“I don’t know. There’s no reason why anyone would think we were. But I’d say we keep on until we can pinpoint the bastard.” His eyes locked with hers. “This could get dangerous. I don’t want you in danger. That means we’re together until this creep is caught. No going out on your own.”
When she barely acknowledged his warning, he realized the impact of her friend’s possible death was hitting her. Tears welled in her eyes.
“We’ll find him, Skye.”
“I just never believed it would come to this. Even though I knew she was probably going through a horrific experience, I never doubted that we would find her.”
Unable to watch her hurting without comforting her, he stood and pulled her into his arms. She rested her head against his chest and Gabe closed his eyes at the sensation of rightness. No woman had ever felt as right in his arms as Skye did.
After several seconds, she pulled away from him. The brave but watery smile she gave him made him admire her all the more.
“If we’re going out again tonight, I’d better take a look at the invitations and make some decisions.”
The effort it took to let her go astounded him. How the hell was he going to say goodbye to her forever when he didn’t even want to let her out of his arms? Gabe couldn’t even begin to contemplate how that would feel. For the here and now, they were together and he had a job to do.
“While you do that, I’ll take the hairbrush to the police.”
She nodded and turned to leave. “I’ll go get it.”
“Skye.” Gabe said her name before he could stop himself.
She looked at him over her shoulder.
Unable to let her walk away with that look of hopelessness in her eyes, he said, “Don’t give up hope. It could very well be a ruse to distract us.”
A smile lifted her perfect mouth. “Optimism from Gabe Maddox. Now, that’s cause for celebration.”
She walked away, leaving Gabe with a thudding heart and a flood of feelings he refused to acknowledge.
eighteen
Kendra woke screaming the name of her faceless rescuer. She couldn’t remember the name, but the dream had been so real. She had really believed it had finally happened. A glance around the four stark walls of her prison told her that once again it hadn’t happened. And each day, the longer she was here, the more she realized it probably wouldn’t happen. No one was going to rescue her. No one was going to be her savior. It was all up to her.
It was all up to her.
The freeing thought took hold, gained substance. All of her life, she’d depended on others to get her out of the jams she’d gotten herself into. First her mother, who’d finally washed her hands of her daughter after years of digging her out of trouble. Calvin with his money. Roommates and friends who had all the right connections to help her out of a current problem. And then Skylar, who she had depended on probably more than anyone. She’d waited for Skylar to do things for her … give her the life that she wanted. The life of a model.
Kendra didn’t let herself think that the one time she’d tried to do something for herself, she’d ended up in this shithole. The important thing was, she’d gotten herself into this jam and she damn well needed to get herself out of it.
Raising her head farther, she looked around. The walls were plain vanilla; no pictures or even a mirror adorned them. A small, narrow window close to the ceiling allowed the only natural light in the room. A bright fluorescent light over her head was kept on day and night. A small camera in the corner filmed every movement she made.
Escape would be difficult, if not impossible, but she refused to believe she couldn’t do it. If she were Skylar, she would probably already be away from here. Even though Kendra fully intended to escape on her own, she couldn’t help but think about what her friend and mentor would do. How would Skylar escape? She refused to believe her friend wasn’t safe. Skylar would have found a way to escape those people who’d bought her. Now Kendra knew she must do the same.
Placing her feet on the floor, Kendra pushed herself slowly to stand. She held on to the bed railing as the room whirled around her. Besides having a pounding headache, she was weak from lack of food. The odd treatment puzzled her. Based on the pornographic photographs they’d taken of her, she had assumed some pervert was getting off on them. But why starve her?
She took a breath to center herself, then shuffled to the small toilet against a wall. She was long past feeling embarrassment at relieving herself in front of cameras. If these sick fucks got their kicks this way, that was their problem. She needed to concentrate on what she could control. Which, right now, was absolutely nothing. But she intended that to change.
Just as she was washing her hands, the door swung open. The demon photographer and one of his female assistants stood in the doorway.
His eyes swept over her nude body. “You need to eat.” He shot a look at the woman beside him. “Think you can hide the bruises?”
The woman’s leering, cold expression was scarier than the man’s. “I think so. You can film her at different angles to avoid the darker ones.”
“If we can’t, it’s your ass.”
“Hey, I’m not the one who hit her.”
“No, she’s been taken care of, but he’s not going to be happy if he sees the damage the bitch did to her. Even when I tried to pretend it wasn’t that bad, he got pissed enough to order her death. If he really sees how bad it is, we’re in deep shit.”
“Then I suggest you film it so he won’t see.”
The man looked behind him and said, “Give her the meal. A full plate this time, let her have all of it. Call us when she’s finished.”
The man turned back with a final warning. “Eat, bitch. I know how to inflict pain without causing bruises.”
If she’d had any extra energy, Kendra would have laughed in his face. Did he think she was going to refuse to eat as some kind of protest? If she was going to escape, she would need all the strength she could get.
Her mouth already salivating, a delectable fragrance tickled at her nose. Her heart kicked up in anticipation as a plate of grilled salmon, rice pilaf, and grilled vegetables was placed on a table beside her bed.
Kendra wasted no time. He’d said she could have a full meal, but she didn’t trust him. Fearful they’d take it away from her as they had so many meals before, she plopped down on the bed, picked up her fork, and shoveled the food into her mouth. In two minutes, maybe less, the entire meal had been demolished; not a crumb was left on her plate.
And not once did she consider what her delicious dinner might have been laced with.
* * *
Gabe growled out a foul-mouthed expletive at the cover of a tabloid magazine. Being considered Skylar James’s new boy toy was bad enough, but to have his picture plastered across magazines and newspapers disturbed him on a level he could barely fathom.
Two frigging weeks of this crap. Photographers and reporters on their ass every second, shouting asinine questions he refused to answer. If he weren’t almost certain they were close to pinpointing their suspect, he’d say to hell with all of it.
But they were close. He could feel it. After a lengthy discussion with Cole and Noah this morning, he was more sure than ever. Problem was, they still had nothing concrete. It was all still supposition and theory. And until they had something more, he would continue with this charade.
Since he refused all press interviews, the vultures had enjoyed creating their own stories. Speculation on his relationship with Skye ranged from the story they’d created of a whirlwind romance at a ski resort to something more far-fetched, such as that he was the father of Skye’s illegitimate child, whom she’d given up for adoption when she was a teenager. Now, how the hell they came up with that one he had no idea.
Skye had only laughed. His sense of humor didn’t extend that far.
“What’s wrong?”
Gabe jerked his head up to see Skye in the doorway, wearing one of the multitude of designer dress
es she never seemed to run out of. This one was sky blue, the color of her eyes. And dammit, why did every one of them have to emphasize the areas he wanted to uncover and explore? Every time he saw her, he wanted to rip the clothes off and be the only thing to cover her.
Uneased and unending desire caused him to snarl out his answer, “How the hell do you put up with it?”
A slight frown wrinkling her smooth brow, she came closer. “Put up with what?”
Gabe grabbed up one of the offending magazines. This one had a half-page photograph of Skye and him arriving at one of the many parties they’d attended this week, and below the picture was some inane caption about their relationship. Throwing the magazine at her feet, he said, “Shit like that.”
Leaning over, she scooped up the magazine. The V of her neckline revealed her generous breasts in all their creamy perfection to his ravenous eyes.
“And dammit, why do you have to wear stuff like that?”
Sparks of temper gleamed in her eyes. “One thing at a time, Gabe. Which argument do you want to go with first?”
“I don’t want to argue, I just—”
“No. You just want to pass judgment like some kind of self-righteous holier-than-thou idiot.”
“I’m not passing judgment, I just—”
She advanced into the room, temper flushing her cheeks. “Let me show you a few things about this ‘shit,’ as you so kindly called it.” She pulled a stack of invitations they’d received earlier in the week. “You’re so damn busy denigrating my lifestyle, you don’t bother to consider that some of these things are actually worthwhile.”
“Yeah, I’m sure we’re saving the world by chowing down on lobster and drinking five-hundred-dollar champagne.”
For the first time, he saw contempt in her eyes. “Most of the food and drinks are donated, because unlike you, these people understand the importance of these causes.”
She threw an invitation at him that fluttered to the floor. “This charity dinner made over three million dollars last year to fight AIDS in Africa.” Another invitation landed at his feet. “This one gave two million to inner-city schools. This one raised a million dollars to refurbish an old school and turn it into a youth center. And this event sent two million, three hundred thousand to help rebuild a town in Kansas that was destroyed by a tornado.”
As she continued throwing invitation after invitation at his feet, railing at him with the facts and explanation of the good they did, he began to feel like the lowest of slugs. When she came to the last invitation, she crumpled it in her hand.
“So that’s why I put up with it all. You think if people are wealthy, they’re worthless. Real worth doesn’t come from someone’s bank account, Gabe.” She pounded her fist against her chest. “Real worth is in here.”
Gabe pulled her into his arms before she could stop him. Pressing his mouth against the top of her head, he whispered, “I’m an ass.”
Leaning her forehead against his chest, she sniffled and said, “No argument there.”
With a quick kiss to the top of her head, he let her go and looked down in apology. “Forgive me?”
“Maybe. If you do something for me.”
“What?”
“Don’t laugh at the event we’re going to this afternoon.”
“After what you just showed me, how the hell could I laugh?”
She glanced down at the crumpled invitation in her hand. “I like turtles.”
Tilting her chin so he could see her face, he repeated, “Turtles?”
She gazed up at him with an expression that was in equal parts guilty and defiant. “The tea this afternoon … it’s a benefit to save a special kind of desert turtle.”
Gabe burst out laughing and pulled her back into his arms for a hard hug. “Then let’s damn well go and save as many of them as we can.”
The clank of silverware against fine china covered Skylar’s whisper to the man beside her. “Do you think we’re making any progress at all?”
In the process of cutting into his chocolate torte, he glanced up at her and answered in a voice so low she had to lean forward to hear. “More each day.”
“Really?” She cast a furtive glance around and then her eyes went back to him. “How?”
“While you’re charming the socks off of people, I’m listening and observing. They’re so busy staring at you, no one pays attention to me.”
She stifled a snort. That was most definitely not true. They had yet to attend an event when she hadn’t had to pull Gabe from the clutches of some over eager woman who just had to talk about a piece of property she was considering selling or buying. More than one of them had indicated a desire to show him the property and much more if he was so inclined.
“What exactly have you learned?”
“Not anything we can talk about here, Skye. We can talk when we get home.”
“But who—”
“Skylar, I didn’t know you’d be here.”
Skylar twisted her head at the sound of the dear, familiar voice of her godfather. “Now, that makes two of us.” She chuckled. “Don’t tell me you’re a turtle lover, too.”
William shook his head. “Leanne is, bless her. She begged me to come and save the poor creatures from extinction. As if I could do it on my own.”
“That’s because all daughters think their dads are heroes.”
He beamed down at her. “I guess you’re right. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He shot a bright smile at Gabe. “And what about you, Mr. Maddox, are you a turtle admirer or are you just enamored of our dear Skylar?”
“I’d have to choose the second answer. I’ve always had a fondness for turtle soup.”
Skylar whirled around. “Gabe, that’s not funny.”
Gabe grinned unrepentantly and said, “Why don’t you join us, sir?”
William looked back at his table and then said, “Well, perhaps I could for a little while.”
He pulled out a chair left vacant by a guest who’d already departed, his portly figure sinking into it with an audible plop.
“So tell me, Mr. Maddox, are you in the city to stay or is this just a working vacation for you?”
Gabe shrugged. “Hard to say.” He shot a warm look at Skylar. “There are attractions here that can’t be found anywhere else.”
Instead of smiling as Skylar thought he would, William leaned toward her, his face full of earnest concern. “Your father told me about your friend, my dear.”
Wishing her father had kept his mouth shut, Skylar nodded. “She’s been missing for several weeks now.”
“I told Skylar she should just forget about her, since from all accounts she’s probably just run away again,” Gabe said.
William nodded. “It’s hard not to worry about the young people of today, especially when you know they’re making mistakes.” He gave Skylar a strange look. “Sometimes it’s best to let them go and let them learn from their mistakes.”
Gabe took a giant bite of his dessert and chewed with obvious enjoyment. He pointed his fork toward Skylar. “Exactly what I told her. How can you learn from your mistakes if people keep bailing you out?”
Somewhat startled at Gabe’s unusual eagerness to get involved in the conversation, Skylar found herself sitting back and playing Gabe’s normal role of quiet observer.
Winking at William with one of those obnoxious “we think alike because we’re men” kind of looks, Gabe said, “I’ve seen pictures of the girl. She’s a sweet young thing … sexy, too. Her skin looks like cream satin, smooth as silk. Full, plump mouth makes a man think all sorts of thoughts of what it could do. And that body …” Gabe made a disgusting, lecherous sound she never imagined she would hear from him.
He gave a small smile to Skylar. “Sorry, sweetheart, you know I think you’re the most beautiful woman in the world, but I have to say, when you showed me pictures of her, my first thought was someone has probably bought the right to touch that smooth, supple skin.”
Even
though she recognized he was acting, Gabe’s words still riled her. “You act like she’s a piece of meat.”
Gabe guffawed and winked at William again. “If she were, she’d be prime rib, eh, William?”
As if he was embarrassed by Gabe’s vulgarity, William’s smile was a bit tight. He stood and said, “I think Leanne is waving at me. Looks like she’s ready to leave.” With an affectionate pat to Skylar’s shoulder, he nodded at Gabe and moved away.
“What the hell was that all about?”
“Let’s go,” Gabe said.
Throwing her napkin on the table, Skylar stood.
Holding herself stiffly, Skylar walked through the mass of people sitting and standing around, chatting, drinking, and laughing. She smiled when necessary but kept her eye on the door. Her goal was to get out of there without having to stop and speak with anyone.
She pulled away when Gabe grabbed her elbow.
He tightened his hold and said quietly, “Behave.”
Knowing eyes were following them everywhere, she flashed her famous fake smile and said with the proper amount of sugary sweetness, “Darling, you have no idea how much I’d love to slug you right now.”
Gabe snorted a surprised laugh and guided her out the door. As usual, the press were camped outside the restaurant and gave a collective, appreciative shout as Skylar paused on the steps, allowing them to take pictures.
“What the hell are you doing?” Gabe asked.
“Pissing you off,” she muttered under her breath.
He huffed out an exasperated sigh and grumbled, “Hell, Skye, you know me better than that.”
He was right. She did know him better. It was just that his words had reminded her of how some men thought about her. She could put up with almost any kind of attitude but that. Gabe wasn’t like that. He might hate her money, but he was actually very respectful of women.
Flashing him a genuine smile, she said, “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
His face registered surprise at her apology. “Let’s get out of here before I have to kiss you in front of everyone for being so damned sweet.”
No Chance Page 23