Craning her neck, she looked around for a clock. There wasn’t one in sight but through a gap in the window curtains she could see that sun was getting low in the sky. How long had she been under the effects of that sedative? And what had Gordie been doing all that time?
Chapter 44
Rafe stood leaning with his elbows propped on the hood of the truck, a cell phone pressed to his ear. He’d pulled the truck off to the side of the road when the phone had started to ring, hoping Reno finally had some good news for him. The owner of the local gas station was proving hard to track down, and it was taking a lot longer to gather information on Gordie than anyone had anticipated.
Unfortunately, the conversation wasn’t going as he’d hoped, and he was trying not to break Brandi’s cell phone by squeezing it too tight. With great effort, he was also controlling his voice. It really wasn’t Reno’s fault that information was so slow in coming.
“So you’re telling me that shortly after that first call we got from the towing company, Gordie showed up at the gas station, returned the truck, then left again?”
“Yep. That’s what the man told me when I tracked him down at his home.”
“But what about Eve? Didn’t he think to ask if Gordie saw her?”
“Apparently not. Gordie came and left before they could even talk. Privet was pissed off about that, too. He’d wanted Gordie to stay and run the pumps for him. Privet’s family has the ’flu, and his wife wanted him home right away. I guess he didn’t have time to waste chasing after Gordie to get details on what seemed to be a simple service call.”
Rafe raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. “And Privet doesn’t even know where this guy lives?”
“Well, he gave us an address from the employment records, but it turned out to be bogus. Brandi’s contacted a friend at Lycan Link, and he’s trying to see if he can access government documents to find out anything about the man. The guy’s name is Gordon Grant, but who knows if that’s an alias or not.”
“So basically we have nothing.”
“Well, I did find out one thing.”
“What’s that?” Rafe pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping for some good news.
“Eve’s flat tire was no coincidence. I was checking it out, and when I unscrewed the valve cap it was already loose. Those things don’t become loose on their own.”
Rafe swore and stared up at the darkening sky, cursing himself for his unknowing part in all of this. “I sent her away, thinking she’d be safer. She probably came back to fill up her gas tank before heading to Calgary, and that’s when Gordie tampered with it.”
“Yeah, he likely had a valve core remover with him. It would look like he was checking the air pressure, but he was actually ensuring she’d slowly get a flat and be stranded.”
“He probably planned to follow her, but when she headed towards my place, he got cold feet thinking I’d be around. Then, when the call came in for a tow truck, he must have realized she was on her own, and the plan was back on again.”
“That’s what it looks like. Sorry, Rafe. I wish I had something more positive to tell you.”
“It’s okay. Keep me posted.” Rafe ended the call and then slammed his hand into the hood of the truck. A definite dent showed in the surface, but at the moment he didn’t care.
Dammit, he’d been travelling back and forth on county roads, for well over an hour, trying to pick up a trail with no luck. Damien was searching on foot, checking in with him every fifteen minutes, but he’d yet to pick up a scent either.
It had bothered him no end to let Damien do the tracking, but the fact remained that Damien was a trained Enforcer, and he wasn’t. The other man’s nose was more skilled at detecting scents than his own would ever be. Still, he’d made Damien promise to wait for him if he found anything.
Where the hell had Gordie holed up, and why did he have Eve? Rafe cursed himself for not keeping Eve at his side. He’d thought by sending her away she’d be safe, but it seems he’d only pushed her into the arms of a stalker. And Gordie had to be a stalker; there was no way he could believe that Eve would willingly run off with the man.
Drawing a mental image of Gordie, Rafe considered him. Average height, a bit overweight but with well-muscled arms that gave evidence of the heavy work he did as an apprentice mechanic. His hair was light brown and cut in a slightly long military style. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the man that would make anyone notice him.
Rafe growled, hating the word average at that moment. An average looking man, the kind no one noticed, who could blend in with a crowd, walk in and out of a store and not receive a second glance. If Gordie was taking Eve across the country, no one would remember seeing him. How the hell were they ever going to track him down?
A sound from the field across the road drew his attention, and he looked up to see Damien trotting towards him. The wolf crossed the road and then transformed into the man. It wasn’t a smooth transition, and Damien looked pissed off when he was finally in human form again. An educated guess would be that his wolf was reluctant to give up control. Definitely not a good sign, but not a priority at the moment.
“Any luck?” Rafe didn’t try to hide the hope in his voice.
“No.” Damien’s scowl showed his frustration.
“Damn.” He hit the truck again creating another dent. “Nothing here, either.”
“Reno hasn’t called yet?” Damien looked at him in surprise.
“He called, but had no useful information. Gordie returned the tow truck and then left before telling Privet anything.” He shook his head. “The address on his employment form is a fake. We don’t even know if his name is real or an alias. It says Gordon Grant, but who knows? Brandi’s contacted some friend who’s running it through the computers right now.”
Damien was silent, and Rafe flicked at glance at him. The man had narrowed his eyes and appeared to be thinking.
“You have an idea?”
“If Gordie returned the truck, he must have stashed Eve somewhere. If we can figure out the elapsed time, from when he first abducted her to when he returned the tow truck, we can make an educated guess as to where he might be.”
“I’d say about an hour and a half, given the time that Reno gave me.”
Damien nodded. He hunkered down and began to make a rough map in the dirt along the side of the road. “Gordie abducted Eve here, not far from her car.” Damien made a large X. “Let’s say half an hour from the point of abduction to where he hides her, then half an hour back to the abduction spot.” He traced a line to another location, put a large stone there to represent where Eve was hidden and then retraced the line back to the X. “That’s one hour. But then he passes by the point of abduction and heads straight into town.” Another line was added and another rock put in place to represent the town. “It’s about twenty minutes from your place to the gas station. That gives us ten extra minutes for the time it would take him to remove Eve from the truck and somehow secure her.”
Rafe studied the crude map. “He’d be travelling the speed limit, not wanting to draw attention to himself.”
“Right.” Damien stood up. “Hand me Brandi’s phone. I can probably pull up a map on it, and we can see what roads are approximately fifty minutes to an hour’s drive east of Grassy Hills.”
Chapter 45
Eve took a bite of the burger Gordie had given her. She didn’t feel like eating but knew it was important to keep her strength up. He sat in a chair beside the bed, a small table between them.
“I’m glad to see you eating.” Gordie beamed at her in approval. “Not everyone is that sensible.”
Not sure what to say, Eve nodded and kept chewing. The burger was a tasteless mass in her mouth, but she forced herself to swallow it.
“I knew the moment I saw you that we were meant to be together.” He continued conversationally. “I tried to give you time to figure it out on your own but today, I knew it was the right time.”
&nbs
p; “Why today?”
“I just knew.” He gave a soft laugh, and the corner of his mouth curled upward. “You see, I’m Fae as well. Almost full-blooded.” There was a hint of pride in his voice as he made the statement.
Eve stared at him in surprise. Another Fae in Grassy Hills? What was this? A convention?
“You’re surprised, aren’t you? There are so few of us around.” He reached out and caressed her knee. Eve tried to subtly shift out of reach but was already as far as the ropes would allow. “I’ve been watching you, picking up on bits and pieces of your feelings. You’ve improved in keeping your wall in place, but today it was slipping.” Gordie frowned as if a thought suddenly came to mind. “You’ll have to learn to be more careful. I don’t want you sharing your feelings with anyone else.” His hand on her knee tightened painfully, and Eve gave a protesting squeak.
“Sorry.” He let her go and took a sip of the ever present can of cola. “I get so lonely some times. It’s hard to wait. But today, I knew you felt the same. That you were feeling alone and needed me, just as much as I needed you.”
“I’m lonely?” She wondered where he’d gotten that idea.
He nodded. “Oh yes. I could see it in your face, sense it inside you. Lonely and lost and hurting…” A distant look came over his eyes, and Eve had the feeling he wasn’t really seeing her anymore. It was sort of creepy, and she cleared her throat, hoping to snap him out of it.
Gordie blinked and stared down at his plate. “I miss the feeling of having a bridge with someone. Of being completely connected to them, knowing their every feeling.” He looked up at her, his eyes wide. “I need someone with me, inside my head. You understand that, don’t you?”
She wondered if this was the addiction that Rafe had spoken of. If it was, then she was dealing with a Fae addict, and she was going to be his next fix. Eve swallowed hard and tried to keep her expression neutral as she fished for more information. “So you’ve formed a mental bridge with someone before?”
“Many times. They haven’t always cooperated with me though. They try to block me, to put up a wall for privacy.” He shook his head. “I can’t allow that. The bridge is there so we can be as one on all levels.”
“So when they put up a wall…?” She raised her brows waiting for him to fill in the missing piece.
He shrugged taking another drink from the can in his hand before answering. “I miss them when they leave.”
Even though she didn’t want to know the answer, Eve knew she had to ask. “Where do they go, Gordie?”
“Away.” He stood and picked up his plate. “Do you want anymore?”
“No. Thanks.” Eve handed him her plate, suddenly feeling rather sick. Away likely meant dead, and he probably killed them. She had to find a way to escape before it was her turn to…leave.
“I’ll bring dessert. Do you want more to drink?”
She shook her head. Her glass of water was still almost full. Gordie picked up his own empty can and left. The door was slightly ajar, and Eve strained to see into the rest of the house, but really only got a glimpse of a short hallway and a bit of the kitchen at the far end. Cases of soda were stacked beside the fridge, and she could hear Gordie humming along to classical music as he dealt with the supper dishes.
Classical music and soda. Sort of a weird combination. But, then again an empathic auto mechanic, who wanted to be a doctor and kidnapped women in his spare time, wasn’t exactly run of the mill either.
Eve rearranged where she sat on the bed, the springs of the mattress squeaking softly as she moved. A nasty thought crossed her mind. Was this Gordie’s bed? Had he shared it with the other women he’d kidnapped? It was bad enough that she was wearing his t-shirt, but being in a bed where he’d… The very idea made her skin crawl, and unthinkingly she tried to leap off it.
Unfortunately, the ties on her ankle wouldn’t allow that. Instead she half fell forward, one foot suspended, just shy of touching the floor. She caught herself with her injured arm on the small table Gordie had pulled up beside the bed, and a cry of pain escaped her as the table scraped along the floor hitting the chair Gordie had been using.
Not surprisingly, the noise drew attention, and Gordie hurried into the room, a worried frown on his face. Eve was balancing herself on one foot while trying to push herself upright without further injuring her wrist.
“What were you doing? Are you trying to leave?” There was coldness to Gordie’s voice, and Eve felt every nerve-ending prickle in alarm.
“No! Of course not! I…I was trying to stand up. My leg was cramping.” She tried to keep the fear from her voice, to think calm, innocent thoughts as she lied.
He scowled, and Eve panicked, sure he didn’t believe her.
Thinking quickly, she tried to distract him. “I hit my wrist. Can you check it?”
His expression immediately changed, and he hurried over, concern lacing his words. “I hope you haven’t aggravated the injury. Common medical advice is to keep a sprain elevated and to rest the injured joint.” After helping her on to the bed, he checked the injury. “Hmm… Your wrist is still swollen, and there’s some bleeding from these bites...” He frowned and shook his head. “I hope the animal wasn’t rabid. I’m not sure I can get rabies vaccine over the internet.”
Rabies? Oh God, she hadn’t thought of that! “Gordie, I really think I need to go the hospital—”
“What’s the matter? Don’t you trust me?” His face clouded over, a dull, ruddy flush appearing on his cheeks.
“No. No, it’s not that.” She hastened to reassure him. “It’s just that you said you don’t have an x-ray machine, and now you mentioned rabies…”
His expression softened. “Don’t worry, sweet Eve.” He cupped her face, and she fought not to pull away, not daring to upset him again. “I’ll check my suppliers and research symptoms for rabies. You’re too important to me to let anything happen to you.” His thumb brushed over her cheek, and then he softly trailed his fingers down her neck before stepping away. “I’ll apply more antibiotic cream and change the bandages on your arm. Give me a few minutes to finish with dessert.”
Eve clenched the fingers of her good hand as she tried to keep her voice calm. “I…I don’t really feel like eating dessert right now.”
“No? Then I’ll eat yours.” He gave her an indulgent smile before leaving the room.
Eve slumped back against the headboard and exhaled slowly. Dealing with Gordie was like walking a tightrope. One wrong word, one wrong move and he seemed on the verge of going psycho. How was she ever going to get out of this alive?
She cradled her sore arm and rolled her head to the side studying the room. There was nothing she could use as a weapon. The window was small and with a bed attached to her ankle, there was no way she could get through it. If she could cut through the ropes…but there were no scissors or knives conveniently lying about.
One thing did catch her attention though. The table beside her had a small drawer, and it was now slightly ajar from when she’d fallen against it. Eve glanced through the doorway and listened carefully. It sounded as if Gordie was still busy in the kitchen. Reaching out, she cautiously pulled on the handle.
The drawer silently slid open revealing a collection of newspaper articles all neatly paper clipped together. She drew them out, scanning the top one. It was the same article Caro had shown her about a murdered woman in the next county!
With shaking hands, Eve flipped through the other pages; they were from newspapers across Canada and the U.S., all reporting the deaths of women. Some were reported as murders, some as suspicious deaths. All said there were no suspects.
Eve checked the dates of the articles. The first was over three years old, the following one from a year later. The next three were around four months apart, then two and… Each successive murder seemed to be getting closer and closer together. It had been what…a week since the last woman was killed?
Eve returned the clippings to the drawer, quietly shut
it and then sat with her hand pressed to her mouth. There were almost a dozen reports in that drawer. It was too much of a coincidence not to believe Gordie was responsible. He had to have killed all those women.
She began to tremble with fear. Gordie was a murderer, a cold blooded killer. He used female Fae and then disposed of them like an old magazine, and she was the next issue. The need to scream, to give vent to how she was feeling bubbled inside her, and she pressed her fist to her mouth, biting down on her knuckles to keep from acting on the impulse. She had to stay calm, to keep her mental wall in place. Gordie couldn’t be allowed to know how afraid she really was. It might tip him off that she knew he was quite likely a murderer. And yet, eventually he was going to demand that she open up to him. After all, that was why he’d killed the other women—because of their refusal to let him in.
The very thought of having Gordie in her head, of experiencing Gordie’s emotions, filled her with revulsion. With Rafe, it had been warm, comforting, and thrilling all at once. His desire had fired hers. It had raced down her spine and filled her with heat and hunger until she’d been clawing at him, demanding release.
Just recalling the experience had her warming up, and yet at the same time it made her more centred and focussed. Eve opened her eyes, not even having realized she’d closed them. She was still scared, but she didn’t feel as alone anymore. An added bit of bravado seemed to be invading her spirit. Straightening her spine, she began to plot how she might get out of the mess she was in.
Absently rubbing her sore wrist, she studied the contents of the room. There must be a something she could use as a weapon. Curtains, a bed, a small table, and a dresser. Her gaze lighted on an abandoned can of cola on the dresser, and she narrowed her eyes. Gordie was always drinking the stuff. Perhaps…
“Sorry I took so long, Eve.” Gordie appeared in the doorway a few minutes later. He had a new can of soda with him and what looked like a medical kit in his other hand. “I ate your dessert. You’ll be sorry you didn’t grab it while you could; it was a chocolate sundae.” He grinned at her as he set the kit on the table.
Betrayed: Days of the Rogue Page 32