“That’s exactly what I want to do. Sleep with you.” Tommy’s leer was so disgusting she wanted to puke. He grabbed her head with both his hands and moved in for a kiss.
Bile spurted up Cait’s throat, and she turned her face in the nick of time. “That’s not a good idea. I’m not sleeping with you, and that’s all I’m going to say about that.”
Inside, she was quaking with fear and disgust, but she had to maintain control and act as if she were the top dog in this “relationship.” She was well used to cowing her younger brothers and sisters with her air of authority. If she could start bossing Tommy around, she might be able to get both her and Glen out safely.
“I was going to offer you a nice, soft bed,” Tommy said, sticking his lower lip out like a petulant kid. “But if you’re not going to cooperate, then I’m locking you up in a closet.”
“Closet’s great. Untie me and let me go to the bathroom before I make a mess,” she ordered him. “I’ll need a nice pile of blankets and an air mattress if you can find one.”
Tommy had always been weak-willed in the past and relied more on his charm than leadership. Frankly, she was surprised he’d pulled off this heist. He had to be working for someone smarter.
“Fine, but I’m warning you. Any funny business, and you’re ….” Tommy drew a line across his throat, as if he were so threatening.
Cait yawned again, even though it meant taking in more of the smelly air. “I’m so tired, I’m going to pass out like the kid. But first, I think I’m going to pee my pants, and I also need some special hygiene products. It’s that time of the month, you know.”
“Crap, why didn’t you say something?” Tommy had the gall to look disgusted.
He’d always been squeamish, and Cait knew all the buttons to push. “Sorry, women have these issues. Can’t help it.”
“Better get you to a bathroom. Maybe Mrs. Thornton left some of that stuff behind.” He bent down and untied Cait’s ankles, then untied her wrists. “No funny business, or the kid dies.”
Sounded like someone watched a lot of TV crime drama. Cait almost wanted to roll her eyes, but Tommy was a lot more unstable than when she knew him. He could very well carry out the threat, or accidentally shoot someone with that loaded gun he kept waving around.
Since Glen was out cold, there was no use telling him to run for it. Cait watched as Tommy picked up the kid and placed him over his shoulder, then walked off with the boy into one of the bedrooms.
As soon as he disappeared, Cait stepped into the closest bathroom and locked the door. She turned on the water and splashed her face.
Nausea overtook her, and she hung onto the side of the sink, swallowing bile.
Never in a million years did she expect to see Tommy again. He’d had such big dreams, of acting and writing, and going to London to study drama.
Instead, he’d turned into a meth addict and fried so many brain cells, he was irrational and dangerous. What was his end game? Did he actually think she would fall into his arms again after he’d rejected her in her moment of need?
Cait let the sick feelings flood her. She sat down in front of the toilet, holding her upset stomach, as nausea gripped and clenched her gut.
She’d been stupid and naïve, believing all the romantic lines Tommy had thrown at her. Lines she now knew were designed to make her think they were in love, and therefore allowed or justified in sleeping together.
It had been a delicious little secret for her, something that had added a zing to her step and made her feel normal and desired. She’d always been the sensible one, the sister who wore comfortable shoes, the one who toed the line.
Jenna was the beautiful one, the blonde who got all the attention and compliments, while Melisa was the sweet and adorable baby.
Having Tommy in secret had made high school bearable for an awkward, pimple-faced redhead who failed everything she’d tried out for, from drill team to volleyball to the marching band.
She well-remembered the mixture of panic and excitement when she found out she was pregnant. Tommy had always said they’d be married after he came back from college. He’d painted a grandiose future together where they’d split their time between London and Hollywood, rubbing elbows and shoulders with playwrights, actors, and movie stars.
But it had all gone wrong, and now she was staring at a toilet, unable to stop thinking about the gush of blood that had ended her baby’s life.
Cold sweat dotted her forehead and she moaned, feeling dizzy and sick. At the time, she’d actually been relieved that the baby was no more, but now, it only made it more horrible. Maybe God was punishing her now, by bringing Tommy back into her life to show her how depraved she’d been.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
“Hey you in there.” Tommy jiggled the doorknob and popped the privacy lock. “Open up.”
Cait pushed herself away from the toilet and shot him an indignant glare. “Excuse me. What do you think you’re doing?”
“I, uh, found some female stuff.” He slammed a carton of sanitary napkins on the counter.
“What happened to you anyway?” Cait couldn’t help her curiosity. “Where did you go after high school? You never wrote, never called me again. Didn’t you care what happened to me?”
“Of course I cared,” Tommy said. “And I see you took care of your little problem.”
“I didn’t take care of it. I lost it.” She knew exactly what he was referring to.
“Yeah, same difference,” Tommy said. “Except now, I’m not losing Glen to anyone else. Not after Mrs. Thornton set me up and got me arrested and sent to prison. All because she favored Brian. She wanted him to be the father of her kid.”
“Uh, isn’t the senator Glen’s father?”
“No, I am,” Tommy pointed to his hollow chest and coughed, rasping. “I had sex with Alana unprotected.”
Cait winced, because that was exactly what Tommy had demanded, and she’d been stupid enough to let him when he swore he’d never been with anyone else.
“I don’t get why she’d set you up and deny you your son if you were truly the father. I would think Alana would have gotten a DNA test if she was unsure who the baby’s father was.”
“Alana’s a witch. She says I’m bipolar.”
“She certainly liked to diagnose people,” Cait said under her breath. She yawned again, because she really wanted Tommy to fall asleep. “Anyhow … Let me clean up my feminine things, and I’ll see you in the morning. What would you like for breakfast? I hope the senator stocked the refrigerator.”
“He didn’t, but the caretaker did,” Tommy said.
“Oh, really? And where is the caretaker?” Cait raised an eyebrow.
“He left me in charge. Went to see his girlfriend and score drugs,” Tommy said, puffing his chest as if he was a big boy now. “So, you see? Your hopes of someone coming to the rescue are nada, nothing, zip.”
With a satisfied smile, Tommy shut the bathroom door.
Cait listened at the door, her heartbeat thumping so loud, she barely heard his departing footsteps.
If Tommy was bipolar, he was in one of his manic moods, where he thought nothing could stop him.
He might not even need to sleep. He’d obviously been planning this for a while, and probably spying on Glen after his mother died.
It would be icky if Tommy was right, and he was Glen’s father. But then again, if Mrs. Thornton slept with more than one high school student, what’s to say there weren’t more guys who could possibly be Glen’s father?
Cait retched and barely made it to the toilet where she turned her empty stomach inside out, coughing up bitter bile.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“No need to put on the siren,” Colson said as the police cruiser slipped and spun on the icy roads. “No one’s out on the road. This way we can sneak up on them.”
“How did you guys get through the roadblock?” Brian turned around and asked Connor and Larry who sat in the backseat. “Sheriff said local traffic only.”
“We own that cabin,” Connor said. “So that makes us locals. Plus all of us have chains, and the town fire chief let us through.”
“Ah, yes. I should have known. Well, glad to have you along. I’m going to call this into the station and let my deputy know what’s going on. Get them ready on standby in case we need backup.” Todd gave the details to his dispatcher. “I also need you to put a trace on Mr. and Mrs. Wonder’s cell phones.”
“That’s right,” Brian said. “I don’t recall seeing Cait’s purse at the house. Do you think the perp has it?”
“It’s possible. It will be more proof of her whereabouts should we need it.”
The going was slow due to the road conditions, and Brian couldn’t keep himself still. His knee jittered and his heart felt too large for his chest. What if he never saw Cait again? What if she was already dead? The dog had obviously tried to defend her and failed.
He had to pull himself together and stick to what was known. Falling apart wouldn’t help anyone. Once he had Cait in his arms again, he’d buckle up the strength to tell her he loved her. Other people said those three little words all the time. But for him, it felt like giving his entire identity away. He wasn’t exactly sure what love felt like, and it would be horrible if he’d lied and misled her.
Minutes later, the radio crackled alive. “Got a bead on the location. Mr. Wonder’s phone is at Thornton’s lodge, and Mrs. Wonder’s phone is off. Last location was in town. We also have a possible suspect. Chad and Linx claim they saw a car parked at the cabin when they dropped off Cait. Linx wrote down the license number. We traced it to a rental car and the company gave us a name. Thomas Harper of Folsom, California. We’re running him through the database right now.”
“He’s an ex-con,” Brian said. “I knew him in high school, and he was sent to prison for selling drugs to a minor. He could be dangerous.”
Todd talked into the radio. “The perp’s an ex-con. We’re looking at a possible hostage situation. Requesting a SWAT team and a negotiator to meet us at Thornton’s place.”
He turned away from the radio. “Anything more you guys can tell me about Harper?”
“I never liked him,” Connor said. “I always thought the choirboy and boy scout thing was an act. Didn’t know him that well.”
It was obvious Cait’s family had no clue she had been involved with Tommy. Although to her credit, Tommy had been moderately popular in high school and drove a red Corvette. He’d also been in the drama club, and that was where Cait had met him.
“Tommy hates me,” Brian said. “I was the chief witness who sent him to jail. He was also involved with Mrs. Thornton in her drama club.”
Todd whistled long and low. “Chickens coming home to roost. Who wasn’t involved with that woman?”
“I hate speaking ill of the dead,” Connor said. “But that woman should have been prosecuted.”
“We all had a crush on Alana, I mean, Mrs. Thornton,” Brian explained lamely. Now, in retrospect, he was aware of how Alana had manipulated them, and that her behavior was criminal. Back then, she’d made him feel like a worthy man, attractive and desired.
“Then it looks like Tommy was jealous of you because she gave you that antique fire engine,” Todd surmised. “And he wants to get back at you for putting him in jail.”
“Pretty much so.” Brian didn’t want to mention Cait and her involvement with the douchebag. It galled him that Cait had had feelings for the captain of the drama club—someone who knew how to string together romantic sayings, even if he didn’t mean any of it. Tommy had played the male lead and lover of Cait’s character in every high school musical and play. That was how they’d hidden their off-stage relationship so well, without anyone other than Brian clued into their escapades.
“I’m going to kick Tommy’s butt,” Connor said. “He’d better not hurt my sister.”
“No. I’m going in after her,” Brian said to Connor. “I want the first face Cait sees to be mine.”
“No one’s going anywhere unless I say so.” The sheriff turned the car up a narrow, snow-covered lane. “This perp is dangerous and he could have a gun, not to mention the hostages.”
They approached the vacation house at a slow speed. It was recessed down a steep driveway, one that would be difficult getting out of if the snow turned into ice. A car sat in the driveway, and an upstairs room was lit.
Sheriff Colson parked the police cruiser on the street and shut off the engine. “You guys stay back. I’m going to assume he’s armed and dangerous and wait for backup.”
Todd walked down the driveway toward the car, shining a light on the license plate.
Brian couldn’t sit still and do nothing. Every minute Cait was with Tommy meant more opportunity for him to harm her. Without looking at Larry and Connor, he edged himself out of the police car.
The snow had stopped falling, and the lodge looked deceptively peaceful, sparkling under the light of the moon. An owl hooted as Brian made his way around to the back of the house.
He crept up to the windows, hoping to get a glimpse of Cait. The curtains were closed, but if he could get close enough, he might be able to see between the gaps.
The house overlooked a small lake, and sported large windows to take advantage of the view. A set of French doors opened onto a deck with a covered hot tub and gazebo. Everything was covered with fresh snow, and Brian didn’t want to make any tracks that could be visible from the upstairs window, in case anyone was looking out.
He circled around the deck, keeping himself hidden until he reached the side of the house.
The lights upstairs turned off. Had Tommy seen him creeping around? Or was he going to bed?
Brian perked up his ears, hoping against hope that Cait wasn’t being held in a bedroom and that Tommy wasn’t forcing her to sleep with him.
Everything was deathly silent, with no sounds of fighting, shouting, or struggling.
Tommy might have chloroformed her or slipped her a roofie. What if he were abusing her at this very moment?
Brian couldn’t stay back and wait for the rest of the squad to arrive. All they would do would be to escalate the situation. Spook Tommy and cause him to do something stupid, like shoot someone.
Even if Tommy had a gun, he was still only one man. And if he were occupied with Cait …
Brian’s gut turned upside down at the horrendous thought. Maybe there were no sounds of struggle because Cait wanted to be with Tommy. Maybe this was a big reunion. A happy ending for her. Maybe they were getting together for old time’s sake or crying about their lost baby.
Brian shook off the wild notion that Cait had somehow orchestrated this “kidnapping” so she could take his son and reunite with Tommy, her secret crush from the past.
What was wrong with him? He wasn’t prone to fantasies. In fact, he never invented stories. But things were different now that he was showing her he loved her.
The stakes were sky high, and he found it hard to breathe. He had to get to Cait and make sure she knew he loved her.
He wasn’t going to give up on her until she told him to his face that she no longer loved him—that she wanted to be with Tommy.
He was going in, no matter what.
Brian stood back to kick in the door and heard a shout behind him. “Freeze. Hands up.”
No way was he going to let Tommy shoot him like a dog. Just then, a helicopter buzzed overhead, and Brian ducked, dropping his hands.
He ran under a fusillade of bullets and rolled under the deck.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“You witch. Did you call the cops?” Tommy kicked the bathroom door and it slapped open.
“What are you talking about?” Cait backed herself into the corner, but Tommy yanked her by the arm.
“The house is surrounded by cops. I saw them from the upstairs window.”
“Looks like the jig is up,” Cait said, using Tommy’s cops and robbers slang. “Better turn yourself in.”
They
both startled, as gunshots sprayed outside and the phone rang at the same time.
Tommy jammed the pistol into Cait’s bruised ribs. “Pick up the phone and tell them to get lost.”
“No.” She crossed her arms and nudged the gun from her side. “I’m never going to do what you say.”
“Then you’re not being very smart.” He picked up the phone. “Hello, Thornton residence, how can I help you?”
“Help!” Cait screamed and Tommy hung up.
“You’re going to be sorry you did that.” He put her in a chokehold with the gun pressed against her temple. “I’ve been in the pen, and I’d rather die than go back.”
“Then you should have kept your nose clean. You should have let us go when you had the chance.” Cait gritted her teeth to keep them from chattering.
The phone rang again.
“This time, you’re going to pick it up, and you’re going to tell them everything is okay. You came here with me willingly, and we’re having a private hook-up. You’re going to get them to go away because you have a dirty little secret you don’t want your loving family to know.”
“Our baby was not a dirty little secret,” Cait snarled at the monster who’d once been her friend. “The dirt is all on you for asking me to get an abortion.”
“Ah, but you got one, didn’t you?” He swept his hand across her belly. “Before you did, you made Brian Wonder marry you. Why?”
“I didn’t kill the baby. I lost it.” Cait’s head swirled with cold sweat. “I had a miscarriage.”
“Sure, after you paid to have it murdered. You couldn’t hold onto the suspense any longer, knowing Brian would divorce you once he realized the baby wasn’t his.”
“I did not have an abortion.”
The phone rang again. Tommy squeezed her cheeks together so hard they hurt. “Tell them they have the wrong house.”
He picked up the phone and held the receiver in front of Cait’s mouth.
“You have the wrong house,” she said.
“Cait Wonder?” the sheriff said.
“Yes,” she answered, even though her name was Cait Hart.
Blue Chow Christmas: The Hart Family (Have A Hart Book 4) Page 16