“Is Tori with you?” he whispered, falling into step beside Mike.
“No.” He glanced at his watch. “She should be here by now. I got tied up at the station debriefing Smith, and then I had to go home and pack.”
Derek grabbed his arm and ushered him to the door of a private meeting room. “Step inside. We need to talk to you.”
With those few words, Mike’s world bottomed out. “What the hell’s goin’ on, and don’t tell me nothin’. I can tell—”
“Keep your voice down,” Derek muttered, pushing him through the door. “The last thing we need is reporters catchin’ wind of this.”
Mike’s worst fears were realized when he saw the crowd of people gathered around the large rectangular table. Trey and Sierra, his dad and Lexi, Luc and Marisa, Ty and Avery, J.T. and Nikki, and his mother. The only people missing were his brother, Victoria and Tori’s family, but he didn’t need their presence to tell him something was very wrong.
“Where the hell is she?” he said, looking at his dad. He’d always been able to trust Josh to be honest with him, no matter how much it hurt.
Josh got up and came around the table. He gripped Mike’s shoulders as he stared him down. “Listen to me. I need you to think like a cop right now, not the man who loves her.”
Mike shoved his father out of his way. Never in his life had he put his hands on his father in anger, but if someone didn’t start talking soon, he was going to go ballistic. “How the hell am I supposed to just turn it off?” he shouted.
Derek put his arm around Mike’s shoulder. “Listen to me, you need to keep your voice down and stay calm. We can’t afford a leak right now.”
“Please,” he said, feeling more desperate than he ever had as he stared down the length of the table at his mother. His hands started trembling when he realized she’d been crying. “Tell me what happened, Mom, please. I’m dyin’ here.”
Ashley drew a deep breath. “He has her.” She covered her mouth with her hand when Mike sank into the seat at the head of the table and dropped his face into his hands.
“No, this isn’t happenin’.” He couldn’t think straight. He couldn’t make sense of any of this. The concerned faces looking at him began to blur, and for the first time in his life, he thought he might pass out.
His father shoved a bottle of water into his hand. “Drink this, take a deep breath, and then get your head together. You can’t afford to think about yourself right now. It’s Tori we have to worry about.”
He knew his old man was right. She was the only thing that mattered. He tipped the bottle to his lips, drew a deep breath, and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Okay, tell me everything.”
Both Derek and Josh reclaimed their seats on either side of him before Derek said, “We think Joe has her.”
“Joe?” The name was stuck in his head, on perpetual rewind, like a sadistic chant that wouldn’t stop tormenting him. Tori’s stalker had been right under his nose the whole time. He’d crossed paths with the guy numerous times in the past several days and he’d never suspected a thing. What the hell was wrong with him? “You mean Tori’s head of security?”
Luc scowled. “One and the same. If I ever get my hands on him, I’ll—”
Marisa grabbed her husband’s arm. “Stop! We have enough anger and fear in this room already. What we need is a plan of action. How in the hell are we gonna track her down?” She looked from Derek to Mike. “You two are the professionals. What do you suggest?”
Mike still wasn’t thinking like a cop. He was thinking like the man who would lay down his own life to spare hers, but he knew that alone wouldn’t bring her home. His father was right. He had to set his personal feelings aside so he could use his training and experience to think this through logically. It was the only hope they had of bringing Tori home. “Okay, first things first. How do you know he has her?”
“We’ve been trying to track her down all day,” Avery said. “When we couldn’t reach you, we asked your dad to stop by your apartment. He was speaking to the security guard at the front desk. He said he saw Tori leave early this morning with someone who fit Joe’s description: shaved head, goatee, tattoos.”
“I took a look at the security cameras and it was definitely him,” Josh said, lacing his hands in front of him.
“Yeah, she did leave with Joe.” Mike felt the bile burning the back of his throat when he realized he’d let her leave with him. “He called and said Luc needed to see her right away.”
“Lyin’ son of a bitch,” Luc muttered. “I can’t believe I was stupid enough to hire him in the first place.”
“I did the background check,” Josh said, looking at Luc. “If you wanna start pointin’ fingers, blame me.”
Mike knew he was as much to blame as anyone, but he’d have plenty of time for self-recrimination later, when Tori was safe. “Tell me what else the security guard said.”
“Apparently Joe was actin’ kind of weird,” Josh said. “Made the guard suspicious, the way he was pacin’ around the car, smokin’ a cigarette, checkin’ his watch and the door every few seconds. He was just about to go out and see what he wanted when Tori came out to meet him.”
“They took off, and no one’s seen or heard from her since,” Trey said, quietly.
“I did a little more diggin’ into his past,” Josh said, clearing his throat before looking at his son. “I spoke to his ex-wife and daughter. It turns out he was obsessed with Tori, talked about her all the time.”
Mike closed his eyes. He didn’t know how to process this. He’d never been in the situation of having to compartmentalize his feelings before. When there was a crime to be solved, he was always able to think like a cop, but this time was different. This was Tori, the woman who, just a few hours ago, he’d promised to love and protect. He told her he’d have her back, always, and he’d failed her in the worst possible way.
“You’re too close to this,” Derek said, drawing him out of his thoughts. “I just called Smith and I’m gonna put Jones on it, too. Aside from you, they’re my best men.”
“Are you crazy?” Mike said, glaring at his stepfather. “You actually think I’m gonna sit back and do nothin’?”
“Derek’s right,” Josh said, putting his arm on Mike’s shoulder. “You could make a mistake. We can’t risk it.”
“You know me better than that, Derek,” Mike said. He needed his stepfather to believe in him now. Derek was always telling him he was the best detective he had. It was time for him to prove it. “You know you need me on this case. Hell, I need to be on this case. Don’t shut me out.” He looked at his mother, praying she would intervene on his behalf. He knew it was a dirty trick, but he didn’t care. Derek had the authority to keep him at arm’s length now that the kidnapping was an official investigation, and that meant the detectives working the case would have no choice but to keep him in the dark about any new developments. “How would you feel if it were Mom and your hands were tied?”
Ashley reached over to thread her hand through her husband’s. “He’s right, honey. You need to let him do this.”
Derek sighed. “Fine.” He pointed his finger at Mike. “But don’t make me rein you in, Cooper. I want this to be a clean investigation. When we get this guy, I want to make sure he spends a good long time in jail.”
Mike nodded. “No one wants that more than I do, man.”
“I wanna put up a million dollar reward,” Trey said from the other end of the table.
Sierra placed her hand on his back. “I think that’s a great idea.” She looked at Mike, then Derek. “What do you guys think?”
“I don’t want to go public with this yet,” Derek said. He glanced at Mike. “Josh asked his ex-wife and daughter to meet us at Luc’s house. They might be able to give us some insight into what he was thinkin’ or where he might take her.”
The sound of Tori’s voice, her husky laughter, her smile when she blew him a kiss on the way out the door… It was all filtering through Mike’s mind, drawing him
out of the conversation.
Derek snapped his fingers in front of his face. “Get your goddamn head in the game, Lieutenant.”
Mike pushed his chair back and stood up. “Okay, let’s get over to Luc’s house. I want to hear what these two have to say about this dirtbag.”
Tori woke up when a cool brush of air tickled her bare legs. She must have fallen asleep. She woke up feeling groggy and confused. The last thing she remembered was drinking some water as she checked her voice mail messages.
She looked up to see Joe looking down at her. He looked blurry, almost as though he was standing in a shadow as he reached for her hand.
“Come on, beautiful. Let’s get you inside.”
She squinted as she tried to bring the house into focus. They weren’t at Luc’s house. She rubbed her head, trying to get her thoughts together. “You’re supposed to be takin’ me to Luc’s.” She scrubbed her eyes with the palm of her hands. “No, wait…” She looked at the workout clothes Victoria had lent her. “We were supposed to go home so I could change.” She turned to look out the back window. They were surrounded by trees and there was a tiny little cottage with battered wood siding at the end of a long gravel driveway. “Where the hell are we?”
“Come inside and I’ll tell you everything.” He smiled. “Don’t worry, you’ll be safe here with me. You know I’d never let anyone hurt you.”
The lecherous look in his dark eyes put Tori on high alert. “I’m not gettin’ out of this car until you tell me what the hell’s goin’ on here, Joe. Why didn’t you take me to Luc’s?”
He slammed his fist into the roof of the car. “I’m the one callin’ the shots now, princess. You best get used to it or we’re gonna have big problems.”
In the four plus years he’d worked for her, she’d never heard Joe raise his voice in anger. But the dread settling in the pit of her stomach told her she was about to see a very different side to the man she thought she knew. “It was you, wasn’t it?”
Her heart didn’t want to accept what her brain already knew to be true. Someone she thought she could trust, had considered a friend, had betrayed her. “Why did you do this to me? What did I ever do to you to make you hate me so much?”
He crouched down in front of her, brushing her tears away roughly with his calloused hands. “You got this all wrong, darlin’. I did this so we can be together.”
Tori’s stomach roiled in protest when she realized where this was going. She would have preferred if this had been an act of hatred or revenge. If he was delusional enough to believe he was in love with her, there was no telling how angry he would get when he found out she didn’t reciprocate his feelings.
“Now get out of the car,” he said, reaching for her hand. “Let’s get you inside so I can make you some dinner.”
Her mind flashed back to the breakfast Mike had made her that morning. The breakfast she hadn’t touched because she’d been so anxious to leave with Joe. “I’m not hungry.” She crossed her arms, hoping he would leave her in the car to sulk. She glanced at her oversized designer purse lying on the floor at her feet.
“You really think I’d be stupid enough to leave your cell phone in there?” he asked, with a smirk. “I drove over it about seventy-five miles back.”
She scraped her nails across her scalp, resisting the urge to cry out in frustration. She couldn’t out-muscle him, but maybe she could outsmart him… if only she didn’t feel so groggy. “You spiked my water?”
He stood up. “Just a little somethin’ to help ya relax.”
She shuddered at the thought of what he might plan to do to her when her defenses were down. “Why?”
“Listen, I’m not gonna stand out here answerin’ questions all goddamn night. Either you can come inside on your own or I can carry you. What’s it gonna be?”
She darted a glance around the property. Trees, trees, and more trees, as far as the eye could see. There was no way out.
“Don’t even think about runnin’.” He chuckled. “Either I’ll catch ya or the bears will. Either way, it’s not gonna be pretty.”
“You can’t keep me here forever,” she whispered, though she wondered if that was his intent. She’d heard the stories where kidnappers had been able to keep their victims captive for years before anyone found them. Would she be one of those sad stories, or would he do away with her now, before she gave him any more grief?
“You’d be surprised.” He grinned. “Nobody comes up to these parts no more. That’s why I like it. I can think… plan.”
Tori wondered if this was the place he’d decided to terrorize her and make her life a living hell. “You’ll never get away with this. They’ll find us. Mike—”
He put his fist through the window, sending shards of glass flying in every direction.
Tori screamed at the sudden impact.
“Now look what you made me do,” he said, holding his hand up. There were rivulets of blood outlining the creases in his hand as it snaked toward his wrist. “Rule number one, you don’t ever mention that slimy bastard’s name to me again, you hear me? He thinks he can take what’s mine; I’m gonna show him how wrong he is.”
“I’m sorry,” Tori whispered. She was a fighter, but she knew there was a time to be defiant and a time to concede. If he could do that to himself, there was no telling what he might do to her. “I won’t mention him again.” She could still think about him every other second, but she wouldn’t make the mistake of uttering his name again. “You’re right. Let’s go inside. There’s no sense sittin’ out here gettin’ eaten alive by the damn bugs.” At least inside she might be able to find something she could use as a weapon to knock him out.
“I’m not gonna tell you again, you cross me and you’ll be sorry.”
She raised her chin and looked him in the eye. He may have her where he wanted her for now, but she’d be damned if she let him see her cowering in fear. “I heard you this first time. Now, are we gonna get inside so you can dress that mess or you wanna bleed to death out here in the driveway?”
He chuckled as he shook his head. “There’s the smart-mouthed little diva I fell in love with.”
I hate you, you worthless piece of shit. She smiled sweetly and gritted her teeth. If he thought she was gonna go down without a fight, he’d seriously underestimated her.
Chapter Sixteen
Mike tried to harness his frustration as he reminded himself Joe’s daughter was barely a teenager. He couldn’t interrogate her the way he would an adult, no matter how much he might want to.
“When was the last time your daddy spoke to you about Tori, Lisa?”
She leaned into her mother’s side as she brushed away the tears streaking her face. “The last time I saw him.” She sniffled. “Every time I saw him. She’s all he ever talked about… Tori. How good she was, how beautiful, and decent and kind. He said they loved each other, they were gonna be together.”
Mike fisted the pen in his hand, wishing he could lash out. He needed to hit something, hard. Preferably the rat-bastard who’d been stupid enough to try and take her away. When Mike finally got his hands on him, there wouldn’t be a law in the world that could save him. He intended to beat him to within an inch of his miserable life, and if that meant he’d lose his job or have to face a jury of his peers, it would be worth it.
“Did he ever talk about where they would live when they were together?” Mike spit the words out and tried to ignore the bitter aftertaste they left in his mouth.
“No, sir.”
Joe’s ex-wife, Angela, stroked her daughter’s hair as she said, “We both knew he was foolin’ himself. What would a beautiful young girl like Tori Warner want with a middle-aged, divorced father who loses every dime he makes at the track?” She rolled her eyes. “Joe always did have quite the imagination. His lyin’ is what got him kicked off the police force.”
Mike looked up at his father. His old man must be losing his touch if all of this information had slipped through the cracks
when he did his routine background check. “He was fired from the force?”
“Sure was. I think he was into somethin’ shady,” Angela said. “’Course I couldn’t prove it, and he sure wasn’t gonna tell me. We were already gettin’ a divorce by then anyways, so I didn’t care as long as he could make his child support and alimony payments. Hell, he could’ve sang his sad songs on the street corner so long as he had a check to me by the first of the month.”
“Joe fancies himself a musician, does he?” Mike asked.
“Sure does,” Angela said. “He thought him and his garage band were gonna hit the big time. Just a bunch of middle-aged losers makin’ a lot of racket and pissin’ off the neighbors, if you ask me.”
Mike smiled for the first time since Tori left his apartment. Under different circumstances, he would have appreciated Angela’s sense of humor, especially since her ex seemed to be her favorite punch line. “Can you think of anywhere he might’ve taken her?”
“His daddy passed away a few years back. He told Lisa her gramps had left him an old hunting cabin up in the woods. Said they used to go there a lot when he was a boy. Can’t say I have any idea where it would be though. Sorry.”
A shot of adrenaline spurred Mike into action as he leapt to his feet. Finally… a lead. “Does he have any family? Mama, siblings, cousins, anybody who might know where this place is?”
“Sure, he has family, but they’re not real close. I doubt they could tell you much more than I have about what was goin’ on in that thick head of his.”
“But they could tell me where the cabin is, right?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.” She pulled her phone out of her purse. “I still have his mama’s number in my contacts, I think. Not that Lisa’s had much to do with her since the divorce. She blamed me. Thought I didn’t try hard enough to make things work. How in the hell was I supposed to make it work when—”
Mike held his hand up when he saw Lisa wince. He could only imagine how many times she’d been caught in the middle of an argument between her parents or been forced to listen when one talked the other down. “Just the number, if you have it.”
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