Oh no. She'd told Chase to go home, not investigate a news story. Are you crazy? Stay out of it. And I don't work there anymore.
I know something about that too. You might get your job back. I'm like Santa right now with so much good news. I'm your inside man, sis!
Merry sucked in a breath. Get her job back … now that got her attention. Tell me more.
I'm leaving the Gazette now, let's meet.
The Mercury News-Gazette building was only a few blocks from the Orbit; she was already heading that direction. It wouldn't do any harm to hear what Chase meant about getting her job back. And she could lecture him about going home at the same time. Heading that way now from the Orbit, she texted. Then she added, I'm sorry for how I've acted.
It's ok. You're going to love me for this.
Their paths crossed outside the Venus and Mars, which was shuttered for the night. Chase bounded toward her, his sneakers slapping against the pavement. "I know you told me to go home," he said quickly. "I couldn't leave yet, not until I did something for you."
She shook her head at him, but this time it was more affectionate than scolding. "I told you I don't need anything like that."
"But this is different. This is about your job, and I know you care about that."
Her heart twisted at the wistful tone of his voice. "Chase—"
He threw up a hand. "Let me just do my thing, okay? Give me a chance here." When she nodded, he continued. "Guess who called Douglas today? The Knight family. All the brothers. They said that article left out a big part of the story—them. They want to give a group interview to talk about how the murder affected them, their lives since then. That sort of thing."
Wow. She absorbed that information with a sense of bittersweet sadness. That kind of interview was exactly what she'd had in mind—if she'd ever had the nerve to suggest it. "That'll make a great story."
"Yup. They want to do it after the sheriff gets back from his honeymoon."
A young couple locked in an embrace strolled past them. Merry couldn't see their faces in the darkness, but no doubt they were honeymooners too. Everyone was in love, while she just drove people away. And for what? A job she no longer had.
"I still don't see why this would get my job back."
"Because they say they'll only talk to you. They said you're the best reporter there and the only one they trust to do the story right. Douglas threw a fit."
"Whoa. Seriously?" A sense of warmth expanded inside her heart. "That's…amazing. I wish I could have seen his face."
Chase grinned. "People said he threw things. I heard he broke a chair. He's going to call you tomorrow. Sweet, huh?"
She couldn't get over it. The Knight brothers were coming to her rescue, but not in a weird way. In a legitimate way.
"Thanks, Chase. Thanks for telling me. I really appreciate it, and I'm sorry I've been so standoffish. You're a good guy, but I still think—"
"Wait, that's not even the best part! This is the craziest thing. I sort of snuck into Douglas' office to get some information for you. I got a phone number from the file, I think it's one of the top bad guys. I called it just to make sure it was real, but I hung up right away. I figured you could decide what to do. But then someone called me back! I said I was calling from the Mercury News-Gazette and he actually said he wanted to talk to a reporter. He even mentioned you by name. Isn't that amazing? Everyone knows you, Merry. You're like the best reporter in California, and you're my sister. How cool is that? I told him I'd set it up. His number's in my phone."
He beamed at her and presented her with his phone. She looked at it blankly. He'd called one of Buckaroo's gang members? "Did you tell him your name?"
"I…no…maybe. I don't remember exactly. Does that matter?"
She didn't know, but the idea of Buckaroo knowing anything about either her or Chase gave her chills. "You're saying he called you back? What else did he say? Did he give his name?"
Chase blinked rapidly. "Did I mess up? I thought I was helping."
"I don't know. I'm going to call Will."
She took her own phone out of her bag and searched for Will's name. "Send me that number, Chase, and any other info you have. I'll take it from here," she said, scrolling quickly through her favorites for Will's number.
A muffled sound made her look up. Before she could process what she was witnessing—Chase in a headlock—someone slammed into her back.
She rammed her elbow backwards and heard a grunt as she connected, started to whirl around, but then something came over her head—something scratchy and woolen and sound-muffling—and everything went dark.
Her arms were pinned to her sides. The man—had to be, he was so big—lifted her off her feet and dumped her into the backseat of a car.
28
With no Merry waiting to light up his night, Will stayed late at the office. Her message that Deputy Jernigan had made that call to the newspaper sent him sifting through Jernigan's files with a microscope. Why had Jernigan lied to him about that? If he was working for Buckaroo right under their noses, Will couldn't find evidence for it. He had to talk to him face to face, see if he could catch him out.
He intended it to be a low-key conversation, but as soon as he saw Jernigan walk into the break room, he got furious.
Shocking his fellow officer, he shoved him against the wall, spilling his coffee down his shirt. "Why'd you call the paper about the fentanyl story and then lie about it?"
"The fuck are you talking about?" Jernigan was a burly African-American deputy, a solid, unflappable dude.
"You asked them to take Merry off the story. To dump it. Why?"
"I didn't. Thought you and Perez had that handled."
Will released him. God, that made sense. Perez had asked him to talk to Merry after the press conference. "You didn't call the new editor over there? Douglas Wentworth?"
"No. That'd be up to the sheriff, not me." Jernigan brushed at the coffee on his uniform shirt. "What's gotten into you? This isn't like you."
"Damn, I'm sorry, Jernigan. Maybe someone called using your name." Will tore off a handful of paper towels for him. Could he trust Jernigan? Should he tell him about the possible mole in the department? "Have you noticed anything off about this investigation? Anything set off alarms?"
"Well, we got skunked with that first arrest, with the faulty paperwork. Other than that, no. Well, and this. I don't usually get attacked in the break room."
Will rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Sorry, man. Really sorry."
"We still got that Johnny Diaz guy in lockup. Let's go talk to him," Jernigan suggested.
"Ahem." In the doorway, Cindy cleared her throat. "Will, there's a phone call for you. Seemed important, but then again, this does too."
"Take a message."
"I tried. They said they have to talk to you and only you. They also said something really weird. They said 'Christmas is coming early.'"
"What?" Will frowned at the office assistant, who shrugged.
"Told you it was weird. I have some paperwork to process, so I'll let you two get back to your brawl. He's on hold on line two. If Christmas is coming early, I need to get my shopping done. Merry Christmas!"
Merry Christmas. Merry.
He ran out of the break room into the sheriff's office and grabbed the phone. A deep growling voice answered.
"Deputy Will Knight, we have your girlfriend. You must do exactly what I say."
His blood turned to ice, but somehow he knew exactly what to do. Keep him talking. Stall.
"I don't have a girlfriend." He grabbed his cell, activated the voice recorder and held it up to the phone. He didn't have a way to trace the call—the Jupiter Point Sheriff's Department wasn't exactly the FBI—but at least he could record it.
A pause, then the voice came back. "She says she's your woman. Doesn't like the term 'girlfriend'."
Oh God, they really had her. He wanted to yell. He wanted to tear this creature apart. But he kept his voic
e calm. "Let me talk to her."
"In a minute. If you agree to my demands, you can talk to her."
"What do you want?"
"You have a suspect in custody. Johnny Diaz. You need to release him. Then we'll release Merry."
"Listen, this is a stupid move, whoever you are. Merry is a reporter. You're kidnapping a respected member of the community. You're impeding a police investigation. Johnny's small potatoes, he's not worth the risk you're taking. Just let Merry go."
But even as he spoke, he realized the problem. Johnny had a good lawyer and he was about to blow the whistle on someone. Buckaroo wanted him out of there before he could do so.
"We'll let her go. As soon as Johnny is released. And it's got to be soon. You have one hour."
Jesus. One hour? They really wanted to spring Johnny. The guy would probably be dead if he let him out. "That's impossible."
"You're the acting sheriff. You can make it happen."
Play along. Make him think he's won. "Fuck, I don't care if some lowlife walks free, it happens all the time. I'll do it, I just have to pull a few strings. Now let me talk to Merry so I can make sure she's okay."
Another short pause, and then Merry's voice came on the line, shaky and breathless. "Will?"
His heart clenched. Sweat sprang to his palms, making his hand slip on the phone. This was really happening. Jesus Christ. "Merry, are you okay?"
"So far, yes. I'm safe for now." There was something funny in the way she said that, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Maybe it was because she was terrified. "I love you. I just wanted to say that in case I don't get another chance. All that stuff I said the other night, I left out the most important thing. I love you so much. Just do what they say, okay? Please stay safe. I couldn't bear it if I lost you. Promise?"
"Of course, my love. I love you too."
Then the deep-voiced man was back. "That's enough. One hour."
Will hung up the phone, his mind whirring. Merry had been trying to tell him something, he'd bet his life on it. But what?
He clicked the replay button on his phone and listened to her again. And again.
The third time, it hit him. She'd used the word "safe" twice.
Safe.
Merry was being held in the Sweet Mountain Lodge, in the room with the locked safe.
Of course, knowing that and figuring out what to do about it without tipping anyone off—in one hour—were two different things.
His first impulse, of course, was to go in with guns blazing and bust her out of there. He'd need backup for that, which meant bringing in someone from the department. But he still didn't know who was working with Buckaroo. Jernigan probably wasn't. But maybe the guy had just put on a really smooth act. Right now, Sheriff Perez was the only one he was sure about.
He could reach out to the DEA, but he didn't know those guys. He hadn't been working with them. And he had one hour. Too little time to mount a full-scale rescue operation with unknown elements. Tick tick tick…
He had only one good option. Too bad it would get him fired.
He grabbed everything he needed—weapons, handcuffs—and swung out of the office. He loped past Cindy's desk. "You should go home, Cindy. We're done for the night."
"Wait! Really? I figured you were working late on something important and might need my always-cheerful and productive help."
He turned, impatient at the delay. "I'm good. I'm headed out."
She nodded. "Sure, temporary boss." She adjusted her cute cat-eye glasses. "Anything else before I go?"
"Nope. Have a good night." With a wave, he brushed her off and hurried out to his car. One hour. Tick tick tick…
Obeying the speed limits, the drive to Sweet Mountain Lodge took about forty-five minutes. But this was not the time to be law-and-order Will. This moment called for wild, rule-breaking Will Knight.
And the other Knight brothers.
As he drove, he called Tobias and Ben and filled them in. "I can't trust anyone else. This is completely against policy and I will get fired for pulling you guys in. I'll try to take all the blame but I can't guarantee anything. But I could sure use the backup. Just another set of eyes or two, and someone to call for reinforcements if shit goes haywire."
Tobias asked exactly one question. "Where do you need us?"
Ben didn't ask any questions, just said, "Text me directions, I'm there."
Oh yeah. The Knight brothers were back in action. Skirting the law just like the old days. And he had absolutely no regrets.
It was only as he hurtled down the highway that something occurred to him.
Was it a little odd that Cindy was working so late? Of all the people in the office, she was the most on top of things. She knew there was nothing urgent happening tonight. Unless…she was expecting a change in plans.
Cindy. Cindy?
Mind officially blown, he stepped on the accelerator and zoomed toward the lodge. If Cindy was in on this, and if she warned the assholes he was up to something, he had even less than an hour.
29
As places to be held hostage went, a suite at the Sweet Mountain Lodge wasn't too shabby. Merry's hands were bound together with a zip tie and she wore a gag, even though the kidnappers had lowered it so she could talk to Will. Even though she was tied to an armchair, at least it was luxuriously cushioned and comfortable.
In fact, she had good memories of this chair. The last time she'd occupied it, Will's lap had been under her during the best "sit-down" interview ever.
Will.
Hearing his voice on the phone had changed everything. All her panic had vanished. She knew without an iota of doubt that Will would be coming for her.
Chase was in the chair next to hers, also tied up, and he couldn't stop apologizing. When he wasn't beating up on himself, he was yelling at the two men standing guard over them.
"This is all my fault! Just let her go! My family has money. Why don't you hold me for ransom? I'll give you their number. Just let Merry go."
They just rolled their eyes at him. "Give it a rest, kid, or we'll put your damn gag back. It's all going to work out as long as everyone does what they're told," said one of them. The guards were tough-looking dudes in camo pants who paid a lot more attention to their cell phones than to Chase's pleas. Obviously, they were low-level operators getting their instructions from someone more important. Buckaroo?
"Save your energy," she advised Chase under her breath. "Right now there's nothing we can do."
"Do you hate me now?" A bruise on his cheekbone was turning the color of an eggplant. "I don't blame you if you do. I suck. I'm really sorry."
"Of course I don't hate you. How could you possibly know this would happen?" She glanced around at the suite and nearly laughed at the absurdity. "They're not going to hurt us. We're just bait."
"Do you think he'll do what they say? I bet he does. He loves you."
The confidence in his voice made Merry's heart skip. "I don't know what he'll do." She shot a glance at the guards, who were listening half-heartedly.
Chase didn't seem to notice her warning. "Will Knight seems like the kind of person who would do anything for his girlfriend."
"I'm not his…" Halfway through the sentence, Merry gave up on correcting his terminology. It didn't bother her anymore. She wanted Will to be her boyfriend, man, lover, whatever. Even thinking about him made her feel happy and safe. Even though she was tied up in a hotel suite with two bad guys and her bumbling half-brother, she felt safe because his deep voice kept running through her head—I love you, Merry.
She was perfectly safe because Will loved her, and Will's love was an amazing, deep, strong, powerful force of nature. With the strength of his love, he'd saved his family, stood guard over his town, and definitely, without question, won her wary heart.
Besides, he was smart and a good detective and without a doubt he'd pick up on the clue she'd dropped. He would rescue her, she knew it. He'd rescue them both. She wouldn't let anything to happe
n to her sweet but clueless half-brother.
She glanced at Chase and noticed that his whole body was trembling. He kept clenching and unclenching his fists. He was probably terrified, because he didn't have the same certainty she did that Will would get them out.
"Listen, Chase. After this is over, I'm going to make you dinner. Do you like black bean chili? It's like the only thing I really know how to make. I like it extra spicy, just to warn you."
"Chili?" He swung his head to gape at her. "You're going to make me chili after I got you kidnapped?"
"Sure! This is a bonding experience. You know something, little brother? We should have gotten kidnapped together ages ago." She wrinkled her nose at him. "It'll make a great post for your Tumblr, right?"
One corner of his mouth twitched, then the other, as the famous Merriweather smile lit up his face. "You're amazing. You're really brave."
"You're pretty brave yourself, defying your parents to come out here and meet me."
"I knew it was the right thing. Definitely worth getting kidnapped."
She laughed and shifted her position so her shoulders didn't ache so much.
"Are you in pain?" Chase asked. She shook her head, since there wasn't anything he could do about it anyway.
"Do you want me to recite that poem I memorized for you? Actually, it's just one line that really made me think of you. We studied it in English Lit. It's by Langston Hughes. It goes," he cleared his throat, "'They'll see how beautiful I am, and be ashamed.' That's my father. Our father. He should be ashamed."
Tears sprang hard to Merry's eyes. She bit her lip to keep from losing it in front of her kidnappers. "That's…that's sweet, Chase. You're a really good brother and I’m glad you stuck it out here in Jupiter Point. It's a lot more fun to be kidnapped with someone than all alone."
He grinned at her, then they both went quiet at the sound of a knock on the door. The guards jumped to attention, weapons drawn. One guard aimed the gun toward Merry and Chase, while the other came and pulled their gags back into position.
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