by Tatum, Clare
“I don’t care.” She shook her head like it hung on a string, bouncing around with the power of the emotions that emanated from her skin. “As long as Julie’s alive, I don’t care if I have to pay a price. Put me in front of a jury of twelve people just like me, who have daughters, sisters, mothers, wives.” She met his gaze intently. “I’ll take my chance in front of those twelve people.”
And he knew she would. But he couldn’t let her. “We’re going to do this my way.” He walked across the room, retrieved his phone and began dialing. “I’m sorry, Lainey. But this is our best chance of getting your sister back alive.”
“No,” she screamed at him. “This is not your decision.”
But he continued dialing. He was an officer of the law and as much as he’d like to hand Moseman over to this maniac who had Julie, he couldn’t. He had to follow the law or he was no better than this man who felt he could decide for all of society.
“Life can’t be lived like this man wants us to live,” he said, looking intently into her eyes, hoping she could forgive him.
“It’s not your sister.” Her voice was grave and from somewhere distant, as if she’d already resigned herself to losing Julie.
“We won’t lose her, Lainey. I promise you.”
She looked at him forlornly, as if she were already planning her sister’s funeral. “It’s not within your power to promise.”
Damn, he’d kill this man himself if he harmed her sister. He would hunt him down and kill him himself.
But right now, he had to go with what he believed was their best chance to get this little girl back alive.
Even if it meant alienating Lainey Thomas for life. He had to treat her like the family of any other abduction victim and do what he thought provided the best chance of getting Julie back alive.
Like with a hundred other families, he had to remove himself emotionally enough so that he could do his job.
* * *
Lainey held onto the door grip because Brice drove like he was driving a fire truck, hardly slowing at turns. Finally, they arrived to a sea of blue lights. Men poured out of vehicles, armed for battle.
They could have been ready to take Baghdad. They looked that scary all suited up in their special operations outfits, with khaki jump suits, bullet proof vests, helmets and what looked like machine guns swung over their shoulders. The expressions on their face said they were ready to go into war as well, serious, intent on their instructions.
Lainey felt like throwing up. All those guns would be aimed at the building where her little sister was being held.
When things got this crazy, there was no controlling the outcome. Anything could happen, things could go wrong, and Julie would be just a memory.
She wanted to run up the street and around the corner to the building where Julie was being held.
To do what, she wasn’t sure. But she wanted to do something.
More and more men kept piling out of police vehicles as well as their own personal vehicles, since many had been called from home.
An armored truck drove up with six men in the back, with large guns.
“There’s no service of any kind to this place,” an officer told Brice.
No phone, no power, no water. That indicated a vacant building.
On a hill overlooking the staging area, she saw John Canton in front of a camera, already going live from the scene.
No other news crews were there yet. This guy always seemed to have an inside source.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a line of SWAT officers advancing toward the building.
Two officers broke off and darted away into a wooded strip of land that ran along the back of the block, and she assumed continued on behind the building where Julie might be.
Lainey’s phone rang, and she jumped, every nerve in her body poised for a response to danger.
She yanked it out of her pocket, and saw that it was Julie’s phone that was calling.
She turned away from Brice. He was no longer on her side, having taken control of the situation, going against her opinion.
It wasn’t his sister who might end up dead.
She walked further away from Brice. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw him watching her.
“Is it Julie?” he mouthed.
She shook her head no. She was on her own now. It was her and Julie, in a fight for survival.
Much as they’d been on their own since their parents’ death.
She punched the connect button. “Hello.”
A man’s muffled voice spoke back. “So, you told the cop, huh?”
He already knew they were sneaking up on the house. She whirled. Where was he and how much could he see?
“He was there when Julie called, and listened in on the conversation.”
“Talking to him can get your baby sister killed.”
Something about the voice, muffled as it was, sounded familiar. But the message sent chills through her.
“Please don’t hurt Julie.”
“I won’t if you give me what I want.”
Anything. She’d give him anything.
“I want you to bring me Moseman. Are you with me on this?” he said, his voice low and demanding.
“Yes.” Her voice came out weak and feeble.
“You’ll bring me Moseman?”
“Yes. I promise.”
“You’ll bring me Moseman and not tell the cop. And I’ll give you back your sister.”
“Yes. But give me back Julie first.” She waited, feeling like every breath must be loudly obvious to the person on the other end of the line.
“I’ll give her back. But, just so know, it would be very easy for me to get her again if you double cross me.”
“I won’t double cross you. I’ll find Moseman and bring him to you wherever you want.” She held her breath, hoping. Hoping. Such a pathetic word for what she felt, every muscle straining for an affirmative. Every inch of her skin wanting to hug Julie safely in her arms again.
“Okay,” he said.
She sucked in oxygen, for the first time feeling as if it were actually getting to her lungs.
Okay. Such a simple word for the answer to her prayers.
“She’s in the house three doors behind you and the cops.”
Lainey jerked around, looking for the house he indicated. “The house with the blue shutters?”
“And the for sale sign. That’s right.”
Instantly, Lainey started running. She darted around several police vehicles.
“Lainey,” Brice yelled behind her.
But his words were insignificant, as if the wind were blowing. It had nothing to do with this moment.
Her entire attention was on that house with the blue shutters and the for sale sign. She ran past several cops, who were all staring in the wrong direction. She was running away from the targeted house was all they knew.
What she did didn’t matter because their attention was focused on something else.
Everything faded away except the door to that house. Her feet pounded on the pavement, the hard surface jolting her body with every step. As she ran, she pulled her gun from the side holster, holding it at the ready. Then, someone grabbed her arm and jerked her to a stop.
“Lainey.” Brice grabbed her tightly by one arm, and latched onto her gun hand with his other hand.
“Let me go.” She struggled against him because she had to get into that building.
“Where are you going?” His face, inches from hers, was hard, lacking in emotion.
While her entire body vibrated with powerful emotions.
“Don’t worry about me,” she yelled. “Go get him.” She pointed in the direction of the originally suspected house. Then, she jerked violently away from him.
Surprise layered itself on his face but he didn’t grab her again. She pivoted and ran toward the door.
But just as she reached it, he was beside her, pushing in front of her, with his weapon drawn and poi
nted toward the door.
“Get out of the way,” she screamed.
“I’m with you, Lainey.” His voice was intent, strong, commanding.
“No, you’re not. Move aside.”
“She’s in there, isn’t she?” He didn’t give an inch. Like a SWAT team member, he stood his ground, unyielding. “We’re going in, together.”
He pushed the door open, his weapon out, still keeping her behind him.
Then, down a long hall, she saw Julie. Bound, tape over her mouth, she was tied to a pipe underneath a sink in the bathroom.
Lainey’s gaze connected with Julie’s terrified eyes, and Lainey broke and ran toward her.
Instantly, Brice was beside her, moving in front of her, pointing his gun, pushing the bathroom door aside, checking for anyone hiding there.
Then, he pivoted, and moved down the hallway.
Lainey fell to her knees beside Julie, unfastening the tape from her mouth. Tears poured down Julie’s face and she leaned against Lainey, sobbing incoherently.
Lainey hugged her. “It’s okay, Julie. You’re okay now.”
Then, Brice was back, talking into a radio and a second later cops pumped into the house filling it with men with guns.
Chapter Fourteen
Brice sat in Lainey’s living room in an overstuffed armchair, waiting. Finally, Lainey walked out of the back of the house.
“She’s asleep.” Lainey collapsed onto the couch, her head falling back against the headrest.
Her eyes closed and she relaxed into the upholstery. Her long, brown hair glistened, reflecting back the light of the nearby lamp.
Purple shadows around her eyes, contrasted with her smooth, porcelain skin. Exhausted from a lack of sleep, she was still beautiful.
After what he’d seen this afternoon, he knew the beauty went all the way through.
The way she’d been laser intent on getting her sister back, determined to do whatever it took.
Running toward that house, not worried about her own safety, just the safety of her sister, she’d looked like a fierce warrior.
She could have been killed. But, rescuing her sister seemed to have been all that mattered to her.
Chills ran through him when he thought about how things could have turned out.
When had he suddenly started to care so much about Lainey Thomas?
He’d been attracted to her for a while now, with images flashing through his mind of her underneath him.
But hell, any guy who saw her would have those impulses.
This was different. This was a want to take care of you and protect you for a long time feeling.
She wasn’t just any victim.
Not someone he’d walk away from if things went wrong and think about occasionally later that it was too bad about that woman’s sister getting killed.
She looked like an angel, but he was pretty sure she’d made a deal with the devil. A deal to get her sister back.
The guy had demanded she hand over Sean Moseman. Then, he’d demonstrated in the most graphic manner possible that, even with countless SWAT officers outside the house where the abductor supposedly held her sister, her sister wasn’t safe.
So, of course Lainey Thomas would do whatever he said now. Just like the mayor and just like the banker had done.
This man had shown he had power over people in high places. A mayor, banker, and now the district attorney’s office.
Damn, he wanted to kill this guy. To forget the law and kill him, same as this guy thought he could take the law into his own hands.
Because looking at Lainey lying there, so exhausted physically and emotionally, he knew he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe.
She must feel desperate and alone, facing the demands of the kidnapper. Instinct told him the kidnapper hadn’t turned Julie free without first securing promises from Lainey. Well, she wasn’t alone in this horrible situation. He was in it with her.
“Lainey.”
She opened her eyes to stare at him with those large blue orbs. Mistrustful, distant. It killed him to see those sentiments in her eyes. He’d done it his way, the cop way, taking control from her hands.
And, the monster who’d kidnapped Julie had known Lainey had double crossed him.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to help you.”
Her expression didn’t change, doubt still shining in her eyes.
“We did it my way and it didn’t work. I’m willing to do it your way now.”
She straightened and sat up, with great effort as if her whole body were weighted down, as if concrete covered her and it was starting to set.
He moved over to sit beside her on the couch. She tensed.
“Lainey, I’m serious. I will help you. You’re calling the shots now.”
She half laughed. “That’ll be the day, that Detective Mark Brice is a passive participant.”
The sound of that laugh, deep in her throat, vibrated through his body. He took her face in his hands, and her eyes rounded.
“I’m serious, Lainey. I will do whatever it takes to keep you and your sister safe.”
She pulled back slightly. He let his hands slip down to her shoulders, unwilling to break the physical connection totally.
“Even if it means breaking the law?”
He shrugged. “Let’s call it flexing the law. Bending, not breaking.”
“I could go to jail, Mark.”
It was the first time she’d used his first name. The power of that simple word coming from her rippled through him. Brice, she’d always said, impersonal, with the taste of professional colleagues.
He stroked her shoulders, then ran his hands back up to take her face between his hands.
Her eyes widened but she didn’t pull away. Instead, almost imperceptibly, she leaned in.
An observer wouldn’t have noticed it. But he felt it to the core of his being.
She’d leaned in, asking for more.
And by God, he would give it to her. Breaking all protocol of cop and victim, he moved in, feeling her breath on his face.
Beneath his hands, he felt her heart rate quicken and her skin heat.
Or was that his own heart rate increasing, his own skin heating?
They felt like one, everything in them aligning to each other.
As he moved in, she tilted her head to perfectly meet his.
Her lips opened slightly, everything about her inviting him, wanting him. He craved physical contact with her. Had to have it.
He took her mouth, feeling the softness of the first contact quickly turning to a hot passion.
Molten want flowed from her, like a volcano exploding beneath his hands. She moved into the kiss, needing, wanting. Almost as much as him, it seemed.
But that was impossible. Because no one had ever wanted anyone as much as he wanted her.
Beneath his touch, she responded, tilting toward the precipice where they would drop into a chasm of no return.
But he couldn’t stop himself. He molded his hand over her breast, cupping it, feeling her nipple respond.
God, he wanted her in bed, beneath him.
Her labored breathing told him she wanted it, too.
Then, she pulled back, looking at him through sex dazed eyes. “We can’t,” she said in a breathy voice.
He leaned back, trying to catch his breath. Searching for the ability to stop himself, stop the train that was out of control.
She pulled away, and he let his hands drop as she struggled to stand.
She made it to her feet, and walked a few steps away, straightening her clothes. She stood in the middle of the room for a long moment before turning to meet his eyes. Her face was flushed, her hair disheveled, almost as if they’d just made love and the visual image it evoked in his brain almost did him in.
“Julie’s in the next room,” she said quietly.
She was a preteen girl, with all the curiosity about sex that that implied. There’d be no quiet sex in the next room the way they mi
ght have been able to with a baby or a smaller child.
He got why she couldn’t do this.
If his libido hadn’t been so out of control, he might have realized that earlier, himself.
But now that he’d remembered Julie, he tried to steer his sex infused brain into a different area of thought.
“Sure, sure,” he struggled for the right words. Then, he remembered the monster that had taken Julie and two other little girls.
He didn’t need the distraction of sex to detract from their mission of following the guy’s trail.
“I’d like to sleep on your couch,” he said.
Lainey shook her head no, but very slowly as if she wanted him around.
“Just for protection,” he said. “I don’t want you guys alone here until we get this guy.”
Lainey looked away. She was thinking about her promise to the voice on the other end of Julie’s phone.
He instinctively knew she’d promised to hand Moseman over to the vigilante, to meet his idea of justice. Her unwillingness to talk about it only confirmed it.
“We’ll figure it out, Lainey.”
She turned to him. “We have to. I can’t put Julie at risk.”
He nodded, then stood up, taking her by the shoulders.
Warily, she looked up him, her body leaning slightly away, defensive and closed off.
“I promise you,” he said, inches from her face. “I promise you. I won’t let you or your sister down.”
She nodded.
Later, as he laid on the couch with Lainey a short walk down the hall, his drive to take her into his arms warred with the fear he had of losing someone he loved again.
He’d been a shell of a man when Jennifer had left with Maddie.
Could he go through that again? Could he risk an involvement with Lainey and her little sister that might end in heartache for himself again?
Something told him it was too late, because he’d already become involved.
* * *
The next morning, Lainey stood in front of her mirror putting on a bit of makeup. Foundation was her friend with all of the sleepless nights.
She leaned forward to peer at the circles beneath her eyes. Behind her in the mirror, Julie’s face popped into view.
“So, he spent the night.” Excitement colored Julie’s features. “You guys hooking up?”