by Susan Stoker
“We’re gonna find her, Logan. If it’s any consolation, I don’t think her mother wants to hurt her. She just wants to control her.”
“It’s not any consolation, bro. Not one fucking bit,” Logan told his brother in a defeated tone.
They quickly climbed back into Blake’s black Mustang and sped down the lane. “I don’t think you can believe anything either of her parents have ever told her,” Blake tried to reassure his brother. “I think they’re more talk than anything else.”
“What if they’re not?”
“Then you’ll take Grace into your arms and tell her that you love her and that everything will be all right no matter what they’ve done to her.”
Logan whirled his head around to stare at his brother.
Blake saw his look of disbelief and shrugged. “What? You’ve loved Grace Mason since you were sixteen years old. You might never have said anything about it, but I know you.”
Logan didn’t confirm or deny his brother’s words. Instead he simply stated, “I can’t lose her.”
“And you won’t. Nathan is going to find something else on those tapes we can use that will lead us to her. I’ve already called the cops. Cole and Felicity will do everything they can. We’ll find her, because the alternative is unacceptable.”
Logan didn’t want to smile, but he couldn’t help it. Blake was hell-bent and determined to find and save Grace, and he knew it was because he cared about her too, and he had no problem with that. The more allies Grace had, the better.
“But I’ll tell you something else,” Blake said without looking at his brother as he drove back to their office. “Not that you didn’t already know this, but Margaret Mason is a bad seed. She’s poison. Everyone she comes in contact with is covered in her filth. Every other word that comes out of her mouth is a lie. I can’t believe someone as sweet as Grace is related to her. It’s a miracle she is as good of a person as she is with her mother as an example.”
“What’s our next step?” Logan asked, unable to think about anything other than what Grace might be going through right this second, and how every minute that went by was one minute that she could be suffering.
“We’ll go back to the office to see if Nathan found anything else worth noting on the videos. Then we’ll see if the cops have picked up her father yet.”
Logan ran his hand through his hair and remembered back to earlier that morning when he’d last seen Grace. After some great morning sex, they’d taken a long shower together and made breakfast after they’d gotten dressed.
Right before he’d left to go to Denver, Grace had been laughing with him over something silly she’d seen online. He’d never felt so comfortable with a woman before. It didn’t matter if they were making love, eating supper, or sitting around doing nothing.
The relationship was everything he’d dreamed it’d be when he was a teenager . . . and more. He couldn’t lose her now.
“Step on it, Blake. The sooner this ends, the better.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Hello?”
“Collect call from Brad. Will you accept the charges?” the automated voice droned.
“What the hell? Brad? Of course I will,” Alexis said in confusion.
“Hold for the connection,” the robotic voice intoned.
“Alexis?” Brad asked.
“Yeah, it’s me. What’s going on? Where are you calling from?”
“Listen. I’m in trouble. I need help.”
“Anything. Where are you?” Alexis asked again.
“I think I’m at the Imperial Hotel in Denver,” Brad told his sister.
“You think?” Alexis asked in disbelief.
“Yeah. I need you to call Ace Security down in Castle Rock for me. Tell them that Grace is in trouble and needs their help.”
“Grace Mason? Brad, you’re freaking me out. After that disastrous dinner, I thought we all agreed not to have anything to do with the Masons ever again.”
“We did, but plans have changed.”
“What’s going on, Brad?”
“Alexis, please. Call Ace Security. I’ll give you a number and you can tell whoever answers to call me back.”
“I want to help,” she said, her voice shaking.
“No. I don’t want you involved.”
“But I am involved. You called me,” Alexis protested.
“Only because I don’t have their number. Please, Sis,” Brad begged. “This is important. I need you to do it right now.”
“Should I call Mom and Dad?”
“No! Look, Grace told me the last time I talked with her, about a month ago, that she was dating one of the Anderson brothers. I don’t remember which one.”
“You talked to Grace?”
“Yeah. She called me to check to make sure I was okay.”
“That was nice of her.”
“I know. I didn’t expect it either. She didn’t say much, just that she didn’t agree with her mother and that she didn’t want to marry me. That she was doing her best to make sure her parents didn’t bother me again.”
“Okay. I’ll do it. For you. But I swear to God, if Grace Mason or any of her family does anything to fuck with you, they’ll have to deal with me.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it. Now, get some paper to write this number down. Hurry.”
“Okay . . . hang on . . . all right, I’m ready.”
Brad gave her the phone number of the hotel and the room number.
“I can be there in twenty minutes,” she told him.
“No. Please, Alexis. Don’t,” he begged. “I don’t want you anywhere near here.”
“I don’t like this.”
“Me either, but I promise that I’m safe right now. Okay?”
“Fine,” Alexis huffed. “But I expect a full report as soon as possible.”
“Deal. Now call, and don’t quit until you get hold of one of the Andersons.”
“I won’t. I love you, Brad.”
“I love you too, Sis. I’ll talk to you later. Thank you for this.”
“We’re family. Talk to you soon.”
“Ace Security,” Nathan growled into the phone when it rang.
“It’s about time someone answered. Jeez, I’ve been calling you guys for like, hours. Is this one of the Anderson brothers?”
“Yes. And this is an emergency-only line,” Nathan lied, irritated at the attitude of the person on the other end of the line.
“No shit, why do you think I’m calling?” Alexis said grouchily. “Look, my brother, Bradford Grant, called me and told me to get in touch with you guys. He said to tell you that Grace Mason is in trouble and needs your help. I have a phone number where you can call him to find out more details. He wouldn’t tell me anything.”
“Logan!” Nathan bellowed, not bothering to cover the phone with his hand.
“Ow, jeez. That hurt. Warn a girl, would ya?” Alexis grumbled.
“I’m putting you on speaker. Repeat what you just told me,” Nathan ordered.
“My name is Alexis Grant. I got a call from my brother, Brad, and he wanted me to call you guys and let you know that Grace is in trouble. I have no idea what’s going on, but he sounded freaked out, which isn’t like him at all. He gave me a phone number so you could call him.”
“What is it?” Logan demanded immediately.
“I want to know what’s going on,” Alexis said firmly.
“If you don’t give me the number right this second, I’ll-”
Logan’s words were suddenly broken off, followed by the sound of a scuffle.
“Hello?”
“Alexis, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m Blake. And my brother Logan is extremely concerned about his girlfriend. Grace has been missing since early this afternoon. He’s had a trying day, and whatever game you’re playing isn’t sitting well with him. The number? Please?”
“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be obnoxious. I’m just worried about Brad. He s
ounded really upset when he called me. He said he’s in room four sixty-two at the Imperial.”
“Thank you,” Logan said in what sounded like a sincere voice as he wrote down the number Alexis gave him.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but if the Masons are involved, it can’t be good. They aren’t high on my list of favorite people right now,” Alexis said.
“We heard they wanted to force a marriage between your brother and Grace,” Logan commented bitterly.
“Yeah. Mrs. Mason pretty much threatened to ruin my family if Brad didn’t agree.”
“How?”
“They said they’d let it leak that Brad is gay. Which is just dumb, because everyone already knows it . . . and doesn’t care. The designs he comes up with speak for themselves.”
“He’s gay?” Logan asked.
“Yeah. You didn’t know? He’s been out since high school.”
“Could be her parents don’t know it,” Nathan said.
“And if they did, it might ruin all their plans,” Blake agreed.
“We need to find out what they’re up to,” Logan stated.
“You two call Brad on your way to the hotel,” Nathan said, “I’ll stay here and see what else I can dig up on them. I’m not as good with computers as Blake is, but you might need him.”
“Hey!” Alexis blurted.
“Oh, shit. Yeah, we appreciate you calling us,” Logan said in a rush. “We’ll make sure Brad is okay.”
“Wait, I-”
Logan didn’t wait to find out what else Alexis had to say. He was grateful to her for calling, but he needed to get moving. All that mattered was Grace, and it looked like they had a lead. He immediately picked up the phone and started dialing. He wanted to get going, to start heading up to Denver, but he wanted to make sure that’s where Grace really was before he went off half-cocked.
The phone rang only once.
“Hello?”
“This is Logan Anderson. Is this Bradford?”
“Thank God. Yeah.”
“Where are you?”
“The Imperial Hotel in downtown Denver, room four sixty-two.”
“Grace is there with you?”
“Yes.”
Logan covered the speaker of his cell and told his brothers, “Bradford says she’s at the Imperial in Denver. Keep us informed at what you find, Nate. We’re going.” At his nod, Logan and Blake headed outside to the car.
“What’s going on? Is she all right? Can I talk to her?” Logan asked Brad.
“She seems to be.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Logan bit out.
“She’s sleeping, or something, right now. And I’d rather she stay that way until you get here.”
Blake started the car and Logan put the call on speaker so his brother could listen in. “Explain.”
“First, you should know, I had nothing to do with any of this. I came to the hotel for a client meeting that turned out to be a setup of some sort. I came up to the room for the meeting, and as soon as I opened the door, I was yanked in and punched in the face. Then someone grabbed me from behind and stuck a needle in my arm. I don’t remember anything after that.”
“Where does Grace fit into all this?” Logan asked impatiently.
“I only woke up a bit ago. I feel like I’ve been sucking on cotton balls, and I’ve got a hell of a headache. I went to get up off the bed and realized someone was next to me. I was horrified to realize it was Grace.”
“Fuck. Is she okay? Dammit, let me talk to her,” Logan demanded impatiently.
“I told you, she’s unconscious, but breathing normally as far as I can tell,” Brad hurried to reassure Logan. “But, shit, man, we were both naked.”
“Motherfucker. When I get my hands on her parents, they’re gonna wish they were dead,” Logan said, his voice rough with the fury he was holding in check.
“She’s covered up now,” Brad hurried to reassure Logan. “I drank a bunch of water and took a shower to try to shake off the rest of whatever they drugged me with. Her clothes are all here, and I’ll give them to her, along with lots of water when she wakes up. My cell and wallet aren’t here, and I can’t find hers either. But . . . there’s something else . . .” His voice trailed off as if he didn’t want to continue.
“What else?” Logan snapped.
“There was an envelope on the dresser. Propped up against the mirror where I couldn’t miss it.”
“What was in the envelope?” Blake asked, obviously trying to move the story forward and knowing Logan was about to lose his shit.
“Photos,” Brad said.
“Fuck,” Blake swore. “How bad?”
“Bad. I was out, man. I don’t remember any of it. They must’ve given me some serious shit because otherwise there’s no way they could’ve posed me the way they did without me being aware of it.”
“Jesus,” Logan said under his breath.
“At some point another man apparently joined us and we were all posed to look like we were a consenting trio instead of two unconscious victims. I have no idea if these are all of them or not. I’ll say this, though, if these are ever leaked, both our reputations are shot, which I’m assuming was the point.”
“Pull over,” Logan told his brother suddenly.
Blake didn’t hesitate but did as Logan demanded.
“Everything okay?” Brad asked on the other end of the line, not able to see what was happening.
Blake watched as his brother opened the car door, took two steps, and threw up on the side of the highway. “No,” he told Brad. “Everything is not okay. Quickly, before my brother gets back in the car. Do you think Grace was raped?”
“I don’t know. As soon as I realized she wasn’t wearing any clothes, I pulled the sheet up to cover her and went to the bathroom to change.”
“You’re there with her now, right?” Blake asked urgently.
“Yeah.”
“Don’t leave her.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Brad said. “I was waiting for you guys to call back. I’ve locked the bolt on the door and put on the security lock. I’ll keep watch over her until you get here. It’s why I had Alexis call you in the first place.”
Logan wiped the back of his hand over his mouth and got back in the car. He nodded at his brother to continue driving. The thought of his Grace being unconscious and being manipulated and photographed without her knowledge or permission . . . not to mention some third man being involved . . . disgusted him beyond measure. Not about Grace, never that, but what might’ve happened to her.
“We’re about thirty minutes out. Twenty if we can get away with it.”
“Thank you for calling us. We’ll be there as soon as we can. Keep my girl safe,” Logan implored Brad.
“I will.”
Logan clicked off his cell and looked over at Blake. For the first time since he’d gotten out of the Army, he felt like Rose Anderson’s son. He wanted to kill someone and see them suffer. He supposed he was more like his mother than he’d thought.
“Don’t,” Blake warned.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t even think about it. If you lose it and do something stupid to either of her parents, or whoever else was in that room, then Grace will lose you for the second time in her life. She needs you. Keep your shit together.”
“They touched her, Blake,” Logan said in a hard, cold voice.
“Yeah, but she’s alive, and will be in your arms soon. They could’ve killed her and hidden her body in the mountains, and you never would’ve found her. You know it as well as I do. This isn’t what we wanted to happen, but it’s better than the alternative. Hold. It. Together.”
Logan dipped his chin in a short, tight nod. Blake was right. It sucked, but he was right. The last seven hours or so had been the worst in his life. Even worse than the months he’d spent waiting to hear from Grace when he’d joined the Army. He couldn’t lose sight of the fact that he now knew where Grace was and that sh
e was alive and breathing. They’d deal with everything else later.
“You think they’ll try to blackmail the Grants with the pictures?” Logan asked, trying to figure out what the hell Margaret and Walter had planned, and how they thought they’d get away with it.
“Yeah. If Brad says the pictures are bad, then they must be bad.”
“We need to shut them down.”
“Agreed,” Blake responded.
“Got any ideas?”
“Some.”
“Want to share?” Logan asked his brother. Sometimes talking with Blake was like pulling teeth. He’d always been that way, even when they were young.
“I’m thinking if blackmail is their way of getting what they want, this is probably not the first time they’ve used the tactic.”
Logan caught the gleam in his brother’s eyes as he continued.
“I would bet everything we own that there are others out there.”
“We need to find them,” Logan said.
“Yup.”
“Think you and Nathan can do it?”
“Fuck yeah. After you get Grace and bring her home, I’m thinking a visit to the Masons’ house is in order. We need to talk to the help. Then maybe some ex-employees of the Mason Architectural Firm. We’ll get them, Logan. I swear to God. We’ll take them down the same way they wanted to take Grace and the Grants down. Their blackmailing days are over.”
“They better be. I don’t want this hanging over Grace’s head for the rest of her life. I’ve never wanted anyone dead more than I want Grace’s parents wiped off the face of the planet. Not even Mom. And that’s saying something.”
Blake nodded in agreement. “We’ll uncover all their secrets. I swear on Dad’s grave, Logan, we will.”
“Good. Now, how about we find out how quickly this hunk of junk can get us to Denver?”
Logan didn’t say much else as they raced north, his thoughts only on Grace and if she was okay.
Chapter Twenty-Five
As soon as Brad opened the door to room four sixty-two, Logan surged in.
“Thank God you’re here. She’s just now coming around,” Brad told Logan as he brushed past.
Seeing Grace vulnerable and groggy on the hotel bed made Logan both breathe a sigh of relief and grit his teeth together in fury. He went to her and gathered her into his arms. “Hey. I’ve got you. You’re okay, Grace.”