“ . . . so I figured I’d call you.” Karen’s voice drifted to him.

Shit, he’d missed half the conversation!

“Mmm,” he answered, wondering what she’d been telling him.

“So what’s the deal? Why doesn’t she like you?”

Confused, Oliver scratched his head. “Who?”

“That girl of course. Have you even been listening?”

“Of course I have. What girl?” If this was one of her long-winded stories that could go on forever, then he had to make up an excuse to get out of this pointless conversation. “Listen, I’ve gotta go.”

“Come on, just tell me. Did she come onto you and get pissed off because you’re not into Chinese girls?”

Oliver was instantly alert. “Chinese? What’s she look like?”

“Well, Chinese of course. Long black hair. Pretty.”

Could he be so lucky? Was Karen talking about Ursula? “What did she say to you?”

“Well, she didn’t say it to me, but I overheard her. She said you betrayed her the first chance you got. Sounded pretty pissed off to me.”

He wasn’t surprised at that, but he cursed nevertheless. “Ah, shit! You wouldn’t know where she is now, would you?”

“She’s staying up in room 407.”

Shock made him catapult from his bed. “In the brothel?”

An annoyed huff came from Karen. “We don’t call it that!”

Oliver backpedaled. “I meant, at Vera’s . . . uh . . . establishment?” But he didn’t listen to Karen’s next comment, because all he could think of was that he knew where Ursula was. Of all places, Zane had hidden her in a brothel. Did that big oaf have no concern for Ursula’s feelings? To hide her in a brothel, when she’d been imprisoned in one for three years!

“Thanks Karen, you’re a sweetheart. Please, may I ask you for a favor?”

“ ’Course you may, hon.”

“Don’t tell anybody you told me about her. I’ve gotta keep a low profile on this. Promise?”

“What do I get for it?” she negotiated.

Oliver thought about it for a moment, wondering what would pacify her. “Flowers? Tickets to a show?”

“The best seats?”

“Only the best for you.”

When he disconnected the call, he was ready for action. He went into the bathroom and jumped in the shower. It was no surprise to him that his cock was already fully erect the moment he soaped up. No wonder—he was imagining Ursula’s hands touching him. Of course, before that could happen, he had to first explain to her that he hadn’t betrayed her secret. Considering her current opinion of him, he doubted she’d let him hold her hand, let alone make love to her.

For the remaining hours until sunset, he paced in his room, practicing in his mind what he would say to her, how he would start his explanation to make sure she believed him.

The time seemed to stretch forever, but finally, the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. On his way out, Oliver stopped in the library and unlocked the supply cabinet where Quinn kept spare electronic gadgets. He grabbed a cell phone and headed out the door. He left the car behind, wanting to be as inconspicuous as possible. Just in case anybody from Scanguards showed up at Vera’s, he didn’t want them noticing his car parked in the area. Besides, Vera’s was in Nob Hill, which lay adjacent to Russian Hill and was therefore only a short walk away.

Since it was still early evening, it would be quiet at Vera’s. Most clients would show up later as the evening progressed. Therefore, he had to be extra quiet. Knowing he couldn’t simply march into the place, he walked around to the small alley that framed one side of the building, where a fire escape was located. Room 407 overlooked this alley, but there was no fire escape leading down from it. Instead it had a tiny balcony.

Oliver quickly assessed the situation. The closest fire escape led to the room next to it, but since it was an anteroom to Vera’s office, he could not enter that room to get into Ursula’s room from the inside. He had to get to Ursula’s balcony.

The fire escape only reached to the second floor where a quick release lever allowed anybody escaping from the building to bring the remainder of the ladder down to the ground. But from his position in the alley he couldn’t reach up high enough to grab onto any part of the fire escape. Testing how high he could jump, Oliver took a few steps back, then ran and leapt upwards, stretching his arms, but his fingers didn’t quite reach the metal fire escape. He tried again for good measure, but his second try didn’t prove any more fruitful than his first. He was out of shape. Maybe if he ran from farther back and got up to a higher speed, he could reach the ladder.