Not that it mattered anymore since Hill had run away.
Her stomach pitched every time she thought of him out there all alone.
Marissa spent the evening looking up agencies online to see what she could do, how she could take the next step that Hill needed—assuming she could find him and he’d trust her again.
She’d barely lifted her gaze from her computer when Kya locked up after closing time and said her goodbyes. When Marissa’s eyes started to cross, she leaned back in her chair, startled to realize it was close to ten. She groaned and rubbed her neck as she looked at the old sofa. She had to be back up and out the door early the next morning for Callie’s bridal shower. She debated staying in the shop and saving some time, but her comfy bed at home beckoned. That and a shower were more enticing than the few extra minutes of sleep.
Marissa gathered up her bag and turned out the lights in the back. She had her keys in her hand as she stepped out the back door. She was poised to lock the back door when the hair on the back of her neck stood. She froze, unsure of what was off. No noise sounded out of place, nothing had caught her eye when she’d come out, but dread and unease rippled through her so much that she had a quick mental flash of calling Jax.
That thought alone made her reach for the door to go back inside. Before she could grab it, something slammed into her back. She was pushed up against the door. The side of her head made harsh contact with the cool metal. Her ears rang and her vision blurred for a moment. She tried to push away to get her bearings, but something heavy—a person she realized—held her in place.
“Where is he?”
The whispered question startled her. It took her a moment just to make sense of the words and acknowledge that someone—a man—was speaking to her. She began to shake. “Where is who?”
A sharp pain radiated from her upper arm as the man behind her ruthlessly dug his fingers into her.
“Don’t play stupid, bitch.”
Marissa tried to turn her head to see who was behind her, but the man dug his fingers into her arm harder and shoved her against the door again. Her bag hung from her other arm. Her cell was in there, and any number of items she could use to defend herself, but the way her shoulder pressed into door, there was no way she’d be able to get into it. She needed to free herself.
God, she needed Jax.
They may be at odds but he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. Or anyone else, for that matter. Including a scared teenage boy. He would help Hill. When he found him.
All of a sudden, Jax’s parting words rang in her ears. He’d warned her that Bryant Travers was on the loose. They had picked up the other guys but hadn’t found him. But he’d found her. She clenched her eyes shut.
Travers growled in her ear. His warm breath feathered over her cheek and she fought back a shudder. The sound of a car driving by startled him. He pressed up against her.
The patrols out front of the shop had increased tenfold. Marissa suspected Jax had hoped Hill would come back to the shop and he could snap him up. For that alone, she was glad that Hill hadn’t come looking for her. She’d help him do the right thing, and they’d face it together.
Now, however, she wished they were watching her moves more closely.
When the threat passed, Travers eased back slightly. “Hill.” The hand on her arm tightened. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t lie to me, bitch.”
“I don’t know. We had a fight.”
The man jerked her around and slammed her against the door. Even with the dim light illuminating the small lot, she recognized the young man from the few times he’d come by the shop. Travers towered over her.
He grabbed her other arm and pinned her in place. “Do I look stupid to you? I know you talked him into going to your boyfriend. Greg and Cooper’ve already been hauled in.” He shook her.
Before she could stop herself, she gave a sharp cry as the back of her head hit the door.
Bryant glanced over his shoulder, his gaze darting around the empty lot, then zeroed back in on her. His pupils were almost as big as the light blue rings around it. He bared his teeth with a snarl.
She started shaking. “He ran off.” It was the truth, whether Travers believed her or not. But even if she had known where Hill was, she sure as hell wouldn’t tell Travers. “I haven’t seen him in days.”
Bryant narrowed his gaze. “He should come sniffing around here before too long.” He released her arms and jerked his chin toward the shop. “Let’s go inside and wait.”
* * *
Jax rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was half past ten and he’d been at it since just after dawn. He’d been going over all the old case files for break-ins over the past few years. Every single one of them were as Hill, and then Cooper had laid out, and he could tie the small gang to them all. It was more than a relief in one way. He’d be able to close the majority of their open cases going back several years. At the same time, he hated the trouble that would heap down on Hill. He’d been young when he committed the break-ins with Travers, so that would go in his favor. And he had stopped—which Cooper corroborated.
Bryant Travers had a juvie record. Jax couldn’t get it without a warrant, but he asked around, made some calls to people who might know what he’d been in trouble for. Most of it was typical pain-in-the-ass teen stunts. Graffiti. Vandalism. Nothing that would indicate he’d start breaking into businesses. But with his older brother in jail and two parents who hadn’t bothered to help him in any way, what chances did he have?
His mind flashed to Hill. The boy had been dealt nearly the same exact hand, had even admitted to being at the first few break-ins, but then he’d realized what he was doing, where his life was headed and backed away. Somehow Hill had maintained his grades in school, despite his living arrangements for well over a year. He was on track to be in the top five percent of his class, even. His teachers couldn’t say enough good things about him. When pressed, though, they admitted they assumed someone else was on top of his living situation, passing the buck off to the next person. He couldn’t imagine how Hill could have gotten by for so long, all by himself. All the while he’d been on the street.
Jax admired the boy.
And now, Jax needed to find him. As Jax had told Marissa, Hill needed to stand accountable for what he’d done wrong, but there was a lot that could be done to help him, as well. Jax had found several options open to Hill. Several avenues that Marissa could pursue if she wanted to become his legal guardian, make it official. And a few other ways if not. Hell, he was tempted to do it himself. Hill needed a break. Deserved a break.
If they could find him.
A knock at Jax’s door pulled him from his thoughts.
Ada’s shift had ended at least an hour earlier but she’d hung around and filed some paperwork for him. Said she was racking up some brownie points for raise time. “Chief?” she said when he glanced over at her.
Jax rolled his shoulders. “Yeah?”
“There’s a young man here to see you.”
Who would be looking for him so late on a Friday? She moved aside and Hill stepped through the doorway. “We’ve been looking for you.” Jax got to his feet, tried not to make the moves too jerky. “Marissa’s been…” Jax shook his head. Marissa would be torn. She wanted the boy found, but with him walking into the police station, Jax had to take him into custody.
“I came to turn myself in.” Hill held his gaze steady, stood straight.
Jax let out a breath. “You did the right thing.”
Hill shrugged. “I did what Marissa would want me to do.”
“She’s been torn up looking for you.” Jax couldn’t hide the emotion in his voice. He’d nearly been floored when he’d seen how haggard Marissa looked earlier that morning. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and comfort her. To tell her everything would be okay. At the time, he hadn’t been one hundred percent sure it would. A lot hinged on finding Hill. Hearing his si
de of the story again as the case unfolded. “Sit.” Jax motioned to the chair on the other side of his desk.
“Yes, sir.” Keeping his shoulders square, Hill took a seat. He didn’t slouch as the other guys had when they’d been hauled in. He held Jax’s gaze, kept a respectful attitude. “I was wondering…” His gaze fell for the first time. He swallowed heavily.
“Yes?”
Hill threaded his fingers together in his lap. “How is Marissa?”
It said a lot to Jax that the boy was here in his office, probably looking at a sentence—even if only probation—for his participation in the crimes, and his thoughts weren’t how he could get out or deny anything, but he was concerned for the woman who’d taken him in. The boy had character. And Marissa had been a good judge of it.
“She’ll be better now that she knows you’re okay.”
“Am I? Okay?”
Jax gave him a long considering look and nodded. “You will be.” Jax stood. “Sit tight for just a moment. You want a soda or something?”
When the boy shook his head, Jax went out into the hall and pulled out his cell phone. It might be against procedure, but he called Marissa. She’d want to know.
The phone rang and rang until finally the voice message came on. “Marissa, Hill came in. Please call me as soon as you can.”
When he hung up, he called one of his sister’s friends next. At Callie’s engagement party, he’d spoken to one of her bridesmaids, Susie Quatrain. She’d been a year ahead of Callie in school and now she worked for a big law firm in Fort Worth. It wouldn’t hurt to give her a call on Hill’s behalf.
He returned to his office. Hill hadn’t so much as twitched, it looked like.
“What do we do now, sir?” Hill asked when Jax say back in his seat.
Jax fought back a smile. The boy was a good kid. “We’ll call in CPS—they’ll need to be here since you don’t have a guardian.”
Panic flared in Hill’s eyes.
Jax leaned forward and held up his hand. “It will be okay. I’ve got it taken care of. You’re going to have to trust me.”
Jax had looked into emergency guardianship if Marissa was interested. He had a few favors he could pull in—one of the few times he’d been thankful for growing up a part of the Oak Hollow Country Club. Fellow members were in all branches of the local and state government. Some were old friends of his parents, some were guys he’d gone to school with, or close kin. He’d made some discreet inquiries early on for Marissa’s sake. With her willing—and he’d stake everything he considered holy she would be—he could have Hill under her guardianship in a matter of days.
When CPS arrived, he ushered everyone into his office. He and Hill went over his statement on the burglaries several times. It was exhausting but it had to be done.
“Marissa will want to keep helping you. And she will. She went out on a limb for you. When no one else would.”
“I know.” Hill slumped down in his chair. “Have you ever had nothing, Chief? I mean absolutely nothing.”
“Not really.”
“It makes it hard to trust a good thing when it comes along. But at some point, you have to take a chance. Marissa was willing to take a chance on me. I know it was because of her mom, but I’m still just as thankful for the opportunity.”
“And that’s why you turned yourself in? For Marissa.”
Hill nodded. “And for me. I owe it to her, to me, to get this squared away.” He straightened back up. “She’s worth it. I’m worth it. She made me see that.”
Jax’s heart was close to bursting. The kid saw Marissa the same way he did. She was remarkable and Jax was ready to kick himself because he hadn’t told her so. He planned to rectify that as soon as he could. Which would have to wait. His office was buzzing between Hill’s confession and searching for Travers.
It was several hours later when he dragged his tired ass into his cruiser. Several times throughout the night, he’d tried calling Marissa. He couldn’t blame her for not answering. She was pissed. If the roles were reversed he’d probably react the same way, but he’d hoped once she’d listened to a couple of messages, knowing Hill was at the station, she’d have called to check on him.
On his way home, though it was in the opposite direction, he drove past her house. All the lights were off. He thought of knocking on her door and waking her, but truth be told, other than lending moral support there was little she could do until Hill had been processed. Letting her get as much rest now was the last little bit he could do for her.
At home, he’d let Solider out, then all but collapsed onto his bed. It wasn’t until the phone blared that he even realized he’d gone to sleep.
He sat up, scratched his head, then snatched up the receiver. “‘Lo?”
“What the hell, Jackson Buford Carlisle?” Callie was truly pissed if she was using his full name.
Jax sat up and scrubbed his hand over his face. “What did I do?”
“Why did you have to go and piss off Marissa?”
His spine straightened. “Beg pardon?” A gnawing in the pit of his stomach manifested.
“Susie just told me all about—”
“She’s not supposed to divulge—” Jax stood and paced the small space next to his bed.
“She didn’t divulge anything, but telling me about the players she was up all night dealing with, I’m not stupid. You couldn’t have waited one day to pull your police chief crap?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Marissa. She was supposed to cater the bridal shower. I can’t get her to return any of my calls. She was supposed to be here an hour ago.”
Jax glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was half past nine. He’d slept harder than he thought if it was so late in the morning.
“Marlie can’t even get her to answer her,” Callie went on.
The gnawing in Jax’s stomach increased and tension pulled through his shoulders. Jax hung up on his sister as she continued her mini-tirade. He immediately called Marissa. Straight to voice mail again.
He shoved his feet in his boots and grabbed up his keys. As he hurried out the front door, he called in to the station. “Hey Mace, I need to send whoever’s on duty over to Marissa Llewellyn’s house.”
“Okay, Chief. And when he gets there?”
“If she’s there have them contact me immediately. I’m headed over to her bakery.” He was five minutes away. He skidded to a halt at his truck as a thought slammed into him. “Any luck on the APB out on Bryant Travers?”
“No sir.”
“Dammit.” He hung up with Macey and dialed Marissa again as he jumped into his Cruiser. “Marissa, I need you to call me. It’s an emergency.”
Chapter Twenty
“Someone is jonesing to get ahold of you.” Travers tapped Marissa’s cell phone.
They’d been holed up in her stockroom since he’d grabbed her the night before. No matter what she’d said to him, he believed Hill would come by at some point and he was determined to wait it out.
He’d tied her hands up in front of her with one of her aprons and shoved her down on one end of the sofa. He’d sat himself behind her desk, propped his feet up as casual as you please. And waited. She’d hoped he’d fall asleep at some point so she could get out, but Travers was wired and showed no sign of fatigue. After the days of searching and worry for Hill, she’d nodded off a time or two despite every effort not to.
It scared her more to be vulnerable during those moments of blessed sleep. Once when she’d woke, she’d found Travers eating at her desk. He’d carried a tray of cupcakes in, eaten every damn one of them right there and smirked when he stretched out afterward.
“My employee will be here later to open the store. What do you plan on doing then?”
Travers dropped his feet to the floor and narrowed his eyes. “Shut up.”
She hadn’t bothered to tell him about her morning delivery. She was already an hour late. At the rate her phone kept going off, Marlie and C
allie were trying to get ahold of her. She did worry that one of them would come up to the shop. Thankfully, though, neither had a key so they wouldn’t be able to get in. Kya, on the other hand, was due in at noon.
Marissa was so damn tired, even with the few catnaps, that figuring a way out was proving to be a little more difficult than she’d have imagined. And she was stiff. Her neck and shoulders were so tight. She’d tried to loosen the knot in the apron ties at her wrists, but the more she worked at it the tighter they seemed to get. If nothing else, she could buy time until Kya showed up and then she could scream like crazy for the girl to go get help.
She tried to roll out a crick in her neck when a knock came at the front of the shop.
Travers smirked. “Told you Hill would show up.” He stood.
Hill had a key. There was no reason why he’d knock. She was opening her mouth to tell him when he left the office.
It was now or never. She jumped up from the sofa and ran to office door and slammed it shut. It was hard to engage the lock. Her hands were stiff, but she got the little button to turn. Once she did, she hurried over to the phone and fumbled with it until she finally managed to dial 911. Before the dispatcher even got on the line, Travers was pounding on the door.
“You stupid bitch.”
Marissa nearly jumped when the call connected. “This is Marissa Llewellyn. I’m being held captive at my shop by Bryant Travers.”
“Are you okay, dear?”
“For the moment. I need…” The door creaked and shuddered, but didn’t open. “I need Chief Carlisle. Tell him to hurry. Please.” Marissa dropped the phone onto the desktop, but left it connected. Her gaze darted around the office as she tried to find something for a weapon. With her hands bound in front of her, she was limited in what she could grasp.
The door splintered again.
One more hit and it would open. Marissa grabbed the butterfly letter-opener Marlie had given to her for Christmas one year and she crouched under the desk, hiding, making herself as small a target as possible just as the door burst open.
* * *
Jax knocked again on the glass door, just as his cell rang. “Carlisle.”
Baker’s Law Page 21