Chapter One
The Billionaire PI's Second Chance
Theo
What the fuck is she doing here?
Lightning flashes outside my office window. The neon smear of the street beyond splatters across my lamp.
And there she is, Emery Lang, rain-soaked, standing in my doorway. Every fight I ever dreamed of, every swear and wake-up call I prepared for, comes down to this moment. Every muscle in me tenses up, fist curling tight.
It’s like the storm outside finally found me. I expect anger, or at least detachment, but the truth is I’m startled by how much I want to reach out, how damn alive I still feel.
She's really here in front of me… after five fucking years!
“Jesus,” I blurt, the word catching in my throat.
My blood feels… like ice water. If this is a nightmare, I don’t want to wake up. I can taste stale coffee and regret, and sweat prickles at my temples.
“Emery?” I call out her name, and the disbelief in my voice surprises me.
She bites back something, words? A smile? I catch the faint scent of lavender in the air around her. She still uses the same perfume. The muscles around her eyes crinkle, and finally, her lips curl into that same crooked grin.
“Hey, Theo,” she says softly. Even a whisper from her still makes me swallow.
“What brings you here? Miss me already?” I jab, leaning back and crossing my arms. Trying to sound cool and casual. “After five fucking years?”
Emery looks away, fiddling with a clasp on her jacket. “I need help, Theo.”
“Oh?”
“She’s missing, Theo.”
“Who is?”
Her gaze searches my face for any remainder of love. “My sister, Mia.”
My gut clenches at the name. From all those years ago, I see Mia’s face: blonde like Emery, but slimmer and taller.
There it is, though.
The reason she’s here. Not to apologize. Not to explain the fucking note she left on our kitchen counter five years ago: I’m choosing myself, Theo. Don’t look for me. We’re done.
No closure. Just an emotional sucker punch and radio silence.
I’m 32 now. I was 27 when she blew up my life: first real love and heartbreak. Never recovered. Didn’t even try. I’ve dated women since, sure, and slept with a few. But no one ever made me want to take my armor off again.
No one could.
And now she’s back, talking about her missing sister.
“Missing how?”
She takes a breath, voice trembling. “The cops found a plane ticket to Mexico in her name, bags packed. They think she left town.” She drops her gaze. “But she wouldn’t… not like that.”
A rumble of thunder punctuates her words. The storm outside seems to lean in.
“So, wait. The cops think she left on her own, and you think otherwise, so you come knocking on my door?” I try to sound as impassioned as I can.
Emery steps closer, and I notice how small she is beside me. Rainwater drips from her shoulders. “I’m not saying the cops are wrong… but this doesn’t add up. I need you to look.”
“I’m not running this as a charity, Em,” I say, shaking my head. My tone’s cold, but inside I’m spiraling.
“I know,” she says, eyes bright with desperation. “I knew you wouldn’t do it just because I’m, well, me. But Mia… Theo, she’s all I have.” Her words crack.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I say flatly.
A silence falls.
I’m pacing on the edge of rage and something dangerously close to compassion. The thought bites at me: I’d do anything to save my brothers if they were ever in danger. Even if we’re not close, they matter. Still, I bite back the urge to ask where she was when I needed her.
“We had a fight a few weeks ago. She was… spiraling. We hadn’t spoken since. Then she left a voicemail. Scared. Said somebody was watching her.”
“And you didn’t go to her?”
“I tried. She was gone.”
I exhale, rub the scar across my cheekbone. My tattoos burn beneath my sleeves.
“I’m not taking the job.”
Her face freezes. “Because of me?”
“No.”
Yes.
She leans back. Her jaw clenches. “That’s bullshit.”
“Is it?” I snap. “You disappeared. Left a goddamn note like a coward. I woke up, made coffee for two, and waited for someone who wasn’t returning. That fucks with a man.”
“I had to leave.”
“You didn’t have to vanish.”
Her eyes shine, but no tears fall. She’s tougher than that. “I knew you’d come after me if I didn’t make it final.”
“You’re goddamn right I would’ve.”
Silence again. This one hurts more than the last.
“Where were you all along?”
“Philly,” she says.
I shake my head. “You left New York for… Philly?”
“Can we talk about Mia instead?”
I stand, pacing now, needing to burn energy before it burns me. “Go to the cops.”
“They’ve written it off.”
“Then find another PI.”
“I didn’t want just another PI.”
“Tough.”
“What if I told you Damien Sinclar is involved?”
Everything inside me shuts down.
I turn, slowly.
“What did you say?”
She watches me carefully. “I think Sinclair has something to do with Mia’s disappearance.”
My stomach twists. Sinclair.
The name is a fucking landmine in my world. I’ve been quietly digging into his operation for three years, wading through shell companies, blood money, bribes snaking through the city like a plague.
Last year, my godmother Margot, our CFO, was arrested. Working for Sinclair. She almost took the family business down with her.
Emery knows all this. She read the articles. Probably followed the whole damn trial.
She’s using it.
I glare at her. “You knew mentioning him would get me interested.”
“I did.”
“You’re manipulating me.”
“I am.”
Honest to a fault. Fucking Emery.
I grit my teeth and stare at the floor. “Goddamn it.”
She stands there trembling. “Look, I know I’m being manipulative,” she blurts. “I know your family hates Damien Sinclair, and I saw news last year about your family being sabotaged. I thought if you heard his name, you’d at least listen to me.”
My guts knot.
“Damien Sinclair,” I repeat.
She flinches, eyes dropping. “I know. I needed a hook. I had no choice.”
“That’s… underhanded as fuck, Emery,” I say flatly, crossing my arms tighter.
She nods, barely. “I know. I’m sorry. I had to.”
“Why me, Em?” I demand, tension coiled in my voice. “Out of all the assholes in this city, why me?”
“Because you are the best. Because your family has a vendetta, but also because you’re the man with the guts to do it.” Her voice wavers. “I don’t have anyone else, Theo. If you won’t help, I have nobody.”
A silence falls. I’m caught between anger and pity: anger that I’m actually considering helping her.
I could direct her to another PI.
She looks at me like I’m the enemy. Maybe I am.
I think about my brothers and what I’d do if one of them vanished. Even the ones I don’t talk to. I’d burn the city down.
“You stay out of it,” I say. “You’re not trained, and Sinclair… Sinclair breaks people.”
“I can handle myself.”
“No. You can’t. Not with this.”
She hesitates. “Okay.”
“I’m serious.”
“I said okay.”
“I’m taking the case,” I say finally. “But I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing it for Mia… and because of Sinclair.”
“Got it,” she says. “Should we draw up a contract?”
“I don’t want your money.”
“Why not?”
“I wouldn’t feel right charging the woman who torched my fucking heart. Even if she did it professionally.”
Emery stands. Her coat flares slightly. She looks like she wants to say something, maybe thank you, maybe fuck you.
Instead, she walks to the door.
“Theo?”
“What?”
“I’m sorry.”
You're five fucking years too late.
I say nothing.
She leaves. The click of the door makes the office feel colder.
My phone buzzes: a video call from Sebastian. I swipe to answer. He’s at the airport, Olivia, leaning in with a grin, pilot cap between them.
“Theo!” Seb beams. “Olivia’s headed to Paris. She’s got a new design project. You busy or what?”
My brother can't stop smiling since he got married. Lucky bastard.
“Hi, Liv.” I offer a small smile to my sister-in-law, before turning to my brother. “I’m busy, yeah.”
“Yeah, you look like it.” His brow lifts. “You okay?”
Pause. Emery’s face flashes behind my eyes. I wince.
“Fine,” I lie.
“Sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Mom asked after you.”
“When I’m in the mood for a fight, I’ll call her.”
Sebastian laughs. “You’re impossible. Don’t be a stranger.”
“He means it, Theo,” Olivia says. “When I return from Paris, we should have a family dinner, okay?”
Olivia and my brother tied the knot recently after a whole lot of back-and-forth between them which involved Seb thinking she was a spy working for Sinclair.
It was a whole thing that eventually ended with them falling in love.
I like Olivia. I think she’s good for my brother… she makes him less uptight and stuck-up.
“I’m looking forward to it,” I reply.
The call ends after we say our goodbyes.
My brother looks happier than ever. He's happily married, and it shows. I know that’s not in the cards for me.
I lock the office.
Leather jacket over my white shirt, gloves shoved into my pocket. My black Impala waits in the alley, neon signs flickering in puddles around it.
Rain’s started. Of course it has.
The engine’s rumble is a steady anchor beneath me as I merge into traffic. City lights smear red and green through my windshield. Alone on the dark highway, each neon sign feels like a warning.
I told her I didn’t care. I do. I told myself I moved on. I didn’t.
I told her I’m doing this for Mia. I’m not sure that’s true either.
I was a mess for over two years after she left. I drank too much, fought too much, and was angry at the world.
I've only started to get used to life without her and she walks back into it. Now, I’m left asking myself what the hell have I invited back into my life?
And worse—
What if I lose myself again?