“Who do you talk to?” he asked.
“You,” Phoenix said with a smile. “I’m going to shower. Stay as long as you want.” He pulled out his phone and typed My bedroom window as he entered the hall. He detoured into the bathroom to start the shower, and then he darted across the hall to his bedroom.
He peered out the window, but he didn’t see anyone or anything.
“I’m going,” Jon yelled down the hall, and Phoenix swiftly typed abort, he’s going out front, as the door opened and Jon left.
He ducked down below the windowsill, a laugh gathering in the back of his throat as he watched his brother walk away from the cabin, his head down.
So maybe Phoenix shouldn’t be laughing, and his joviality definitely dried up when he saw Allegra’s coupe back out onto the road.
His phone chimed, and he looked down at it. I have to go anyway, she’d texted. You clearly need more time for your heart to heal.
Chapter Twelve
Allegra heard Phoenix’s laughter and words all the way back to her apartment. That almost maniacal laughter when his brother had asked him if he was seeing anyone.
Are you serious?
He didn’t know the back door hadn’t closed all the way. He didn’t know she could hear everything.
She didn’t know he was going to keep her a secret forever. She didn’t know why he wouldn’t tell his best friend and brother about her. She didn’t know why she had to keep hiding whenever Jon came over.
Sure, it had been fun at first. She loved the cabin in the woods, and she was starting to love the man who lived in it. But he hadn’t changed all that much from the stubborn lumberjack who had called the forest rangers on her.
He’d never mentioned coming into town to see her, and the man didn’t even own a car. She always had to go to him, and he seemed…embarrassed to be with her. Or at least to let anyone else know they were together.
Allegra shook her head as she drove, wishing she wasn’t so confused by Phoenix.
“Message from Phoenix Addler,” her car said. She glanced at the screen and saw What does that mean?
“It means—” She didn’t know what it meant. She just knew her chest had pinched and constricted when he’d laughed about seeing someone. Had he been playing her all this time?
That thought felt false, but she didn’t know why else he wouldn’t just put his arm around her and say, “Jon, this is my girlfriend, Allegra Wright.”
The radio stopped playing, and she glanced at the screen to see a call was coming in.
Phoenix.
She might as well talk to him, so she pressed the phone button on the screen and said, “Hey.”
“Why’d you go?” he asked.
“Because you’re not seeing anyone,” she said, the words just bursting from her mouth. “And I’m tired of being a secret houseguest who doesn’t even get to stay inside when someone else comes over. I’m tired of driving thirty minutes out here to see you, only to be shoved out the back door when your brother shows up.”
Her chest heaved, and her whole head felt too hot. So many more thoughts streamed through her mind, but they felt plugged up, unable to come out.
Phoenix said nothing, and that only added flames to the inferno already raging in Allegra’s bloodstream.
“You know what? It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I have a ton of stuff to research tonight anyway, and your Internet is unstable.”
“That’s not true,” he said quietly.
“Yeah, well, I feel unstable,” she said. “And I’d rather not talk to you when I’m so angry. It never ends well.” She didn’t wait for him to respond. He didn’t get to have the control, and she hung up with the jab of her finger against the screen.
If only that could help her feel better.
Of course it didn’t, and her anger seethed and simmered all the way back into Forbidden Lake. He’d talked about the cherry trees, and the blossoms, and the amazing beachfront property his family owned. He couldn’t wait to share everything about the orchards, and the cabins, and the lake with her.
She wanted to ask him now how he’d planned to do that—how he could take her in public—without anyone else seeing. Would he claim her as his?
Tears pricked her eyes, because she wanted him to claim her as his. She wanted to be his.
She drove with half-blurry vision back to her apartment, wishing she’d been brave enough to stay and talk things through with Phoenix. Weeks ago, after the hearing, she’d done that even when he’d tried to walk away from her.
And it had been hard, and she’d thought for sure it wouldn’t end well. But it had.
She parked in her appointed spot at her building and started for the front door. Through her distress, she didn’t see the other person until she ran into them.
“Sorry,” she said, glancing up—right into the face of Devon McKnight. Fear iced her insides, and she tried to step back. He grabbed her arm, making it impossible for her to go very far.
He was definitely within two hundred yards of her. And her building, her car, all of it.
“I’m going to call the police,” she said, wishing her voice didn’t shake quite so much. She thumbed on her phone, never taking her eyes from his. Phoenix’s name sat on the screen, as she’d just finished talking to him, and she tapped the phone icon, desperately hoping it would dial him back.
“You’re not going to call the police,” Devon hissed into her ear, the sweet scent of his breath making her sick. “Now be a good girl, and let’s get in the car.”
“No way,” Allegra said. “I’m not going anywhere with you.” She kicked out, a scream forming in the back of her throat. Just before she let it loose, she heard the tinny, far-away sound of Phoenix’s voice say, “Hello?”
She wrenched her arm away from Devon as he moved to cover her mouth with his hand. Panicked and not thinking clearly, she scrambled for the door to the building. If she could get the code in and get inside, she’d be able to call the police. Get help.
Allegra had only taken two steps when Devon rammed into her from behind. They both fell down, her phone went skidding out of her reach, and she groaned and cried out at the same time pain exploded through her hands and knees. “Get off me,” she yelled. “You’re violating the restraining order.”
Devon picked her up while she flailed, grunting with the effort. He said nothing, and Allegra felt powerless against his muscles, his height, his determination to get her away from the building and into the car.
“Help me!” she screamed. “Help! Someone, help!”
“Stop it,” Devon said, almost under his breath as if he was afraid someone would hear him when they obviously couldn’t hear her. He opened the passenger door of her coupe and tried to put her inside.
“No,” she said against his strength. “Devon, stop this. It’s madness.” For the first time in her life, she was extremely glad for a small car, as she could easily grab onto the roof and sides of the vehicle and refuse to go in. Her fingers scrabbled around for something to grip, and she felt like she was losing an important battle. If only she wasn’t so short, and if she weighed a hundred pounds more, then maybe she could refuse.
“Devon, please,” she tried next, and still he tried to stuff her in the car. Every time he got in one limb and went to work on another, she wiggled back out of the car. Crying now, she strained against him until she felt something pop in her shoulder. A new wave of pain hit her, and she stopped struggling, instinctively curling her arm into her body for protection.
Her head swam with the pain, not only from her arm, but her hands, her knees, her back where his elbows had hit. Adrenaline buzzed in her brain, lighting her thoughts on fire. You have to get away. Go. Run.
“Help,” she said again, realizing Devon was now putting her feet in the car. No, her mind screamed as darkness started to blanket her.
No.
* * *
When Allegra woke, a dull ache existed in her jaw, behind her eyes, and throbbed throug
h the base of her neck. It was dark, without any discernable light to illuminate any features in the room. She only knew it was a room, because it wasn’t freezing. And April nights in Michigan were still chilly.
She strained to hear something, but it was deathly still and silent. She didn’t dare use her voice to call for help, because right now, she was alone and alive, and Devon didn’t need to know she’d awakened.
The urge to find her phone scratched at her, but when she tried to remember where she’d had it last, she came up empty. Blank.
Allegra tried to roll over, but white-hot pain screamed through her shoulder, and she feared she’d dislocated it.
Like a flash of lightning, she remembered everything—including that her phone had gone skidding across the parking lot when Devon had tackled her. How had he done that and dragged her to her car without anyone seeing?
Had her phone call to Phoenix gone through?
Hello?
Yes, she’d heard his voice come through the line just before she’d screamed. So he’d come for her. He’d find her, and he’d rescue her, and she’d never leave the safety and sanctuary of his cabin again.
Somewhere beyond the door of the room, a floorboard creaked. Allegra closed her eyes and tried to make her breathing as even as possible, as if she were still asleep. She needed to give Phoenix as much time as possible to find her, needed to play whatever role Devon wanted her to, needed a few more minutes of rational thought before she had to truly show she was awake.
So even when the swath of light cut across the room and she could’ve started searching for items that would help her escape, she kept her eyes closed and her breathing slow, slow, slow.
She didn’t flinch when Devon traced his fingertips along her forehead and whispered, “That’s a good girl, Allegra. Sleep until morning. I’ll be back then.”
Anger simmered in her blood when he pressed his fish lips to her forehead, and relief came quickly when he retreated, covering her in blackness again and locking the door behind him.
Didn’t matter. He wouldn’t be back until morning, and that meant Allegra had some time to set a trap before he returned.
She forced herself to wait until she was sure several minutes had passed. Then she moved into a sitting position slowly, only inches at a time to ensure she made no noise and that her body didn’t react too violently.
Now she just needed to make a plan. Phoenix would be so proud, she thought, and her heart pumped out an extra beat.
“Please hurry,” she whispered into the darkness. “Please, Phoenix, find me quickly.”
Chapter Thirteen
Phoenix held onto the thought that he’d answered Allegra’s call. At least he’d answered.
No, she had not spoken to him, because she was in a red, crisis situation. He’d heard the scream as it had come through the now-dead line, and it pushed him to run faster.
Get to a truck.
Get to town.
Get to Allegra.
The desperation lodged in the back of his throat made breathing difficult, but he pressed on. The twinkling lights of the family row of homes and buildings finally came into view, and he raced up Mia’s front steps.
“Mia,” he called as he banged on her door and then went inside.
“Nixy,” she said, coming around the corner, surprise on her face. Her boyfriend joined her, one hand on her shoulder as if he’d haul her behind him in case Phoenix was a psycho.
Which, at the moment, he was.
“I need a car,” he panted. “Allegra’s in trouble.” He tried not to think about all the security measures he’d taken at his cabin. The alarm on the gate. The padlock. The deadbolts on his doors, and the way his windows hadn’t been unlocked in forever. The new carport he’d put in. All of it.
For nothing.
You’re violating the restraining order, circled in his mind—the last thing he’d heard her say. Allegra had likely been taken from the parking lot of her building. At least he hoped so, because he had no idea where else to look for her.
He’d already called the cops and told them everything he’d heard in the call before an ear-splitting crack! and skiddd had told him the phone had probably hit the asphalt and slid away from Allegra.
He’d yelled her name, but the sound on her end of the line had disappeared.
Dispatch had told him they’d send two officers to her building, but Phoenix needed to get there too, as quickly as possible.
“Take my car.” Mia held the keys out to him, and he snatched them from her.
“Thanks, sis.” He hurried back out the front door and to her SUV. The seat was much too close to the steering wheel for him, but he backed out of the driveway as he adjusted it. As he raced toward town, he realized that he’d only been to her apartment once. Could he get there again?
He pulled his phone out and called Mia. “Hey,” he said in a rush. “Do you remember the address to Allegra’s building?” He hated that he didn’t know it. That he hadn’t gone by her place dozens of times before, just to see her, hang out, maybe kiss her before he left.
He needed to change. Needed to let go of the past and get off that parcel of land he’d been married to for the past five years.
Mia recited it to him, and Phoenix hung up with her. He said the address under his breath over and over, determined to make some hard, long overdue changes—as soon as he got Allegra back into his life.
Out of danger.
Away from Devon McKnight.
The red and blue police lights led him right to the apartment building. He parked on the street, away from the yellow caution tape, and jumped out of the SUV without turning it off.
“Hey,” he said jogging up. “I’m Phoenix Addler. I called in the….” He had no idea what to call it. Kidnapping? Assault? “What’s going on?”
“Allegra Wright’s car is gone,” the taller of the two cops said. He didn’t seem all that worried about the situation. “We found her phone over here closer to the door. No one heard or saw anything. We’re still interviewing people.”
“Interviewing people?” Phoenix didn’t mean to sound so salty. So hard. But Allegra had obviously been kidnapped. “You know she has a restraining order against Devon McKnight,” he said. “She yelled that he was violating it.” Phoenix ran his hands through his hair. “We need to find him.”
The officer looked at Phoenix with blazing eyes and a tight jaw. “I sent a team over to his house.”
“And?” Phoenix asked, his demanding voice a little lower now.
“And he’s not home.”
Phoenix paced away a few steps, his panic reaching a new level. “So we find his car,” he said. “He obviously took hers.”
The cop didn’t think it was all that obvious. Finally, the other man finished with the woman he was talking to and came toward Phoenix. “Morgan,” he said, recognizing the man from his childhood. “What do we know?”
“His car is right here,” he said. “Well, it’s around the corner—just over two hundred yards away. The forensics team is on their way over.” He looked at Phoenix. “We’re going to find her.”
“When?” he asked, because he felt like time was running out very, very quickly.
“Perhaps her phone could tell us something.” Morgan opened the plastic bag it was in. “We didn’t find any prints on it but hers, and the screen is cracked. She’s got a code.” He looked at Phoenix expectantly, and he stared at the only lifeline between him and Allegra.
“One-two-one-seven,” he said. She’d called almost thirty minutes ago. She couldn’t be that far. “What about a perimeter?” he asked, grasping at anything he could. “She called thirty minutes ago. How far can someone get in thirty minutes in a car?”
“We called that in,” Morgan said, his focus on the phone. “We’re setting up barricades on all the major roads out of town.”
Phoenix nodded, but he wanted to ask about the non-major roads. Devon knew how to inspire fear in someone—he’d proven that when he’d
chased Allegra through the woods out where no one was supposed to live.
“Last several calls were to you,” Morgan mused, swiping and tapping. “I don’t see anything here.”
“We’re wasting time,” Phoenix said.
“What would you like to do?” the taller cop growled.
Phoenix looked at him, only desperation pulling through him. “I don’t know. Does Devon have a summer cabin? Another home? Anything?”
“We’re getting a warrant for his place right now,” Morgan said, exchanging a glance with the other police officer. “You called us quickly, Phoenix, which helped a lot. He can’t have gotten far. And when we get the warrant for his car and his house, we’re going to find everything he has, and then we’re going to find her.”
Phoenix nodded, said, “Thanks,” and walked away from the cops. They might be able to stand here and interview people who’d seen and heard nothing, but he couldn’t. He returned to the SUV and sat behind the wheel, trying to find the piece of information in his cluttered mind.
There had to be something.
All at once, he remembered something she’d told him, months ago.
Devon had found a house for them to live in. It had been for sale at the time, and he’d taken Allegra past it, claiming it would be perfect for them and the family he’d dictated she would provide for him.
So what if he hadn’t let go of that fantasy? What if he had bought the house and had now taken Allegra there to make sure they became the family he’d envisioned?
Phoenix didn’t have time to wait for a warrant, or for the cops to find the deed to that house.
A little white house that was for sale on Lakeshore Drive.
He put the SUV in drive and took off, wishing he was more familiar with the town and could get to Lakeshore Drive quicker.
But he had grown up in Forbidden Lake, and while the town had grown and changed a little in five years, he managed to maneuver himself north to the road that went up both sides of the tip of Forbidden Lake.
Taking A Chance (Rebels 0f Forbidden Lake Book 2) Page 8