“That could explain Molly’s last words,” Riley said.
“What did she say?” Aidan asked.
“That it wasn’t over, that she had only begun. We took that to mean that when Molly’s real identity was discovered after her death, Kacie’s secrets would be revealed.”
“But what if it didn’t?” Justin said. “That would mean Kacie’s still in danger.”
And then it clicked, what had been hounding him that he hadn’t been able to connect. “The email Kacie received at the beginning.”
“The one supposedly from Harrington?” Sabrina said.
“Yes. Kacie commented that she’d looked through the emails before she decided to leave them until later. Then when she returned from her foundation’s event, she read through the emails, and that’s when she saw it.”
“Yeah…and?” Aidan said.
“So if she looked through the emails before and didn’t see it, then that would mean someone would’ve had to come inside her apartment and place the email there.”
Everyone nodded.
“But Molly was with Kacie the entire night. They all went to the event in a limo and came home in it, too. Even if Molly left and then went back, the event was all the way across town. There’s no way she would’ve had time to do that, especially not knowing when Kacie would want to leave. Someone else would’ve had to put the email on that stack.”
Brennan muttered the words none of them wanted to accept, “Kacie’s still in danger.”
Without commenting further, McCall picked up the phone beside his seat and pressed a button. “Jack, change of plans. We need to get back to New York ASAP.”
Doing what he’d been dying to do since he’d left her a few hours ago, Brennan pressed Kacie’s speed-dial number on his cellphone. The phone rang, Brennan held his breath. No answer. As her voice mail came on, requesting the caller leave a message, Brennan went to the heart of the matter. “Kacie, you’re still in danger. Get to the police immediately. And call me as soon as you get this message.”
Brennan ended the call, wanting to say more…wanting to say anything that would stop what he already feared had happened. He had left her alone, vulnerable. And though there was no evidence that anything had happened to her, Brennan knew to his soul that it was already too late.
Chapter Thirty-nine
She woke up crying. At first she had no idea why she was so upset, so terrified. Darkness surrounded her, but that wasn’t a big deal, not anymore. Since Brennan had come into her life, she had been able to sleep with the lights completely off.
Brennan.
He was no longer in her life. He had left. Was that why she was so sad? But no, it was something else. Something else had happened…something evil. She grasped for answers, but her brain refused to cooperate.
She closed her eyes on a sigh. She would worry about it tomorrow.
No! Her mind told her to wake up, something was very wrong. A fierce whisper told her to get up and fight. Fight what? Who?
Masculine laughter echoed in the darkness, and she froze with an unnamed terror. Who was that? Where was she?
She moved…or tried. Something had hold of her arms, wouldn’t let go. She squirmed and wiggled, her heart pounding so hard it drowned out her hearing. Beneath the thunder of her heart, she heard gasping, sobbing breaths. Panic, set free, took control. She was caught, trapped. Who had done this?
Beneath the terror, she felt a moment of deepest despair.
Not again… Please, God, not again.
Lights blazed, and Kacie got her first glimpse of her new horror. Only it wasn’t as scary as she’d feared. She was in the living room of a cabin. The décor was rustic, minimalistic. It was an open-spaced area where she could see both the kitchen and dining room from where she sat on the sofa.
She looked down. She was sitting on a sofa? Then why… Now she knew why she couldn’t move. Her hands were cuffed together and then tethered to chains attached to the floor beside the sofa. Bound, chained. New panic threatened to explode her chest.
Think, Kacie.
How had she gotten here? She twisted left and right again, her eyes searching. No one was in the room with her. Who had done this? What had happened?
She closed her eyes. The last thing she remembered, she had come home from her shoot. She’d wanted tea and a bath, and then… Gasping gulps expanded her lungs then seized as she began to hyperventilate.
Harrington.
He wasn’t dead. He was here. He had taken her.
“Now, now, you’re getting all upset, and that’s not what I want at all.”
Kacie twisted around, trying to see where the voice was coming from. The voice sounded familiar. Not Harrington’s. But who?
Footsteps came closer, and Kacie pushed away the fear so she could focus. She had sworn she would never be caught in such a predicament again. And though she felt pretty damn hopeless right now, she refused to give up. She had been through too much, had overcome hell, to allow this to happen to her again. She would kill this time. She didn’t care who or what, she would kill before she allowed anyone to touch her without her permission.
At last, he came within view. Confusion whirled in her mind. Good-natured family man with two grandsons he adored and a wife who baked him apple pie on Sundays.
“Vincent?”
He smiled, and she wanted to cry, because it was the smile he always gave her. When he was talking about his grandkids, about how much he loved his wife, his kids. Why had this seemingly devoted husband, father, and grandfather kidnapped her?
“I can see your confusion, so let me set the record straight.”
He sat across from her and proceeded to become a different person. Hair peppered with gray came off, revealing a slightly balding but much younger head. Bushy eyebrows were plucked off, revealing they had been glued to his other brows. He also removed the slightly yellowing teeth she was used to, revealing a gleaming, white smile. He was easily twenty years younger than the old man she’d known as Vincent.
“Who are you?”
His smile was kind and sweet—that hadn’t changed, just the reason for it. “You know me, Kacie. And this is the real me.” He spread his hands as if to apologize. “I had to wear this disguise so no one would know about us.”
“Know what about us?”
“About how you feel about me. You know how this city is. Magazines and newspapers would have had a field day if they saw us together, the beautiful supermodel and the security guard. But now, we’re here together, just like we were meant to be. No one ever has to know about us. We can be together, our privacy intact.”
This was beyond bizarre. But he didn’t look like he was going to hurt her yet. At least not yet. Maybe she could keep him talking and then try to talk him into letting her go. She refused to believe that wasn’t possible.
“You’re the one who put up those photos of me…with Harrington?”
“Such a sacrilege, Kacie. How could you let that man do that to you? He was at least forty years older than you.”
Telling him she didn’t let Harrington do anything to her would have been a waste of time and breath. It was more than apparent that Vincent was not playing with a full deck.
“You and Molly planned this together.”
“Molly? Oh, you mean Sally? Yes, although you should know that I protected you quite a bit. She wanted to do really bad things to you, and I wouldn’t let her.”
“How did you two know each other?”
“I met her when she was just a kid. Did some yard work for the family. We kind of hit it off. Friend-like, nothing romantic, in case you’re worried. She got in touch with me about her pet project. And, well…” He shrugged. “The rest you know.”
“But why would you agree to something like this? You don’t look—”
She was going to say evil but stopped herself. Antagonizing him wouldn’t help her right now. She needed information first.
“I didn’t at first. Seemed like a silly little
girl’s plan, but the money was enticing. I got the job at the building, and then I got to know you. I knew the moment we met we had something special. So I told Sally it was a go. She did most of the work. I just helped her out when she needed me to.”
“Like those Rollerblading kids in the park?”
“Yes, I paid them, with Sally’s money. But they promised they wouldn’t hurt you. They didn’t, did they?”
“No…just scared me.”
He grinned. “Good. A little scare every now and then never hurt anybody.”
“You know that Sally’s…gone?”
“Oh yes, she told me it would probably happen. She paid me in advance, just in case.”
“She knew she would die?”
“Yes. She told me all about your affair with her daddy and how it ruined her and her family. She really didn’t want to live. I even offered to take care of that for her, but she wouldn’t let me. Her only goal was to make you pay.”
He grimaced as if embarrassed. “I’ll admit, when she told me about you, I agreed with her at first…that you should pay. But then, after I met you and you were so kind and loving toward me, I knew I couldn’t hurt you like she wanted.
“We agreed on a different plan. She would repay you, then she would die. And then, after that, you would be mine.”
She swallowed past the fear. Keep him talking, Kacie. Let him think this is all okay. Get him to trust you…and then get the hell out of here.
“When you were at my apartment…before you…brought me here, you pretended to be Harrington. You talked and dressed like him.”
“Yes, that was my last promise to Sally. I practiced for days so I could do his voice.” His smile was full of pride. “I guess it’s safe to say I fooled you.”
“Yes, you did. You’re very good.”
“Thank you.”
He acted as if he were going to get up, and she wanted to delay whatever his plans were for her as long as possible.
“So the photos in my bedroom the other times, did you do those, too?”
“Yes, everything that was done in your apartment was done by me. Molly never even went there, except that one time.”
“Which time?”
Even though he had been acting almost normal, Kacie had never been fooled that he was sane. The look in his eyes when she asked that question confirmed not only insanity but also evil.
“Remember when you had a wisdom tooth pulled, and the dentist gave you something that knocked you out?”
She couldn’t speak, could barely breathe. She nodded instead and waited to hear just how vulnerable she’d really been.
“Sally and I came in and watched you. You were completely knocked out.” An unholy light entered his eyes. “Did you never wonder why you woke up naked?”
Nausea roiled in her stomach, and without any option whatsoever, Kacie turned her head and vomited on the floor. Her mind screamed, no, no, no, but her heart screamed for Brennan, who would eventually come for her, once people realized she was missing, but he would be too late.
It was all Brennan could do not to stick his head out the window and shout at the other drivers to move out of the way. He had to get to her, even though a part of him said it was already too late.
Once the decision to return had been made, McCall had been almost scarily efficient. Not only were two SUVs waiting on the tarmac when they arrived, but McCall had called in favors at the police department and asked that her apartment be checked immediately.
A report came back within half an hour that all seemed well. Kacie Dane was not in residence, but her security system was on, and there was no evidence of a break-in or anything else. Brennan tried to tell himself all was well. His gut said different.
When LCR pinged her phone and located it somewhere in her apartment, his suspicions were confirmed. He had lived with this woman long enough to know her routine. She might be unpredictable in many ways, but not in this. Never would she leave her phone behind when she went out.
He weaved in and out of traffic, for once glad for his familiarity with the city. McCall sat beside him, Justin and Riley in the back. Sabrina and Aidan trailed behind in the second SUV.
“I shouldn’t have left her,” Brennan muttered.
“You did what anyone would have done. It was over, Sinclair. We all thought it was over.”
He glanced over at the LCR leader. The man was almost impossible to read, but the tense line of his jaw and set of his mouth told the story. He was as worried as Brennan.
Thirty-two minutes later, in what was probably record time but had seemed interminable to Brennan, they pulled in front of Kacie’s apartment building. Brennan jumped out of the SUV and stormed into the building.
A man Brennan didn’t recognize was at the security desk. He jerked his head up when they burst through the door. Knowing one of the other operatives would question the guard, Brennan raced to the elevator, McCall right beside him.
Seconds later, they were on the sixteenth floor and running to Kacie’s apartment. He didn’t bother knocking. He still had his key and immediately unlocked the door. An eerie silence greeted him.
“Weapon, Sinclair,” McCall said calmly.
Shit, he knew that, knew what he was supposed to do, how he was supposed to act, but this was Kacie. Nevertheless, Brennan drew his gun, and with a nod, he entered with McCall coming in right behind him.
While McCall handled punching in the code on the security panel, Brennan said, “I’ll take the upstairs,” and ran up the stairway. He went to Kacie’s bedroom first. The door was partially opened, and he pushed it farther. At first glance, nothing was out of place. Kacie wasn’t a neat freak, but neither did she leave clothes lying around. Everything was in proper order. The bed was made. He checked the adjoining bathroom, as well as the walk-in closet, and again saw nothing wrong.
Taking his cellphone out, he punched in Kacie’s number again, heard a ring. Standing in the middle of the room, he slowly turned, trying to locate the ringing phone. The closet. Brennan returned to the closet and stuck his head inside. Kacie had about a dozen purses lined up on a shelf. The phone must be in one of them.
He hit redial on his phone, waited for the ring, and then zeroed in on a small black purse on the second shelf. Grabbing it, he looked inside, and the rapid thud of his heart skidded to a halt.
Striding out of the closet, he met McCall’s eyes as the man came into the room. “Everything looks fine downstairs. You got anything?”
“Yeah.” Going to the bed, Brennan upended the purse. Kacie’s phone, wallet, and keys tumbled onto the spread.
A multitude of emotions swept through him at once, but the overwhelming one was absolute, mind-numbing terror.
Looking over at McCall, Brennan finally said the words his gut had known all along. “She’s been taken.”
As tenderly as any loving caretaker, Vincent unlocked the ring that attached the cuffs at her wrists to the chain connected to the floor. What would he do now? Punish her? Rape her? Kill her?
Scooping her into his arms, he carried her into a bedroom. Kacie had stopped breathing the moment he touched her. Now, her body, stiff and terrified, lay in his arms. She had promised to fight, and she would, but her hands and ankles were still cuffed. If she tried to hit him to get away now, she wouldn’t be able to run, only hobble. He would catch her, and then who knew what would happen?
As much as she hated it, her best bet was to act semi-compliant. No way could she act as if she were onboard with being kidnapped and held hostage. Vincent might be insane, but she didn’t believe he was stupid. He’d never buy her immediate acquiescence. She would play it his way until she could take him down and get away.
“There, there,” Vincent said. “I know throwing up upset you, and I’m sorry. You’re probably suffering from first-night jitters.” He grinned down at her. “First dates are always the scariest.”
Settling her onto the bed, he took her cuffed wrists and attached them to a chain hanging from a bras
s rail on the headboard.
“Vincent…really. You don’t need to chain me up. We can talk this through, together. We can figure something out that’ll work for both of us.”
“Now, Kacie. You know we’re not that far into our relationship. Trust must be established, then we’ll go from there.”
Even knowing what his answer would be, knowing it went against her plan to fool him and made her seem weak, Kacie couldn’t prevent the plea that tumbled from her mouth. “Please, Vincent. Don’t do this. Please let me go.”
He sat beside her and smoothed strands of hair off her forehead. “Why on earth would I let you go when I’ve worked so very hard for us to be together?”
She forced herself not to flinch at his touch. So far, other than knocking her out with a Taser and kidnapping her, he had been non-violent and eerily kind.
“Now, you’re probably not hungry, since your tummy is upset, but I could make you some tea and toast. You spilled yours earlier.”
She vaguely remembered the splatter of hot liquid. When she didn’t show up for work tomorrow, they would call. Eventually, someone, perhaps the police, would go to her apartment. Would there be any evidence of her abduction? The tea would dry quickly. Had he taken the photographs down?
“What’s got you looking so concerned?”
The question was so incredibly asinine, it was all she could do not to laugh in his face. “I was just thinking about the tea I spilled in my bedroom.”
“Don’t you worry about that. While you were sleeping like a lamb, I cleaned that up and even washed the cup. Took down those nasty photos, too.” Triumph curved his mouth. “When they search your apartment, they won’t find a thing out of place.”
He went silent, staring down at her as if waiting. Having no real clue what he wanted, Kacie went with her instincts. “Thank you. I appreciate you cleaning up the mess.”
“You’re welcome. Don’t you know I’d do anything for you?” He bent closer, and Kacie couldn’t help herself, she shrank as deeply into the bed as she could.
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