by Rita Herron
He’d always been so focused on work, so driven, she decided. Too driven for anyone but her. And he’d had nothing but wonderful things to say about her mother.
Not for the first time, Sarah’s chest tightened, anguish filling her lungs. How could her father have betrayed them? How could he have killed her mother? Fisting her hands, she took several deep breaths, pushing the pain to the innermost corners of her mind.
Her gaze fell on the next picture, a group shot of several scientists on a fishing trip they’d taken the year before her father had died. Arnold Hughes, the CEO of the research center, had his arm thrown around her dad. Hughes had been her father’s friend. He and Sol had remained friends and partners.
A chill suddenly rippled up her spine. During all the years she’d been around Arnold Hughes, she’d never felt comfortable with him, but she didn’t understand why.
The psychiatrist she’d seen after the explosion had suggested she blamed him for exposing her father as a traitor. Maybe he was right. She hugged her arms around her middle and left the room, then climbed the winding staircase, promising herself tomorrow would be better.
Only tomorrow she had to accompany Adam Black to question his sister’s husband.
She only hoped they found her.
Chapter Seven
It had been five long days since Adam had heard from Denise. Adam’s temper flared at the sight of his sister’s husband sitting calmly in the plush leather office chair in the house he and Denise had once shared. Sarah claimed a corner of the leather love seat, her hands folded neatly, her expression closed. Adam had introduced her as a friend, forgoing the details about her overhearing the kidnapping.
The soft-blue silk shell she wore outlined her luscious curves, while her long gauzy skirt hugged her slender legs. So far, she’d shown no sign she recognized Russell’s voice.
“I told you Denise was obsessed with work. She stayed long hours, often forgot to call me or come home for dinner.” Russell traced a long finger along the rim of a crystal water glass. “That’s the reason we separated, Black. Sometimes I think her career was the only thing that mattered to her.”
“Of course it mattered,” Adam said in defense. “She worked her butt off to get through med school, and she felt damn lucky to have gotten a job at this high-tech research facility. She just wanted to impress her co-workers.”
“No, Adam, she wanted to impress you.”
Adam clamped his teeth together. “I never pushed her.”
Russell sipped the water, staring over the rim of the glass with serious dark-green eyes. “Maybe, maybe not. Whatever the reason, she was an over-achiever.”
“You know how she grew up.”
Russell shrugged. “Yeah, but I wanted a life, too. And a wife who paid attention to me, not one who was married to her job.”
“A little selfish, aren’t you?”
Russell frowned. “Maybe. But work isn’t everything. I learned that a long time ago.” He stood and paced to the window, and stared out. “You see that tree out there?” He gestured toward a wooded area that had yet to be landscaped. “When we first bought this place, I imagined building a tree house for our son there. A swing set and sandbox and one of those jungle gyms.” When he faced them again, Adam noticed the strain in his tight jaw. “But Denise didn’t have time to make a family with me.”
“And you were bitter about that?”
Anger blazed in Russell’s eyes, but he shrugged, trying to act undisturbed. “Wouldn’t you be?”
“Do you know where she is now?” Adam asked, ignoring the question.
“If you’re suggesting I’d hurt Denise because I was angry, Black, you’re way off base. I still love her.” Russell dropped his head forward, looking weary. “My guess is she’s holed up in a lab working on a cure for some rare disease we don’t even know exists.”
“You’re not worried she hasn’t called?”
Resignation softened Russell’s eyes as he sat down. “I told you, I learned a long time ago not to expect anything from Denise.”
Adam slapped a hand on the man’s desk, sending a ballpoint pen rolling. “Don’t you think it’s suspicious that her apartment was broken into?”
For the first time since they’d arrived, fear crossed Russell’s face. Fear for Denise or fear he’d been caught?
Russell winced at Denise’s photo on his desk, and for a minute, Adam thought he detected true affection in Russell’s eyes.
Or maybe he was just pretending.
“Was she there?” Russell asked, his voice gruff.
“No.” Adam hesitated. “She hasn’t been there for days, but it’s too much of a coincidence that she’s missing and her place was broken into. When was the last time you talked to her?”
“About two weeks ago. At the center.”
“Do you know what kind of project she was working on?”
Russell pulled at his chin. “Like I told you, we didn’t talk much. We exchangedleasantries that day, that’s all.”
“Could you get me in her office to check around?”
“Security is damn near airtight. I’m in the marine department, which is in a separate area, so we’d have to get clearance. That’ll take some time.”
“Get on it. I want in there ASAP,” Adam ordered. “What about co-workers? Did she get along with all of them, or ever mention having a problem with someone?”
“Not that I remember.” A frown tightened his face. “Although a while back, she mentioned that her new research assistant had a crush on her.”
“What was his name?”
“Dan…no, Donny.” Russell drummed his fingers in thought. “Donny Gates. He was a little younger than her, about five years, I think. Kind of a skinny guy with glasses. He seemed pretty harmless.”
Adam had met a lot of people in his work who seemed harmless. Sometimes they were actually the most dangerous.
SARAH’S HEART bled for Adam. His love for his sister was so strong, she couldn’t help but envy the other woman. She desperately wanted to ask about his parents, to find out more about his and Denise’s childhoods, and she cursed herself for not being able to communicate.
“Did his voice sound familiar?” Adam asked as soon as they got in the car.
Sarah used her Palm Pilot to reply. “I’m not sure. I don’t think it was the man I heard, but the voices from the hospital were muffled.” And she had been drugged. “Do you think he was telling the truth?”
“I don’t know,” Adam admitted quietly. “At first when he and Denise married, he adored her, or at least he seemed to.”
Sarah’s heart squeezed. He looked so bereft she reached out and lay a hand over his, then stroked his fingers. Adam stared at their hands on the seat, a muscle ticking in his jaw.
“I have to find her,” he finally said in a tortured voice. His dark gaze lifted to meet hers. “And she’s not the coldhearted woman Russell painted her to be. She’s dedicated and brilliant, and she’s worked hard to make it.”
Sarah smiled, then wrote, “I know. She sounds wonderful.”
“She was…is. You’d have to understand how hard it was for her,” Adam said, emotion thickening his voice. “When our parents died in that car crash, she was only thirteen. Overnight, she changed from a smart girl to a withdrawn, shy kid.” Sarah laced her fingers with his, waiting, letting him pour out his heart.
“I promised Mom and Dad I’d take care of her, I swore it on their graves. And her dream was to be a doctor. That’s all she ever talked about.”
Sarah nodded. “I can understand that. When I lost my family, I was young, but once I decided to teach, my life had focus.”
His dark eyes swept over her with admiration, making Sarah’ swell. She’d grown accustomed to curious looks and pitying glances, not sincere respect for her accomplishments.
Or a man looking at her with heat in his eyes the way Adam did.
As if she recognized the subtle tension had begun simmering between them again, he turned away, st
arted the engine and pulled down the long drive. “I have to check out Russell’s story about the research assistant. Mind coming along to see if his voice sounds familiar?”
Sarah shook her head. “Not if you think it might help find your sister.”
Adam’s fists clenched around the steering wheel. “I don’t know if it will or not, but I have to do something. Every day she’s missing lessens the chances of us finding her alive.”
Chapter Eight
As Adam headed toward the research center on Catcall Island, troubled thoughts lurched back and forth in his head like the tide rolling in and out off the coast.
He did not want to like Sarah. And he especially didn’t want to admire her. At least when he’d believed she was a kook, he could ignore her bewitching eyes. He’d be crazy to consider a relationship with her other than the professional one they already shared.
She was fragile, both physically and emotionally. So scarred, she still couldn’t speak.
What would a frail woman like her think if he ever unleashed the powerful emotions raging inside him? She deserved fine wines and candlelight dinners, not pizza and beer with a run-down cop. God only knew the types of lowlifes he dealt with. How could he share stories about his day with someone as sheltered as her?
No.
Getting physical with Sarah would no doubt mean attachments—she just wasn’t a one-night stand kind of woman.
He’d joined the police department so he could protect vulnerable people like her, not get involved with them.
Yet you couldn’t even protect your own sister.
Grief and failure suffused him, but he fought it, reminding himself he wasn’t finished yet. He would find Denise. And he’d use Sarah Cutter to help him if he had to.
SARAH WATCHED Adam struggle with his temper as he tried to locate Denise’s research assistant. He leaned over the top of the receptionist’s computer, enunciating each word slowly. “His name is Donny Gates.”
“Like I told you a few days ago, he’s not here,” the thin receptionist chirped.
“When will he be back?”
“I’m not sure. Since Dr. Harley left town, he hasn’t been in much. Just to pick up some samples for his project. I’m sure when she returns, he’ll be back, too. He seemed pretty dedicated to her.”
“Dedicated or obsessed?”
The seemed surprised. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Could he have wanted more than a working relationship with her? Was he obsessed with my sister?”
“I—I really don’t know.” She tucked an errant strand of hair into place. “I don’t stick my nose into other people’s business, Detective.”
“Look, lady, don’t tell me you didn’t notice—”
“If you’re going to shout at me, Detective Black, I’m calling security.”
Sarah lay a hand on Adam’s arm to calm him. He inhaled sharply, but lowered his voice when he spoke again. “When will my sister be back?”
The receptionist tapped the calendar. “My notations indicate she’ll be gone two more weeks.”
Adam cursed, and Sarah shifted nervously behind him. She understood his frustration but felt helpless as how to make things better.
“Then give me Gates’s home address and phone number,” Adam demanded.
“I can’t do that,” the woman said, looking panicky. “It’s against Seaside Securities’s policy.”
“Then I’ll find it myself.” Adam slammed a hand on the counter. “I’ll be back with a search warrant, and next time I won’t let your security company get in my way.”
SARAH CUTTER probably thought he was a bastard, Adam thought, as he drove like a maniac toward the central office of the center to see her godfather. She’d just have to go on thinking it though, because he didn’t give a damn who he pissed off or if the researchers were cloning the President. This stupid research company would not keep him from finding Denise.
“I hope your godfather will cooperate,” Adam told her as he parked in front of the two-story building. “Then I’d like to see the room where you had your surgery.”
Sarah nodded, watching him quietly, her big blue eyes glistening with emotions he dared not pursue. She seemed so intuitive, so compassionate, that he forgot sometimes that she couldn’t even talk. That they could barely communicate.
Except they’d communicated pretty well during that kiss.
He had to forget that kiss.
Glancing sideways, he noticed her rubbing small circles around her temple as if she had a headache. Unwanted guilt slammed into him. The woman had a slight concussion, yet he’d dragged her all over the island without bothering to stop for lunch. He kept forgetting her fragile state.
“Do you want to get lunch before we do this?”
She shook her head, then wrote, “Maybe later.”
“Your head okay?” All right, so maybe he did care if she thought he was a bastard. He wasn’t completely heartless.
Probably because he’d been a big brother for so long. He’d always taken care of his little sister, so he felt indebted to take care of Sarah. Except his thoughts toward her weren’t brotherly.
A small smile curved her lips. “I’ve got a buzz in my ears that’s making it hard to hear, but I’ve had worse.”
He nodded and hurried to her side to open the door, but she’d climbed out by the time he reached her.
They walked in silence up the pebbled drive, the scent of the salt air wafting around them with the early-afternoon breeze. Sun beamed on the modern stucco structure, the Wilmington River rippling behind them. A beautiful place for a business. But had something menacing happened here?
Seconds later, thanks to Sarah’s relationship to Sol Santenelli, they were seated in his office. The view of the river through the floor-length glass windows astounded Adam. Medical journals filled cherry bookshelves on the opposite wall, a seating area with thick leather furniture occupied one corner, a stocked wet bar the other. Adam couldn’t imagine working in such ritzy surroundings.
Santenelli offered them drinks. Adam took coffee, Sarah a soda. Santenelli settled into an expensive dark swivel chair. “How are you today, Sarah?”
She smiled and signed something that Adam assumed meant she was fine. She certainly wasn’t a whiner, he thought, that seed of admiration growing.
“I want clearance to see the Coastal Island Research Park,” Adam said without preamble. “And I’d like to see the hospital room where Sarah had her surgery.”
Santenelli twisted his mouth sideways, looking grim. “Why should I give you access to restricted areas when you have no proof your sister is really missing?”
Sarah signed frantically.
“Whoa, Sarah, I can’t read you that fast,” Santenelli said.
She repeated the movements, and Adam watched her godfather’s face contort. “Yes, I want you to have peace of mind, Sarah, but I think you’re out on a limb here, and I don’t want to jeopardize the research center’s reputation or their research for some unfounded claim.” He turned to Adam. “You don’t know for sure that something has happened to your sister, do you?”
Although he had no evidence, Adam knew it in his gut. “Yes, she’s missing. And I’ve already put in for a court order to search the facility.”
Santenelli steepled his fingers on the desk. “All right. I’ll see what I can do about getting you into the lab areas. That may take a day or two. But I can show you the hospital where Sarah stayed right now.”
“All right.” Adam stood abruptly. “Let’s go.”
SARAH SHIVERED as she entered the research hospital and followed her godfather and Adam through the corridor, the hospital smells engulfing her, resurrecting memories of the numerous surgeries she’d had during her childhood, of the hope she’d felt before she’d received the implants.
Remembering the last time she’d been here and the panicked cries of the woman being abduct
Noises bombarded her—voices paging various doctors over the intercom, t
he beep of a machine as they passed a room, the sounds of gurneys rolling down the hall, two people arguing.
She rubbed her temple, then hesitated in the hallway near the elevator, a dizzy spell assaulting her, the faint murmur of a man’s voice ringing in her ears. Then static.
“Sarah, are you all right?” Adam Black’s warm hand steadied her, his husky voice a reprieve from the grating sounds around her.
She nodded, determined not to show any signs of weakness. Was the man’s voice the one she’d heard kidnapping Denise? She strained for the sound, but a garbled noise reverberated in her ear.
“Should we have you checked, sweetheart?” Sol asked.
She signed, “No,” then waved for them to continue.
Seconds later, they entered the second floor where she’d had her surgery. The whitewashed walls and gleaming stainless steel hospital bed looked exactly as she remembered.
“This hospital is used strictly for patients undergoing experimental procedures and treatments?” Adam asked.
Sol nodded. “Yes, it was built especially for the center and houses a variety of specialties, although most of the doctors have separate labs in another building for their research work. Sarah’s hearing implants were performed in the surgical wing. She stayed in another room afterward for observation.”
The hospital resembled any other, housed with the same basic layout and furniture. A hospital bed, dinner tray, chair for visitors, overhead TV, blinds, a private bath.
His big body moved silently as he crossed to stare at the vent overhead. “What floor is neurology?”
Sol’s eyebrows narrowed. “I believe it’s on the next floor. Why?”
“That’s where my sister worked.” He jerked his head up, gesturing toward the ceiling. “So, it’s conceivable that Sarah did hear something that night. The sound could have carried through the vent.”