by Susan Hayes
If there had been any doubt, it vanished the moment he answered the phone. “Hi, baby. I’m really glad you called me. Are you okay?”
Kelly’s heart bounced and bucked like a colt with spring fever at the sound of his voice. How had she managed to ignore the effect he had on her until now? He made her heart race just by speaking her name. “Hi. I’m okay. I wanted--I just…” She took a deep breath and started again. “I wanted to tell you I’m sorry I walked out on you tonight.”
“I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to come off the way I did. I screwed up.”
She could hear the self-recrimination in his voice and it wasn’t hard to imagine him, his hand rubbing the back of his neck, dark brows furrowed. “I think we both screwed up a bit. But we’re still okay, right?”
She heard Ben exhale loudly. “If you’re still talking to me, then yes, we’re going to be just fine.”
Relief filled her, and Kelly finally felt like she could breathe again. “I know it’s late, but I was thinking maybe I could come over and we could talk about a few things?”
“Like your sister?”
Kelly winced. Tag had been busy since he’d left. “Yeah, like Jenny. And what I’m going to do to your big-mouthed baby brother when I see him again.”
Ben chuckled at that. “You get him after I’ve addressed the fact he drove off with my girlfriend tonight. And I would like it if you came over. I’ve got some stuff I need to tell you too. You want me to come get you?”
“I’ll drive. I think that come the fall, I’ll start driving more. You know, when it starts getting dark earlier.” There, peace offering made.
He was silent for a long moment before finally saying, “You don’t have to do that.”
“We’ll talk about it when I get there.”
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
“I’ll be there soon, caveman.”
Both of them lingered for a few seconds, neither of them hanging up first. Finally Kelly giggled and said good-bye. She tossed her phone back in her purse and headed down to the parking lot. They’d just survived their first fight and she was glad that particular milestone was behind them. Things were back on track now, and for the first time she was looking forward to the future instead of fearing it.
****
The back lot was poorly lit and crowded with cars. Oddly enough, it was one of the few places she actually felt unsafe. Surrounded by apartments, the only access was via a narrow alley. It saw a fair amount of foot traffic, and most of the people who wandered in and out were looking for an out-of-the-way place to do something illegal.
Normally Kelly would have made sure to have her keys threaded between her fingers before she even set foot out the door, but tonight she was distracted. Thoughts of Ben and what they still needed to talk about buzzed around her head, and she was nearly halfway to her car when it dawned on her that she wasn’t alone.
By then, it was far too late.
Three men appeared out of the night, prowling toward her. “Hey girlie,” one of them cat-called from her left, as two more moved around, cutting her off from the apartment.
“You looking for some fun?”
“Hey, She’s that animal doctor!”
“No shit?” The first one looked her over and she shuddered at the cold look in his bloodshot eyes. He was close enough that she could see the acne scars that marred his sallow face, but the other two were wearing caps pulled down low, concealing their faces.
“Yeah, I remember you now. You’re the one that screwed us up last month. We could have scored, but you had to come snooping around. Stupid bitch.”
The taller of the two faceless men pointed to her purse. “Bet she’s got the keys to the clinic in there.”
The acne-scarred one sneered and moved closer. “Yeah, I bet she does. C’mon doc, give us the keys so we can party. I bet you’ve got good shit in there.”
Kelly took a step back for every step he took toward her. “It’s a vet clinic, not a pharmacy. Unless you need help with fleas or deworming, there’s really not much there for you.”
“You did not just say that! Man, she thinks you’ve got fleas!” The third man doubled over with laughter.
“Shut the fuck up! I do not have fleas. You’re coming with us, doc. You’re going to get us into that clinic of yours, got it?”
Kelly didn’t bother answering, she just dropped her head and ran. They’d cut her off from the building, but the alley was a straight shot across the lot from where she was standing. If she could just get to the street, maybe she could find someone to help her.
She never stood a chance.
They caught her before she’d gotten close, tackling her from behind, and sending her crashing to the pavement in a scene that felt all too familiar.
The weight of her attacker had her pinned to the ground while stars swam in Kelly’s vision and her mouth filled with the coppery taste of blood. Well shit, that didn’t go according to plan.
One of them grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked her head back. The movement caused a new batch of stars to spawn, making it hard for her to see anything.
“Get up, bitch.” She was hauled up by the hair and the back of her shirt until she was on her knees. “Do that again, and you’re going to be real sorry. Got it?” The one she now thought of as Scarface leaned in close and sneered at her. His breath was foul and she had to swallow hard to stop herself from retching.
Her tongue still hurt from where she’d bitten it when she fell, so Kelly opted not to speak. She tried to nod, but the hand in her hair made it impossible to move her head more than a fraction of an inch. It seemed to be enough.
“You have the keys to the clinic?” Again she nodded and the hand in her hair slacked off a little.
“Pick your shit up off the ground then, bitch, and let’s get this party started.”
It took Kelly a second to understand what he meant, but when the hand on her hair finally let go, she glanced down and saw the contents of her purse had spilled out when she’d hit the ground. She grabbed her keys and things, stuffing them back in her purse, but she slipped her wallet into her hand, holding it against the side of the bag.
They hauled her to her feet moments later and she had to bite back a moan of fear when the tallest one flashed a knife blade under her nose before placing it against her side. The message was clear. No more stunts.
Despite the warning, she managed to drop her wallet as they headed into the alley, and none of her attackers noticed the soft thump as it struck the ground. Kelly knew that Ben would come looking for her when she didn’t arrive at his place. This way, at least she could leave him a clue. It was all she could do until they got to the clinic. Maybe once they were there she’d be able to activate the panic alarm.
If they gave her the chance.
* * * *
Where was she? Ben checked the time again. Kelly should have arrived by now, even if she’d hit every light along the way. His need to protect her had started their first fight and he didn’t want to start another one so soon, but something didn’t feel right.
Screw it. He called her cell. When it rang several times and then went to voice mail, he got a tight feeling in his gut. He left her a brief message as he tugged on his shoes.
Whistling for Chase, Ben headed for his Jeep and was already behind the wheel before calling again. When it rang and rang before going to voice mail, Ben knew his instincts were right. Something was wrong.
He broke every speed limit between his home and hers, his worry escalating every time he called her and got voice mail again. He took the route she would have used but there was no sign of her or her car. It was like she’d vanished.
Ben pulled into the parking lot of Kelly’s building, praying she’d be standing right there with some simple excuse for where she’d been. Instead, he spotted her car, still sitting in its stall. The sight made his heart do a sick little drop. She had never left. So where the hell was she?
He didn’t bother taking ti
me to find a parking space. Instead, Ben left the vehicle sitting behind Kelly’s. He stopped just long enough to snap a leash on Chase, and then the two of them headed for Kelly’s apartment.
Her door was locked and there was no answer when he knocked and called her name. Ben hadn’t really expected her to be there but he was forcing himself to be logical. He had to stay focused, needed to approach this rationally. Whatever had happened, he’d be no help to Kelly if he went off the rails now.
Ben crouched down on the floor of the hallway and took Chase’s head in his hands. “Chase. Such Kelly. Find Kelly!”
The moment Chase heard the German command to “seek,” he went to work, pulling his head free of Ben’s hands to circle the hall. He whined once and then took off, moving as fast as Ben would allow as he followed Kelly’s scent.
They were back in the parking lot in no time at all. Ben expected Chase to head straight to Kelly’s car, but his partner veered off and started making for the entrance to the alley. That didn’t make any sense, but Ben trusted Chase’s nose. In all the years they’d been together, Chase had a near-perfect track and capture record. Ben didn’t know why, but for some reason Kelly had headed toward the alley on foot instead of going to her car.
Chase raced into the dark alley only to come to a sudden stop and double back. He started barking, his paw scratching at the weatherworn concrete. Ben dropped into a crouch beside him and started looking for whatever Chase had scented. It took him a few seconds to find it in the gloom and a few seconds more to recognize what he was holding: Kelly’s wallet. Fuck.
“Good boy, Chase!” Ben’s tongue cleaved to the roof of his mouth and he had to force the words past the lump of fear that was wedged in his throat, threatening to choke him. There was no way her wallet had wound up here by accident. Kelly was in trouble. “Chase, Such! Such Kelly.”
Chase took off like a shot, nearly pulling Ben off his feet. Chase’s nose was off the ground, telling Ben that the track was so fresh that it was still suspended in the air. She wasn’t far ahead of them now, and that didn’t make any sense either. Where the hell was she going and why wasn’t she answering her phone? How had her wallet ended up in the alley? He had far too many questions and no answers. Only a terrible sense that time was running out.
After a few minutes Ben had a sinking suspicion he knew where Kelly was going. Her trail was leading them straight to the clinic. Scenarios started racing through his mind, each one more alarming than the last. His instincts screamed that this was related to the break-in and the lowlife scum he’d spotted hanging around outside the clinic earlier today. It was the only thing that made any sense.
His worst suspicions were confirmed when they got close enough to see that there was a single light on at the clinic. The “Closed” sign was still hanging on the door, and there was no one in the waiting room. The place should have been locked up and dark, but it wasn’t. Someone was in there. It had to be Kelly. Every instinct Ben had was screaming for him to do something, but instead he ordered Chase to sit and forced himself to stay out of sight.
He needed a plan.
The night air was oppressively hot, cloaking the street in a stifling blanket as Ben checked the area. They were alone. Whatever was going on inside the clinic, they hadn’t set a lookout. Ben snagged his phone from his back pocket and dialed. He was going to need backup.
Not that he had any intention of waiting for his fellow police officers to arrive before he went in. Kelly was in trouble. He wasn’t going to stand around. He was going in there and do his job. To find her and protect her.
Chapter Nine
Panic alarms were a great idea in theory, but Kelly was discovering they only worked when the reason you needed to hit the damned button wasn’t already in control of the situation.
The tallest of her attackers had kept the knife pressed to her side the entire walk to the clinic. She’d tried to go slowly, exaggerating the injuries she’d gotten when she’d been tackled. The tactic had worked, but it had come with a price. Kelly was bleeding from a handful of cuts where he’d used the knife to prod her into moving faster. There wasn’t anything she could do about them, except use her hand to apply pressure and try to slow the bleeding. The cuts were shallow enough they’d heal quickly, but only if she survived the night. Right now she wasn’t sure that was going to happen.
If she ever saw Ben again, she owed him another apology.
The would-be thieves hadn’t let her near the alarm panel. Instead, Scarface had demanded that she give him the code and he’d entered it himself. Kelly could see the red button that would have summoned immediate help, but there was no way she could reach it.
Her frustration grew when she tried to collect the keys to the drug locker from the front desk drawer where they were kept. There was another panic alarm wired to the underside of the desk. Again Scarface had interfered, demanding she tell him where the keys were, while his companion kept a firm grip on her arm. They were definitely going to be making more changes to the security system. What good was a panic button you couldn’t get to?
Scarface snagged the keys and headed toward the back of the clinic, leaving the other two to follow with Kelly. The taller one kept touching her and it was making her skin crawl. When he palmed her ass and squeezed hard enough to leave bruises, Kelly bit back a whimper and stepped away from him, intentionally moving closer to the quietest of the three. So far, he hadn’t hurt her or said anything unkind.
“We’re supposed to be stealing drugs, not getting your sorry ass laid,” the quiet one grumbled and Kelly breathed a near silent sigh of relief.
“Who says we can’t do both?”
“Nuh uh,” her would-be savior shook his head. “I’m here to score the drugs and get gone. With what we can sell this shit for, you can buy yourself a bunch of horny bitches to fuck. Just leave her alone.”
“Both of you shut the fuck up. Bad enough she’s seen our faces, you want to tell her the address we’re stayin’ at too? Fucking morons. Doc, which one of these cabinets is the good stuff in?” Scarface pointed to several unmarked metal lockers, all of them padlocked shut.
“That one,” she said and nodded toward the locker where they kept the controlled medications. There wasn’t any point in trying to stall them any longer. Kelly knew her best chance of making it through this nightmare was to give them what they wanted and hope they took it and left.
“Good girl,” Scarface nodded and walked over to the cabinet, trying each key until he found the right one for the lock. He tugged the locker door open and swore under his breath as he spotted the contents. “We hit the fuckin’ jackpot.”
All three men swarmed around the newly opened locker, pawing through the canisters of pills and powders. They were whooping and cheering as they started stacking the meds haphazardly on the floor at their feet. With all their attention on the drugs, Kelly edged slowly back toward the door. It was time to make a break for it.
Hoping they would be distracted long enough for her to get away, she slid along the wall until her fingers closed around the door frame. She gripped it tight and launched herself down the hall, not daring to look back.
Please let them care more about the drugs than stopping me, she prayed silently. Kelly only got a few steps before she had to bite back a scream of shock as a large figure stepped in front of her, blocking her escape. With nothing to lose, Kelly dropped her head and charged into the new arrival, hoping to knock them back far enough she could somehow get by.
She lowered her shoulder a split second before impact, driving it into the figure’s midsection. She was rewarded with a loud grunt of pain as she made contact.
“Kelly!” Her new attacker wheezed her name as she struggled to get past him in the narrow hall. Shit. How did they know who she was? Adrenaline surged through her veins and made it hard to think clearly. Finally she lifted her head and found herself staring up at Ben.
Oops. He’d come after her and she’d attacked him.
“
You okay, baby?” he murmured and Kelly felt herself nodding wildly as she gestured back down the hall.
“There are three of them. Let’s get out of here,” she hissed. Before she could say anything else, a string of curses filled the air.
“Goddammit, you asswipes were supposed to be watching her! Go get the stupid bitch before she calls the cops!”
Ben’s arm swept out, pushing her behind him, and he pulled something out from beneath his jacket and aimed it down the hallway Kelly had just run down. He was armed. “The cops are already here. Come out of there, hands where I can see them!”
“Fuck!” More cursing followed and Kelly spotted Scarface peering around the doorway.
“You’re not a cop!” he challenged as he spied Ben.
“I’m pointing a gun at your head and you’re going to argue about if I’m a cop or not? I’ll show you my badge just as soon as you three get out here. Move your asses. Now!” Ben barked the last word with enough authority Kelly saw Scarface flinch just before his nasty little face disappeared from view. After that, everything seemed to happen at once.
Instead of obeying Ben, all three of her attackers piled into the hallway at once and charged. Two of them were armed with wicked-looking knives, one of them already stained with her blood. They only made it a few steps before another body entered the fray.
A hundred pounds of fur and fury hurtled past her and Ben with a savage growl, followed by a cacophony of barks that deafened everyone. Chase launched himself at his first target, the slimy pervert who had wanted to rape her. Teeth flashed and snarls filled the air, shortly followed by a screech of fear and pain as Chase took him down.