milton ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I just had this idea in my head that if I could somehow fix the issue Regina had with her father, she would get over not wanting to be seen in public with me.”