Caught by Jami Alden

under his breath as he mopped up a blob of red sauce with a hunk of bread.
    Ethan stirred his spaghetti around his plate, his appetite killed by the knot in his stomach. He wished he could be anywhere but here, partaking of this sad parody of family bonding.
    He knew how perfect they looked on the outside. His father, still handsome and fit at the age of sixty-three, a silver-haired, more craggy-featured version of his oldest son, Daniel. He and his brothers, strong and square-jawed with their all-American good looks. Nobody looking at them would know they were broken inside, their lives forever altered by the selfish actions of one sad, weak woman.
    Ethan took a slug of beer, wondering where the hell that burst of self-pity had come from. Broken? They weren’t broken. Hell, he and his brothers were all good-looking, had successful military careers behind them, and had built a rapidly growing business. Okay, so their mom had left them high and dry and sent their dad off the deep end, but they’d all done absolutely fine in spite of it. They’d survived as a family, remained close.
    Closer, in fact, than most siblings he knew. Rather than let tragedy rip them apart, their bond had grown more fierce after their mother had disappeared. With their mother gone and their father lost to his obsession, they’d realized they needed to take care of themselves and each other, because no one else would. When they’d all found their military careers ending at roughly the same time, Danny had suggested starting their own security firm, leveraging their combined experience in military intelligence. None of them had hesitated to go into business together. There was no one Ethan trusted more than his brothers to have his back, and he knew Derek and Ethan felt the same way.
    But tonight all the family togetherness threatened to smother him. Nights like tonight, his father’s relentless, delusional search for their mother made him want to make a run for it.
    Plus, Toni had zeroed in on their one and only lead on Kara, and he was anxious to get back to her.
    For professional reasons only, of course.
    As though reading his mind—which he probably was—Derek asked, “So do you have any leads on the Kramer girl?”
    Everyone breathed a silent sigh, relieved at the change of subject.
    “We found another online profile for Kara. Not exactly the good girl she’s been showing the rest of the world.” He quickly filled them in on the photos Toni had uncovered. “But the good news is she updated her other Web page again.”
    “You’d think she’d call her folks.”
    Ethan pulled a face. “Yeah, but she might love that she’s making her parents squirm.” He felt a twinge of guilt even as the words left his mouth, remembering the way worry had etched deep lines into Toni’s face.
    “You think the nude pictures have anything to do with it?” Danny said.
    “Hard to tell. But they sure as hell complicate things,” Ethan said, taking a pull on his beer. “Toni’s convinced she’s in danger.”
    “But you aren’t.” Danny said.
    Ethan shrugged. “She’s been gone for nearly two days. I have to take that seriously.”
    “So what’s she like, the other investigator?” Derek asked. “She looked sort of cute from her driver’s license photo.”
    “If you like the nerdy, I-just-got-home-from-band-camp look.” Danny snorted.
    Derek shrugged. “Not everyone goes for Pam Anderson clones.”
    Ethan paused, beer halfway to his lips, considering his words carefully. He didn’t know exactly how to explain Toni. “She’s cute enough, I suppose,” which was an understatement. She was beautiful behind those big nerdy frames, and with a little makeup and something sexier than jeans and a T-shirt, she’d give the silicone set a run for their money. “And really fucking smart. And a complete pain in the ass.” But even as he said it, a reluctant smile crept a across his lips.
    Derek shot Danny a look. “Wednesday.”
    Danny shook