Restless (Fractured Farrells: A Damaged Billionaire Series, #4)

by Mallory Crowe

  Colin returned the glare right back. “It’s midnight, dumbass. Do you really think I’m here for a social call?”

  Nathan gave in and opened the door fully while stepping aside to let Colin by. “Fine. What do you want?”

  Colin didn’t step inside the apartment. “I want you to get dressed and come with me. We’re going to the police station.”

  Nathan blinked a few times, not sure whether he was hearing things or not. “The police station? What the hell, Carter? Are you in trouble?”

  “No, but Alex and Ashley are. Ashley’s missing. I told Alex we would meet him at the police station.”

  Nathan wanted to ask questions, but he could tell by looking at Colin’s face that this was serious. He took a few steps back. “All right. Give me a few minutes.” From there, he turned and rushed to his room, pulling on the first clothes he saw, which ended up being jeans and a green sweater

  When he came back out of his room, Colin immediately turned and walked out of the apartment. He left Nathan barely any time to grab his keys and wallet and phone, but soon enough they were both headed downstairs.

  The elevator ride was awkward and silent. Nathan, like most of his brothers, had never gotten used to the idea of being related to Colin Carter. They all mutually agreed that Jean was awesome and that she was of sound mind and judgment. But that didn’t make it easier to reconcile the fact that she’d chosen to spend her life with the man they’d spent so many years hating.

  They probably would’ve worked harder to split the two up if it wasn’t so evident that Colin felt the same way about Jean. How the mighty have fallen. Colin used to be an indestructible force in their lives that they could never get away from, but now he was all but hobbled by one girl who used to be nothing.

  Colin already had a car waiting on the street. Not a car with a driver waiting behind the wheel. The car he was driving. Made sense. Colin seemed like the type of control freak who wouldn’t trust a cab driver.

  The tires squealed as Colin took off, and for the first time it sunk in. Colin was actually worried. “So Ashley’s in trouble?”

  Colin didn’t take his eyes off the road as he swerved around traffic. “The cop got her downstairs late tonight. He took her somewhere, but we can’t find the officer. We have his name and badge number, but no one knows where he is or why he would take Ashley. It sounds like he told her something was happening Alex to lure her out, and now she’s not answering her phone. Alex is at the police station right now, and he’s freaking out.”

  Fuck. Nathan ran his hands through his short hair as he finally realized how dire the situation was. “Why did you come get me? If he’s freaking out, you should’ve gone straight to the police station.”

  Colin’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Alex needs his family right now.”

  Nathan’s mouth dropped open. “You think she’s gone already.”

  “I think Alex needs to be around family. Everyone else is out of the city.”

  Nathan thought back to the last thing he said to Ashley. The accusations he’d thrown at her. What if he never saw her again? What if those harsh words became a self-fulfilling prophecy? Alex would never forgive him. He would never forgive himself. “Can we drive faster?”

  Colin didn’t answer, but his foot pressed on the gas harder. In a few minutes, Colin was parked in front of the police station. Nathan didn’t check to make sure the parking was legal as he got out of the car and walked inside. He didn’t know what direction to go, but Colin brushed past him and led the way. Soon enough, Nathan could hear Alex screaming and knew they were going the right way.

  “You need to do something! Track his phone, trace the LoJack in his car, pull traffic cameras! Do you have any idea who the fuck I am? Do you have any idea the hell I will bring down on this precinct if I don’t get my wife back?”

  The young guy behind the desk that Alex was yelling at looked as if he were about to shit himself. Nathan could immediately relate to both sides of the argument, which was an awkward place for Nathan, because he was usually the one starting the arguments.

  He set a hand on his brother’s shoulder, but instead of calming him, it seemed to agitate him further. Alex jerked around and wrenched himself out of Nathan’s grip. It took a few long seconds before it hit him. Nathan realized how distraught Alex really was. He really wanted Ashley back.

  “Hey man,” Nathan said softly. “I came as soon as I heard. What’s going on here?”

  Alex just shook his head. “We need to do something. We need to find them right now, but everyone is telling me we need warrants approved by people who aren’t even answering the fucking phone. With the amount of money funneled into this goddamn precinct, you’d think I can get around a few fucking signatures, but—”

  “Hey, hey, hey. We got this. We’re Farrells. No one fucks Farrells, and no one fucks with our women. Got it? Now tell me what happened. Start from the beginning.”

  Alex squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his temples. “The beginning? I don’t know... After today, I was in a shitty mood. Ashley convinced me that I should try to make things right and talk to the family. I was on my way over to your place, walking because I’m a fucking moron, and that’s when Gallagher showed up.”

  “Gallagher? Tate Gallagher?” questioned Colin.

  Alex nodded. “Yeah. He showed up at the Connecticut house a few days ago. That’s why Ashley and I came out here. I reported it to the FBI, but apparently they didn’t get him because he rolled up next to me in some fucking town car. He started to say these things, threatening Ashley, and I almost lost it. When I went after him, he threatened to film me and turn it into the cops. But it was all a part of his plan. This is what he wanted. He got to my phone. He distracted me and cut off my communication. And then while I was too busy to keep Ashley safe, he took her. He took her right out from under me. He knew the whole time he was talking to me what was happening. If I ever see him again, I swear to God, he’ll never smile for as long as he lives. I take it back. If I see him again, he’s not going to be living anymore.”

  Nathan nodded as he glanced over to make eye contact with Colin. Nathan had never seen Alex like this. He was always cool and collected while Nathan was out causing hell. Colin must’ve understood this. It was why he brought Nathan here. Alex did need family right now.

  Nathan set a hand on his brother’s arm. “You stay here. I’m going to find someone to help us.”

  If they needed to get past a few warrants, Nathan would make it happen. All they needed was a rule breaker. How hard could it be to find a cop who was willing take a bribe to save an innocent girl’s life? Well, a probably innocent girl. What if this was all a trick? What if Ashley was in on it? There could be some big ransom note coming in any second and she was just waiting for her big payday.

  No. He couldn’t think like that. If anything happened to Ashley because Nathan was doubting her, Alex would never forgive him. He’d already done enough to hurt his family in his lifetime. He wasn’t going to make the situation any worse than it already was.

  A thousand different scenarios rushed through Ashley’s mind, and none of them had a happy ending. She leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the car window and tried to stop the scream in her throat from bubbling up. She was going to get out of this, she told herself. She had to survive. But even she didn’t believe a word she was saying in her mind.

  It had been a good effort. It really had. She’d gotten away from Geoff for a few weeks and got a good taste of freedom. Got a taste for what her life could’ve been like. But it might be time to admit that he was winning this fight.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by the soft touch of fingers brushing through her hair. She jerked out toward the offending hands with her own bound ones, but Geoff pulled away before she ever made contact.

  He let out a little laugh. “Still feisty, huh?”

  Ashley inched as far away as she could get, but there was nowhere to go. She was trapped in a confined
space and there was nothing she could do. Every time she looked at him, all she could think about was kicking him until he couldn’t laugh anymore, but she had to restrain herself. He’d already shown her the Taser he held in his other hand. The momentary gratification of his pain wasn’t worth losing the ability to work her limbs right now. She needed to be on high alert and able to run if she needed to.

  They had driven well out of the city, and she had no idea where they were at the moment. Every time they passed a road, Ashley tried to commit it to memory. If she could reach a phone, she needed to be able to tell Alex where she was.

  “I wonder what your sugar daddy is doing right now?”

  Ashley tightened her lips and refused to say anything. She refused to give Geoff any type of gratification.

  “My friend is very upset with him,” warned Geoff. “He has some very bad things planned.”

  Ashley winced and held back the urge to spit out every single curse word she knew. Calm. She needed to remain calm for Alex. He was out there looking for her, and if she didn’t do something to help him find her, she might be lost forever.

  The cop driving turned off the freeway, and she memorized the exit number. The sign looked like Jersey. When had they left New York?

  “Are you going to bury me next to Hoffa?” she asked bitterly. Part of her didn’t want to know. If they killed her, they killed her. But the other part of her couldn’t help but want to know.

  “Oh, honey.” Geoff reached out for her once more. Ashley closed her eyes tightly and bit the inside of her cheek as he once again ran his fingers over her cheek. “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m here to help you. You don’t need to worry any longer. I’m going to make sure you’re taken care of from now on.”

  Alex paced back and forth in the conference room he’d been shoved in. It was going on two a.m. now, so people had better start waking up. People who could give him the things he needed. Except every second he spent waiting killed him. He should be out there looking for Ashley. He should be doing something! Not just sitting back and hoping things went his way.

  Colin and Nathan were somewhere. Alex wasn’t stupid. He knew they were both scared. More scared that he was going to do something that would get him, and the family, in trouble. Namely, punching a cop in the face. As much as he’d like to think they were wrong, he would be lying if he didn’t admit that he’d been tempted to do something stupid more than once.

  For the tenth time, he started for the door but turned around before he touched the handle. He should be in his car looking for her. He had no idea where he was going to go, but he needed to be out of this room. He’d drive every single block in the city until he found her. Bang on every door. Call in every favor he was owed.

  Of all the times for his money to work in his favor, this was it!

  The door opened and Alex prepared himself to go off on whoever came in. Either Nathan and Colin for taking so long, or the next officer and administrator who tried to give him another bullshit excuse.

  Except he found himself momentarily speechless at the guy who walked in. It was the cop from his house. The one who had come to take Ashley’s—Geoff’s—car away. “You son of a—”

  Alex started for him, but the cop put a hand down on his gun, and Alex forced himself to stop.

  The cop held up a manila folder. “Want to back off? I’m here to help.”

  Alex blinked in confusion as he took another step back. “You were involved in this.”

  The cop set the folder on the table and took a seat. “Do you want me to help you or not?”

  Alex wasn’t exactly in a position to say no. Instead, he leaned over the table and looked questioningly at the folder. “How can you help?”

  “You want to get this done fast, no matter the consequences, right? I can do that for you.”

  Now he started to get it. “But you want something in return. Fine. How much do you want? I can get you a wire transfer as soon as the banks open. But you’d damn well better start helping me now. This can’t wait until eight.”

  The cop—Scott Hart, he remembered—shook his head. “This isn’t about money. I need information.”

  “Fine. If I can get it, I’ll tell you whatever you need to know.”

  “I need more than that. I need your word. I know a guy with your connections can find out.”

  Alex tilted his head as he started to become more curious. “Yeah. Anything you want, just name it.”

  “A reporter for the City Inquirer was murdered six months ago. I need you to find out what she was investigating.”

  “I know the owner of the City Inquirer. I can have that for you by the end of the day. Who’s the reporter?”

  “Her name is, was, Catherine Hart.”

  Alex nodded in understanding as his eyes went to the nametag on the cop’s uniform. Officer Hart. “Consider it done.”

  Thankfully, the cop seemed to take his word on it. “I was able to get an ID on our mystery cop.”

  The fake officer. Alex had learned that the only Officer Thore in the system was a fifty-five-year-old who had been on desk duty for years and had been sleeping soundly in his bed while the fake cop had been talking to Ashley.

  “The badge and the name wasn’t his, but I think the car was. I ran the numbers through the system and found this guy. Ross Duffer. He’s currently under multiple investigations of corruption, but there haven’t been any charges filed yet. Chances are that if he was being offered enough, he would’ve jumped ship and taken a bribe and gotten out of town. He doesn’t have much family around to keep him anchored. He’s a flight risk.”

  Alex reached over and picked up the printed image of the guy. Ross Duffer. The paper crumpled in his hand as his fingers balled into a fist. “How did you get the car number? I already pulled the cameras from my building and we got no plates or anything.”

  “I pulled the footage from the building across the street.”

  Alex nodded. Everyone here had told him they’d need judges to sign off before they could commandeer any of the footage from the neighboring buildings, and Alex hadn’t been able to get anyone on the phone. Hart hadn’t been lying when he said he could help.

  “The cameras on your building didn’t get anything useful?” asked Hart.

  “It was at a bad angle,” said Alex. “Like they knew exactly where they’re being watched from.”

  “Well, the car wasn’t the only thing my camera picked up on. Take a look at this.” Hart pulled another piece of paper from the folder and pushed it toward Alex.

  The image was a side shot of the car, and Alex could see the outline of Ashley standing next to the police cruiser and a cop, Ross Duffer probably, with his hand on her arm. The idea of someone touching her, hurting her, set his blood boiling. “Son of a bitch,” said Alex.

  “Did you see what’s inside the car?”

  No. He forced himself to divert his gaze to look to the windows of the car. “What am I looking for?”

  “Look at the shadows.”

  Alex squinted as he looked closer. “There’s someone in there.”

  Hart nodded. “Looks like. Think that guy, Tate Gallagher, came back?”

  Alex shook his head. “There was no time. This was happening the same moment I was talking to Gallagher. This has to be someone different.” He thought of who would be waiting to ambush Ashley, and the answer came to him like a punch in his gut.

  “I’m willing to do whatever I need to in order to help you, but it’s not going to be easy. Duffer is a moron, but he knows the basics. Anything that we can track him with, he would’ve gotten rid of already. Let’s hope his friend isn’t as smart.”

  “It’s not a friend,” said Alex. “It’s Geoff. Geoff Cameron.”

  “The guy who wanted his car back?”

  “He wanted Ashley back.” And now he had her. Son of a— Alex threw the picture of Ross on the ground as he slammed his fist on the table. “This isn’t a coincidence. They’re working together and they’re coming
after me through her. Goddamn it, I should’ve been there!”

  Hart stood. He didn’t offer any comfort, but Alex didn’t want comfort. He wanted action. “I still have Cameron’s information on file. I’ll see if I can get someone to get a track on his cell phone.”

  “You don’t need a judge to sign off on that?”

  Hart looked up and met Alex’s eyes. “I’m going to see if I can get someone to get a track on his phone.” He didn’t explicitly answer Alex, but it told him everything he needed to know.

  “I’ll have what you need about Catherine Hart by the end of the day.”

  As Hart went to leave, Nathan and Colin came back in. They both looked questioningly at the guy who was walking out. “Who was that?”

  “No one,” said Alex. If Hart was going to be breaking laws for Alex, the less people who knew the better. “What do you guys have?”

  “There’s a judge who’s awake and ready, so they’re faxing over all the warrants we need to get all the security footage from every building on the block. It’s a nice area, so there should be a few good angles.”

  Angles Hart already had.

  “One good thing, though,” said Nathan. “One of the cops we talked to let us use his battery and we got your phone working.”

  “It was just the battery that was fried? What the hell did Gallagher do?”

  Nathan shrugged as he handed the phone to Alex. “Maybe you should make sure you haven’t missed anything important.”

  Alex knew his brother wasn’t talking about the office. He was talking about a ransom drop. In the strange, fucked-up reality he was living in, best-case scenario would be getting a ransom call from Gallagher. If he could just pay him and get his Ashley back, he would be more than happy. As long as Ashley was in his arms again.

  And the first missed text message he saw had terror running through his veins. Phone trouble, Farrell? said the text message from an unknown number. Except there was more. Another message said, If I see one member of law enforcement of any kind, Ashley loses a body part.

  “Alex?” said Colin from across the table. “What does it say?”