“There’s nothing more you can do. We’ve got a ton of police working on her case, and now the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force is on the job, too. They’ll find her.”
“I can’t move on with my life like nothing’s happened.”
“When they find her, you can come back.” As long as they’d also found the sicko who’d taken her. The fact that he’d addressed his macabre message to Elise meant he’d fixated on her. Until he was behind bars—or dead—the safest place for her was well outside his reach.
She shook her head, and he could feel the soft slide of her blond curls over his shirt. “I can’t. I have to stay and help, even if I’m not really helping.”
“It’s not safe. If you stay, the FBI will ask you to play bait.”
Her head popped up. “Really? Agent Laurens didn’t say anything about it.”
“Maybe not yet, but the longer this drags out, the more likely it becomes that she or someone else will approach you about it.”
“You make it sound like a bad thing. Why wouldn’t I want to help them?”
“Because it’s dangerous?”
“Yeah. So?”
“So, you could get hurt. Killed.”
“I could also help them find Ashley. I could help them stop this killer.”
“It’s too risky.”
“It’s my risk to take. I get to decide if it’s too risky or not.”
Even though it pissed him off, he forced himself to say, “Of course you do, but you have to realize that the chances of something like that working are slim. If this guy is smart enough to have been killing women for years without anyone seeing the pattern, then he’s smart enough to see through a trap.”
“I have to take the chance, Trent. She’s my sister.”
And if Trent wanted to be there to make sure she was properly protected, he had to go along with her decision. If he didn’t, she’d dump him on his ass like before and go do as she pleased without him. He had no illusions to the contrary. Ashley was a lot more important to Elise than he was, as much as it chafed him to admit it.
“Okay. If you’re sure you want to do this, then let’s go talk to them. We can at least see what kind of plan they have—how they’re going to handle security details to ensure your safety.”
“You’re not going to fight me on this?” she asked.
“Would it do any good?”
“No. Sorry.”
Trent pushed out a sigh and helped Elise to her feet. “That’s what I figured you’d say. Let’s go find Detective Woodward and see who we should talk to.”
He started to walk away, but Elise wrapped her hand around his arm to stop him. She looked up at him, her eyes shining with gratitude. “Thank you, Trent. It means a lot to me to have you on my side.”
She was so pretty, it nearly broke his heart to look at her. She had no idea how fragile she was—how vulnerable she was going to be if she went through with this.
He wished like hell there was some way to stop her, and he wondered if telling her he loved her would make a difference.
Trent’s world ground to a halt as he realized the monumental shift his life had just taken. He loved Elise, and not just a little. It wasn’t a crush or infatuation or lust, not this soul-deep feeling of completeness he had when she was near—of total and utter rightness. He loved her the way his dad loved his mom—enough to give her whatever she wanted, even though he hated every second of it. He hadn’t meant to love her, but he did, and now he had to sit by and watch her put herself in danger to save a sister who might already be dead.
If he didn’t do something to stop the words, they were going to spill out and make a bad situation worse. She didn’t believe in love that lasted forever. She didn’t believe in marriage, even though he couldn’t imagine his life taking any other course than one that ended up with his ring on her finger.
He was a sap for feeling that way. Foolish. Things were stacked way too high against them for him to be considering something so huge and permanent.
He couldn’t let her know how he felt. He didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on her right now when she was already dealing with so much emotional overload.
Rather than say the words, he bent his head and kissed her mouth. She responded immediately, giving him what he wanted, letting him taste and feel her heated response.
“If you’re trying to distract me with sex, you’re going to have to at least find a room without spectators.”
“Don’t tempt me,” he said. “I’d much rather have you spread out naked, wet, and panting on the floor in front of everyone, than have you dangle yourself on a hook.”
She laid her hand over his heart. “I’ll be fine. Everyone will take good care of me, and I’m sure they won’t let me take any unnecessary risks.”
“You’ve got a lot more faith than I do.”
“Of course I do. I have you on my side, right?”
“Every step of the way, sweetheart.”
She beamed at the endearment. “Good. Now, let’s go get this over with so I can get my sister back.”
Trent said nothing; he merely nodded his head and led the way out the door.
Gary made the drive to Chicago in record time. At this time of night, the roads were nearly empty.
He cruised through the parking lot outside the police station, searching for Elise’s rental car. His brother had been keeping track of her for a while, and he even knew the license plate number for the Mazda she’d been driving.
One of these days, Gary was going to have to talk to him about keeping secrets. Lawrence let slip that he’d hired people to kill her, and if that had happened, Gary would have had to punish him for taking away his sweet, lovely Elise.
Killing her was going to be his joy, and no one was going to take that away from him. All her screams, all her tears, belonged to him.
Gary spotted the sporty red car and parked in the slot next to it. He hated waiting, but it was better than walking into the police station and trying to sneak her out. This was much better. Besides, the anticipation wouldn’t hurt him. Good things came to those who waited, and Gary was willing to be patient for just a while longer.
He adjusted his mirrors so he’d see her coming, then opened the file folder he’d brought with him.
It was full of articles Elise had written, each one succinct and eloquent. He didn’t much care for the emotional pieces about sick children in countries crawling with famine and poverty. As far as he was concerned, those countries could fall off the face of the planet and it would be an improvement. She was wasting her time writing about that kind of drivel.
But the rest of the articles were good. Artistic, even. His sweet Elise had a level head and a keen insight.
Maybe he should keep her brain instead of her heart. Wendy had never been very bright, so replacing her brain with Elise’s wasn’t a bad thought.
No. There was no need to go to that trouble. It would only mess up Wendy’s hair if he sawed her skull open. It had taken him months to get her blond hair to look just like it had the night of the accident—disheveled from their sex games, shining in the glow of moonlit snow, spattered with blood from her gushing wrist.
Gary liked Wendy’s hair the way it was. He didn’t want to ruin perfection.
With that decision made, Gary put the hat from the police costume he wore on his head and went back to reading the articles while he waited for Elise to come to him.
It was still dark when Trent and Elise left the police station to drive over to the Chicago division of the FBI. Even though it was so late it was nearly early morning, a special agent had been assigned to meet with her and discuss their options.
Apparently, they wanted to catch the guy who was abducting and killing women as badly as Elise did.
“I still think this is a bad idea,” said Trent as he walked beside her.
“I know, but at this point, we’ve run out of options.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”
At least he could. There was no way Elise was going to be able to leave Ashley alone again. Not after this. Her sister was going to need her to be there for her and help her get over this trauma. And just like now, Elise wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
Her plans to travel the world and find those compelling stories were just going to have to wait until… whenever. She’d already had three years of her dream. That was more than most people ever got. Ashley had to come first, even if it meant putting Elise’s life on hold indefinitely.
The security lights overhead cast deep shadows over the parking lot. Even as late as it was, the lot was still half full, giving proof to exactly how many men and women were at work keeping their city safe.
Beside her rental car, a uniformed officer sat in his car, talking on his cell phone. His window was down, and she could hear him saying something about a missing woman. Whether he was talking about something related to her sister’s case or not, Elise wasn’t clear.
On the ground beneath his car door was a shiny CD that caught her attention. He must have dropped it when he got in his car and hadn’t realized it.
“Want me to drive?” asked Trent. “I know the way.”
“Sure.” Elise handed him the keys.
He used the remote to unlock the doors. Elise went around to the passenger’s side, trying to hear more of what the officer was saying without looking obvious about her eavesdropping.
The car rocked as Trent got in.
Elise picked up the lost CD, and tapped the man on the shoulder to get his attention. “Excuse me. I think you dropped this.”
The man in the officer’s uniform snapped his phone shut and said, “Thank you. That was kind.”
He turned his head toward her. Shadows fell across the right side of his face, allowing her to see only a portion.
He was the man from the photo. The one who’d taken Ashley.
Elise pulled in a breath to scream and warn Trent, but it was too late. The man grabbed her wrist, capturing her. A matte-black gun appeared in his free hand and seemed to suck away the light all around him.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Trent start to move.
“Don’t,” said the man. “I will shoot her before you can stop me.”
Trent froze in the driver’s seat.
The man let go of Elise long enough to get out of his car, but he kept his eyes and his gun on her the whole time. She didn’t dare move.
“Hand me your cell phones,” he said.
“Do what he says, Elise.”
She couldn’t. Her body was stuck in place except for the slight tremors that shook her every few seconds.
Trent held his phone out, but not so far that the man didn’t have to reach for it. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to piss the killer off, or if he was trying to create an opportunity to grab the gun.
Humor laced the man’s voice. “Nice try, but I’m not a stupid man. Elise, take the phone from him and toss it on the ground.”
Elise managed to move enough to obey.
“And yours, too,” said the killer.
“It’s in my purse.”
“Then dump the whole purse. You’re not going to need it anymore.”
Oh, God. That didn’t sound good at all.
A hot wave of fear swept through her, making her break out into a sweat.
“Now,” he ordered.
Elise took her purse from her shoulder and tossed it onto the asphalt at the killer’s feet.
“Good. Now, I’m going to take you to see your sister. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Elise nodded.
“Say it. Say you want to go with me.”
“I want to go with you.”
A pleased smile pulled his mouth wide. “Let’s go, then. I don’t want to keep you waiting.” He opened the car door for Elise. “I’m going to get in back, and your boyfriend is going to drive away, nice and slow. Understand?”
Trent gave a jerky nod. She could feel the anger and frustration radiating from him.
“Don’t try anything heroic. Not only will it get the woman killed, we both know heroics are not your strong suit. The best thing you can do is follow orders like a good boy.”
The killer kept the gun pointed at Elise while he opened the back door and got inside. Behind her, she felt the seat shift like he’d pressed something hard against it.
She had no doubts about what that hard thing was, nor did she doubt he’d use it.
“Close the car door,” ordered the killer.
Elise’s sweaty hand slipped on the handle, but she managed to get it shut.
“Where to?” asked Trent. His voice was tight and seething with barely controlled rage.
“South.”
Trent started the engine and drove south.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Trent kept looking for an opening to take this guy down, but he saw none—at least none that wouldn’t end with a bullet in Elise’s back.
The fucker in the backseat never let down his guard. Hell, Trent hadn’t even seen the man blink.
He’d ditched the hat a few miles back, giving Trent a clear view of his face. He was average-looking. He’d never stand out in a crowd, which was probably why he’d gotten away with killing for so long. He didn’t look crazy or deranged. He didn’t look like a killer. He looked… plain. Except for his eyes. They were dark, set deep in his face, and never missed a thing. His gaze darted between Trent, Elise, and the road, keeping watch over everything.
Trent had been hoping for a moment of distraction so he could try to get that gun away from Elise’s back, but so far, there’d been none.
They’d been on the highway for a few minutes when Trent decided it was time to find a way to get inside this guy’s head. If he could talk to him, maybe he’d be able to find a weakness—something he could exploit and use to save them. If nothing else, it might distract him enough that Trent could make a move.
“You’re the one who took Ashley?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
“You know I am.”
“Is she alive?” asked Elise. Her voice was breathless with fear.
“Yes. I’ve taken good care of her.”
Not good. The confidence this guy oozed was not a good sign.
“How long have you been doing this?” asked Trent.
“Doing what?”
“Abducting women. Killing them.”
“Not nearly long enough.”
Trent glanced in the rearview mirror. “How many?”
A slow, creepy smile slid along the man’s mouth. “That would be telling.”
Traffic was light. Trent was speeding as fast as he dared while splitting his attention between the road and the killer. With any luck, they’d get pulled over, or the sirens might distract the man with the gun long enough that Trent could grab it and get it off Elise.
The fact that the muzzle of that weapon was only inches from her spine made every hair on Trent’s body stand on end.
He gripped the steering wheel tighter and moved around a slow van. “How far are we going?”
“You’ll know when we get there.”
“We need to stop for gas.”
The man laughed. “Nice try, but no.”
Elise twisted her hands in her lap. They were shaking so hard Trent had no trouble seeing it from the corner of his eye.
“Is Ashley… okay?” she asked.
“She’s still in one piece. For now.” The killer’s satisfied smile filled the rearview mirror. “Has anyone told you what lovely hands you have?”
Elise made a sound like she was going to be sick.
“Leave her alone,” growled Trent.
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll plow this car into the median.”
“The gun would go off and your pretty friend would end up like your former partner.”
He’
d considered that, which was why he hadn’t done that very thing already. There was still a chance he’d find another way out of this mess. He wasn’t sure what that was yet, but his eyes were wide open, looking for anything that might present itself.
“Slow down,” said the killer. “We wouldn’t want anyone pulling you over for speeding, would we?”
“No one is out at this time of night.”
The man moved the gun up to the back of Elise’s head. “Slow. Down.”
Trent eased off the accelerator.
City turned to suburbs, and suburbs turned to rural countryside as they moved out of Chicago. He weaved over the road, praying someone would report him for drunk driving, but all he got for his trouble was a horn blast that made Elise jump in her seat.
Trent had lost track of how far they’d gone when the man said, “Exit here.”
This didn’t look good. The area was remote. Isolated. Perfect for doing whatever one wanted without any witnesses.
The only good news was that they must be getting close to wherever it was they were going. Maybe close to Ashley. Once they stopped, Trent would have the opportunity to take the man out.
He hoped.
“Go left at the end of that fence.”
“Where are we going?” asked Elise.
“Home.”
“Is Ashley there?”
“Yes. She’s going to be so happy to see you.”
Trent turned where the man indicated. The road was a single-lane gravel path that led into blackness. There were no streetlights out here, only one distant yellow glow that indicated someone lived nearby.
The car slewed around on the loose gravel, so Trent slowed down. He flipped on his brights to get the lay of the land, but all he saw was rolling farmland, broken here and there by fences, trees, and rocks. Off to the right, his headlight gleamed off a small private lake surrounded by trees.
Small, but large enough to hide all sorts of crimes. And bodies.
“Pull over here,” said the man. “Next to the water.”
Warning bells gonged around inside Trent’s head. If he didn’t do something soon, neither one of them were going to make it out of this alive. This man was no amateur. He was armed, and he knew his way around out here. Trent didn’t.
Love you to Death Page 25