Tyler moved her jaw from side to side, cursing her stupidity. Don’t open the door. No matter what. Her brother found one of the few things that would make her throw out her caution. She should know better. Never trust M.J.
He was a weasel. A thief. He treated women like dirt, including his own mother. In spite of all that, she never thought he would hit her. This was the first time.
The shock of it was wearing off. She woke, tied up. According to the clock on the wall, she was only out a few minutes. In that time, M.J. managed to secure her to the pipes under the sink, tear through the drawers in her desk, and find the two bottles of champagne she was saving for New Year’s Eve.
He grumbled his way through the first, complaining that it was nothing but fizzing piss with no kick. By the second bottle, he was still complaining, swaying, and hiccupping the entire time.
When he leaned against the wall, his legs seemed to give out. He slid to the floor giving Tyler hope that he had passed out. No such luck. He slept in fits and starts. The sleep period didn’t last long enough for Tyler to work at the ropes around her wrists. Not long enough for her to make much progress.
She needed to try reasoning with him. To do that, he had to be sober, but not too sober. Still sporting a buzz, yet not incoherent. By the looks of him when he came out of the bathroom, he was as close as she could hope for.
“If you want money, M.J. I’ll give you my bankcard. There’s an ATM over at the grocery store.”
“Big, fucking deal. Couple hundred bucks.”
“You can withdraw a thousand dollars. I’ll give you the pin number.”
“Bet you gave Kyle a hell of a lot more than that to get him out of town.”
Kyle? That’s what this was about?
“He asked for my help.”
“Kyle is worthless.” M.J. took another drink, most of the liquid missing his mouth and running down his chin.
“He wanted to start over, try something new.”
Tyler leaned her head against her arm. She was tired, thirsty — scared. M.J. was unpredictable. His mind didn’t work in a logical, straight line. The alcohol didn’t help.
“Is that what you want, M.J.? To leave Harper Falls? I’ll help. Untie me. We can figure this out.”
“I don’t want to leave,” M.J. shouted. He threw the champagne bottle at Tyler, narrowly missing her head, hitting the sink. The glass didn’t shatter, thank goodness. But it did break. She was able to grab a piece, hiding it under her leg. If only he would go back to sleep, or better pass out, she could cut through the rope.
“This is my town.” He advanced on her. He poked her in the chest, emphasizing his words. “I was born here. I deserve to have something…”
“What?”
M.J. swayed backward, catching himself on the side of the counter. He glared at Tyler.
“Dad hated you, I hate you. Kyle. I thought he hated you. Now he’s gone.”
He wasn’t making sense. She couldn’t reason with him. Her mind raced. Drew. He was bound to come looking for her when she failed to return any of his calls. M.J. didn’t have a weapon; she was certain of that. Physically, he was no match for Drew. But her brother did have the element of surprise on his side. There was no telling what a lucky punch might do. She had to get free. Soon.
“Everything would be fine if you were dead.”
Tyler swallowed hard. No. He couldn’t mean it. The alcohol was taking over.
“M.J., think about what you’re doing. Leave now. I won’t tell anyone you were here. It will be like it never happened.”
“Never happened,” his blurry eyes locked on her. “I like that. I can make it like you never happened.”
M.J. came at her, still a little unsteady, but the look on his face was determined. Tyler felt a chill run down her spine. Was she going to die? Would Drew know how she much loved him? It wasn’t fair. She wasn’t going down that easily.
Tyler searched under her leg for the piece of glass. Pathetically inadequate, but it was the only weapon she had. She gripped the shard in her hand, the rope holding her wrists together made movement difficult. If M.J. came close enough, she would make do. She planned on drawing blood.
“Car keys.”
Tyler felt a wave of relief. Take the car, you bastard. Just get out.
“In the bowl by the door.”
“Let’s go.”
“What? No!”
Tyler tried to shrink away from him, but there was no place for her to go.
“Take the damn car, M.J. Leave me here.”
“Shut up, bitch.”
M.J. slapped her. Tyler’s head snapped back, knocking hard against the cabinet. Stars swam in front of her eyes, making her wonder if she was going to pass out. Worried what he would do to her if she did, she lashed out with the sharp glass. The satisfaction she felt when she heard his scream was short-lived.
“Goddamn bitch. You cut me.”
M.J. sounded surprised. Outraged that she would dare such a thing.
This time when he hit her, she knew it was coming. Unfortunately, that didn’t make it hurt any less. She slumped forward knowing this was it.
She was going to die.
“HEY, WHERE ARE you off to in such a hurry?”
Drew tried to swerve around Jack’s big body only to have him use one of the moves from his old football days. The guy was deceptively fast. It was one of the things that made his partner an All-American. It also made him a pain in the ass.
Grinning, Jack stayed in front of Drew.
“Want some company?
“Yes,” Drew said, faking left before skirting to the right. “But not yours.”
Laughing, Jack followed him to the parking lot. Alex was already gone, meeting with Dani. Rose waited for him at home.
“Do you miss the days when we were free to share our lunch with random women?”
“You mean like the pizza parlor twins?”
“They were sweet. A little clingy, but sweet.”
“I wouldn’t know. You’re the one who took them home. I wasn’t interested.”
“Hung up on Tyler.”
“You were soon to be hung up on Rose.”
The old friends exchanged looks, grinning.
“Miss those days?” Jack asked again.
“Hell no.”
“Me neither.”
Drew was still smiling when he pulled his Pontiac GTO to a stop in front of Tyler’s studio. Purple, he grinned as he shut off the engine, she would like that. Couldn’t have timed it better, he thought as Lila’s delivery van pulled up right behind him.
“Personal service from the owner. How do I rate?”
Drew opened the driver’s side door, helping Lila out.
“You and Jack spent most of a day installing that nifty security system at Peony. Seems only fair I return the favor.” She opened the back, taking out a huge arrangement of white and purple roses in a cut crystal vase.
“Besides, I want to see Tyler’s face when you give her these.” She looked around, frowning. “I don’t see her car.”
“In a town this size, she can’t be far. If she isn’t home, I’ll give her a call. She’ll be back in five minutes — tops.”
She handed the flowers to Drew before pointing to five other arrangements. Picking one up, Lila said, “I’ll come back for the others. Lead on, McDuff.”
Drew jogged up the steps. He reached to ring the bell when he noticed the front door was ajar.
“Is something wrong?
Drew raised a finger to his lips, motioning Lila to the side and out of the way. His heart raced. Tyler knew better than to leave her door unsecured. He set the flowers down before slowly opening the door, peering inside.
The place was a disaster. Overturned furniture, broken dishes. Papers strewn in every direction. Tyler’s work area was the worst hit. Broken pots of paint left streaks down the wall, brushes broken in half. A marble statue was turned over, a crack running across the half-finished face.
; Anything that could be smashed, crushed, or broken lay in random heaps.
“Tyler,” Drew called out.
His dread was now panic. Rushing to the bathroom, he threw open the door. More destruction, no Tyler.
“Drew.”
He looked to where Lila stood. She was pale, her eyes filled with horror. Drew rushed to the kitchen to see what she found.
Blood. Not a lot, but it was sprayed everywhere.
He wanted to yell, punch something. He wanted Tyler. Alive. Unharmed.
He pulled out his phone. Pulling up her number, he chanted under his breath, “Answer, answer, answer.”
At the first ring, his shoulders slumped. He watched Lila move across the room and bend down. She held up the ringing phone, tears forming in her eyes.
Tyler wasn’t going to answer.
“Son of a bitch.”
Drew tried to dial again, his hand shaking so much he kept missing the button. Stop, he told himself. Pull it together. Tyler needs you. He knew how to do this. His training as a bodyguard prepared him to be calm in pressure situations. Nothing, though, prepared him to deal with this. The woman he loved was in danger. That wasn’t in any manual.
Taking a deep breath, his steady finger hit speed dial.
“Drew. Lunch over already?”
The sound of Jack’s teasing calmed him like nothing else could. He could count on his partner.
“I need you here, at Tyler’s. Now. Get Alex!” Drew looked grimly around the trashed room again. “And Jack? Bring guns.”
TYLER WAS AWARE of movement.
Disoriented, her head ached something fierce. Whatever was causing her body to bump all over the place needed to stop. As she jostled around, her stomach began to roil, making the bile rise up into her mouth. Keeping her eyes closed, she took deeper breaths. It helped.
When Tyler was certain the threat of vomiting was over, she slowly opened her eyes.
Darkness. Pitch black nothingness. She flashed back to being a little girl trapped in that closet. Hours alone with no light, begging for help that wouldn’t come. Panic washed over her, a clammy sweat breaking out on her body. This was her worse nightmare come to life. Closing her eyes again, she curled into a ball.
Breathe. In, out, in, out. You aren’t a child. You don’t need to give in to your fear. Think of something else. Think of what makes you happy.
Drew’s face popped into her mind. The way he smiled. How easy it was for him to make her laugh. The way he touched her — held her. Tyler felt her heartbeat start to slow. Her breathing became less ragged, more natural.
She bounced again. Where was she? When the panic started to rise again, Tyler reminded herself. Think of Drew. Think of how… he loves you.
That did the trick. Her nerves weren’t glass-smooth, but she was calm enough to climb over the fear. Drew was with her, she could get through this.
Tyler opened her eyes. Think, she told herself.
M.J. had knocked her out. Tyler listened, hearing a motor and the sounds of tires rolling over an unpaved road. She was in the trunk of her car. Feeling around, she realized her hands were no longer tied. Instead of cutting the rope securing her to the pipe, he got rid of the ones around her wrists. Good. One less thing to worry about.
Tyler braced herself as the car made a sharp turn. They couldn’t be in town anymore. M.J. was driving too fast. The road wasn’t paved. That eliminated the main highway. She didn’t think that too much time had passed. Still, they could be in Canada for all she knew. The chances of Drew or anyone else finding her seemed depressingly remote. She was on her own. If she was going to survive, she needed a plan.
JACK PULLED UP fifteen minutes later. Alex was right behind him.
Drew didn’t question the men bringing Rose and Dani with them. Knowing Tyler was missing, there would be no keeping them away.
They gathered in the parking lot. Drew didn’t want the women to see the mess inside. Tyler’s friends were worried enough without adding that image.
Drew gave them a brief rundown. There wasn’t that much to tell. She was missing and so was her car.
“Her car is gone?” Jack asked, pulling out his phone. “Hell, Drew. Why didn’t you say so?”
“You have a tracking device on Tyler’s car?” Rose demanded.
“Hers. Yours, Dani’s.” Jack typed furiously. “You can get pissed at me later. Right now, we have to find Tyler.”
“Pissed. Jack, I could kiss you.”
Not looking up, Jack smiled slightly.
“Later. There,” he exclaimed with satisfaction.
Drew grabbed the phone. The signal was clear and strong.
“Not too far. Fuck, I must have just missed the son of a bitch.” He looked up at Jack. “Your SUV. We’re headed up the mountain.”
TYLER’S MIND RACED.
Lug wrench. It wasn’t something she ever used, but she knew there had to be one back here. Turning over, she felt around when out of the corner of her eye, she saw a glowing object. Light, any kind, no matter how small was a welcome surprise. She scooted closer. The tab hung from the lid of the trunk, flopping up and down with every bump the car hit.
Tyler reached out. Plastic. She almost pulled before she remembered something Jack once said about every newer car having an escape latch of some kind in the trunk. That must be it.
Feeling a surge of hope, Tyler renewed her search for the wrench. The second the car stopped, she would pull the latch. She wanted to have a weapon with her in case M.J. was faster than he used to be. If luck were with her, there would be someplace nearby to hide. Trees, bushes. Anything.
When her hand finally came in contact with a long metal rod, Tyler almost wept with relief. She gripped the wrench in her hands, kept her eyes on that little glowing lifeline, and waited.
“WHY THE FUCK did he come up here?”
Dani patted Rose’s hand. No time for cute little euphemisms. Their best friend was in danger. Rose turned her palm up finding comfort. She rested her head on Dani’s shoulder, trying not to cry — willing Jack to drive faster.
“Who has her? And why?” Alex wanted to know. “Ransom?”
They were all piled into Jack’s SUV headed up Crossfire Hill. Not towards the H&W complex. No one got in there without clearance. Following the tracker on Tyler’s car brought them to the base of the mountain. About half a mile up, they turned onto an unpaved road. If you could call it that. More of a trail barely wide enough for the large vehicle. Branches scraped noisily, catching on the side view mirror. A particularly low-hanging one hit the windshield with such force it was a wonder the glass didn’t shatter.
No one commented. Jack handled the vehicle with ease, only cursing when it was necessary to slow down for a sharp turn.
“Not ransom. Though if he had half a brain, that’s what he would do. I’d pay any price to get Tyler back.”
“Who?”
“M.J.”
“Tyler’s brother?” Dani cried out. She and Rose exchanged worried looks. “Are you certain?”
Drew took his phone, scrolling to the picture he snapped before leaving Tyler’s place. On the inside of the cabinet, next to the ropes he tried to block out of his mind, carved into the wood was one word. M.J.
“Using her brain,” Jack said after a quick glance. He couldn’t afford to take his eyes off the road for longer than that. Especially now that flecks of white were hitting the windshield.
“He’s snapped,” Rose whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. “All the petty things he’s done to her. Even locking her in that closet. It was cruel, nasty. He never had the balls to go after her face-to-face. Deep down, he’s scared of Tyler.”
“I don’t know his motivation. I don’t fucking care. The asshole can spend the rest of his life letting some shrink decipher his twisted brain.” Drew’s hand fisted in his lap. “If he’s hurt Tyler, there won’t be enough of him left to worry about.”
THEY WERE GOING too fast.
Her car wasn’t made for
this kind of abuse. Tyler knew by the bumps and swerves, they had to be on a rural road. One that didn’t get used enough to warrant upkeep. If she made it out of this… Tyler stopped herself. Not if, when. There was no other option. When she got out of this, she would be bruised from top to bottom.
Another sharp turn sent her shooting to the side, her head connecting with a hard thump. Tyler rubbed the spot. Add a possible concussion to her growing list of injuries.
“Slow down before you kill us both.”
The car braked slightly, then accelerated, going even faster than before.
“Shut up. I’m not dying. You are.”
Before Tyler could open her mouth to yell back, she heard a curse followed by a sickening thud. The car started to fishtail. M.J. was no longer cursing, he was screaming. The car was out of his control.
Tyler closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and braced for impact. She didn’t have long to wait. She felt the car rolling down some kind of incline. Please, let it be a hill, not a cliff.
She waited for the feeling of weightlessness as the car fell through the air. Instead, she shot forward, one last insult to her already battered body. Then nothing. The sound of the crash was still ringing in her ears as she inched back to the front of the trunk. She was shaken. It didn’t feel like anything serious. She didn’t have time to find out.
Somehow, Tyler still held the lug wrench. It would be her luck if M.J. walked away from the crash unhurt. She still needed a weapon — just in case. Reaching up, she grasped the glowing tab and pulled. The whoosh of the opening trunk was the sweetest sound she’d ever heard.
Stiff yet determined, Tyler crawled out. Still light out, she observed, not knowing if that was good or bad. It would be harder to hide from M.J. That meant staying off the road. In the dark, she might have tripped and broken her neck. After everything else, that would be a tragically ironic ending.
Light was good, she decided. Lucky. Now if only that luck held. Hopefully, M.J. was out of commission. Not dead. For her mother’s sake, she couldn’t wish for that. Unconscious? That she could live with.
Tyler’s legs weren’t as steady as she might have liked. When she looked out, she found solid ground to be a bit of a hop away. Holding on to the wrench, she jumped, thinking straight ahead had to be better than straight down. Her feet hit the embankment, slipping on the wet surface. If she’d known her brother was going to stuff her in the trunk of her car, drive into hills, then get into a wreck, she would have thought ahead. Hiking boots were much more practical than socks in a situation like this.
If You Only Knew (Harper Falls #3) Page 28