“I didn’t plan on doing anything other than talk to you,” she continued. “But then the talking led to a few drinks...” Her words trailed off, thank goodness. No need to remind him where those few drinks had landed them.
“During all the talking, you might have mentioned that you were Bennie’s sister,” he reminded her.
She nodded. “And I intended to do that—”
“When? Before or after you let me get you naked?” Yeah, that was harsh, but that whole encounter was still a sore subject for him.
“Definitely before,” she snapped. But almost immediately the angry expression faded, and she dodged his glare. “Look, I don’t make a habit of sleeping with men I hardly know. Whether you believe it or not, you were my first and only one-night stand.”
He did believe her. Didn’t want to. But he did. Still, that didn’t let her off the hook.
“You can’t deny that you’d do anything to protect your brother,” he reminded her.
“No. I can’t deny that. And you no doubt feel the same way about your own brother.”
He did. To an extent. He wouldn’t break the law for him. Except Sawyer immediately had to rethink that. Blood was indeed thicker than the badge, and if it came down to saving his kid brother, he would do whatever it took. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take sleeping with a woman. Even one who seemed to light every unwanted fire in his body.
“Yes,” Cassidy said softly. “I didn’t need a reason to sleep with you. The desire was already there. Still is.”
Man, he would have liked to argue that, but she was right about the blasted lingering attraction. It burned hot and showed no signs of letting up. So hot that Sawyer thought about kissing her again. And not just kissing. More.
Much more.
Thankfully, the sound of the ringing phone stopped the conversation and also stopped him from acting on the much more. But Sawyer was worried he would need more than a phone call to keep Cassidy out of his arms.
And his bed.
He glanced at the phone and answered it right away when he saw Grayson’s name on the screen. “All settled in?” his cousin asked.
“Getting there. Everything okay?”
Sawyer didn’t realize that he was holding his breath until his lungs started to ache. Cassidy seemed to be doing the same, and she leaned in, no doubt so she could hear. He made that easier for her by putting the call on Speaker.
“So far everything’s okay,” Grayson went on. “I just got a call from the doctor about Bennie. Within an hour or so, he’ll be released into my protective custody.”
Well, it wasn’t bad news, but it could be. “You’re not thinking of bringing him here?” No need to spell out that Sawyer didn’t trust Cassidy’s brother, and he’d yet to rule out Bennie’s possible involvement in this. After all, Bennie had been involved with shady deals in the past. Yeah, his involvement would be extreme since he’d been beaten up and Cassidy had been kidnapped, too, but Sawyer wasn’t about to eliminate Bennie as a suspect just yet.
Sawyer’s gaze met Cassidy’s, and he expected her to be riled about his request, but the fear and concern were still there.
No anger.
Of course, that particular emotion might come later—especially if there was another attempt to kidnap her brother.
“No, Bennie refused our offer of a safe house,” Grayson verified. “He wants to go back to his place. He said he has a good security system, and I can assign someone to watch him.”
“He’ll probably try to ditch a guard,” Cassidy volunteered. “I know my brother, and he’ll want to go after the kidnapper. Please don’t let that happen.”
“We’ll do our best,” Grayson assured her. “I’ve also asked the FBI to flag bank deposits of half a million dollars. The ransom amount you’ve already paid. It’s possible the kidnapper will try to deposit that money somewhere, and if he does, we can use that to track him down.”
It was a good plan, but there were plenty of ways to hide money. Maybe the kidnapper wasn’t smart enough to figure them out.
“What about Chester Finley?” Sawyer asked. “Is he talking yet?”
“Not a word. He’ll be arraigned in a few hours. Maybe he’ll ask for a plea deal once he realizes he’s being charged with enough felonies to keep him in jail for the rest of his sorry life.”
Maybe. Finley would perhaps rat out his partner so they could get to the bottom of this.
“We’re still looking for Dr. Blackwell,” Grayson continued. “Officially, she’s not a missing person because it hasn’t been twenty-four hours, but her coworkers said it wasn’t like her not to show for work.”
“What about her husband?” Sawyer asked. He remembered the whopping diamond ring she’d been wearing.
“That’s sticky territory. His name is Martin Blackwell. Ring any bells?”
Yeah, it did. “He’s a rich businessman. Owns some hotels on the Riverwalk.”
“That’s the one,” Grayson verified. “Diane and he are separated, and he’s filed for divorce. A divorce she’s fighting. From what I’m hearing, she ran through a boatload of his money, and he’s trying to ditch her before she goes through the rest. There’s a prenup, so she won’t be getting anything in the divorce.”
The doc had a messy personal life. And combined with the allegations Willy had made against her, it set off the little alarm in his head. The timing of her disappearance was certainly suspicious, and he had to wonder if it had anything to do with the kidnapping.
“How long has she been missing exactly?” Sawyer asked.
“No one has seen her since her trip to Silver Creek.”
Bad timing again. “Is her soon-to-be ex a suspect?”
“No. He’s out of the country on business and is already in another relationship. A happy one, from the sound of it. If he had any part in her disappearance, I’d be surprised.”
Sawyer would trust his cousin’s judgment about that, but he went back to the timing again. The doc had disappeared shortly after her trip to the Silver Creek sheriff’s office. And Willy had been there. Sawyer hoped the doctor hadn’t been kidnapped, too, by Willy or anyone else involved.
But then, why would the kidnappers have gone after her?
Unfortunately, Sawyer could think of a solid reason. “What about April’s diary? Any other mention of Dr. Blackwell, maybe something about April being worried that the doc was going to do something bad to her—like kidnap her for ransom?”
Because if so, then maybe the doctor had disappeared rather than face an interrogation and possible criminal charges.
“There was nothing about the kidnapping in the diary,” Grayson explained. “But Nate found an entry that was a little surprising. April thought Bennie and Dr. Blackwell were seeing each other. And I don’t mean in a professional way. April thought they were lovers.”
Well, that didn’t paint a pretty picture of the doc, and he looked at Cassidy to see if she knew anything about a supposed relationship between Diane and her brother.
Cassidy just shook her head. “Bennie never mentioned her.”
“But they had met,” Sawyer reminded her. “Dr. Blackwell mentioned it when she was at the sheriff’s office. She said she’d met you and your brother at a fund-raiser.”
“Yes,” Cassidy mumbled. And he could almost see the wheels turning in her head, trying to remember the details of that meeting. “If Bennie was seeing her, he didn’t tell me. I’ll call him and ask—”
“Already spoke to him about it,” Grayson interrupted. “He said he knew her but they were never lovers. Apparently, April had a jealous streak and often accused Bennie of having affairs with other women—including Diane.”
Sawyer thought about that a moment. “Maybe April was behind Bennie’s kidnapping because she was jealous of the affair she believed he was havin
g with her shrink? She could have hired Finley to help her, faked her own kidnapping, and then he could have double-crossed her. With her out of the picture, Finley and his partner could collect the entire ransom.”
“I didn’t hear either kidnapper mention April’s name,” Cassidy supplied, “but they did call someone. Maybe it was April. Is there any way to trace cell-phone activity out in that area?”
“Not usually, especially since the kidnappers would likely be using burners, as in disposable phones, but I’ll look into it. Plus, we have a CSI team still combing the woods and the Tumbleweed. There’s a chance they’ll find some kind of evidence to prove who orchestrated the kidnappings and killed April.”
Yeah, but that seemed a long shot. If there had been something obvious, the team would have already found it.
“We’ll keep looking,” Grayson assured him. “Keep going through the diary, too. Just stay put until you hear from me.”
Sawyer ended the call, thankful that there hadn’t been any bad news, but he wished there had been more progress in the investigation. Unless Finley started talking, this case could drag on longer than his and Cassidy’s nerves could handle.
“You’re stuck with me for a while,” she said, setting aside her glass of tea.
True. And it might be more than just a while. There was no telling how many days—and nights—Cassidy and he would have to spend under the same roof. Of course, they had chaperones of sorts with the nanny-bodyguard and the two agents. But Sawyer was truly worried that chaperones weren’t going to help him keep his hands off Cassidy.
In fact, nothing might help.
“Yes,” she mumbled, pulling in her breath. That caused her chest to rise, just enough to capture his full attention.
“It’d make me dumber than dirt to act on this,” he mumbled back.
And apparently that’s exactly what he was. Dumber than dirt.
Sawyer ignored every red flag waving around him and leaned in and kissed her. He caught the little sound of surprise she made with the kiss. She made another of those sounds when he hooked his arm around her waist and snapped her to him.
Even though he knew he should stop, Sawyer just kept kissing her. Kept inching her closer and closer to him until Cassidy was pressed against him, body to body.
Yeah, there were plenty of memories, all right.
She tasted exactly as he remembered. Like something forbidden. Not far from the truth. She was in his protective custody, which made her hands off, but neither his hands nor the rest of him seemed interested in staying away from her.
Too bad Cassidy clearly felt the same way.
She didn’t say so. Hard for her to speak through the deep kisses, but her body let him know this was exactly what she wanted. She wound her arms around his neck and kept kissing and touching so that the heat spiked through Sawyer.
His phone rang again, the sound shooting through the room and him. Once he tore himself away from Cassidy and her irresistible mouth, he was thankful for the reprieve. Until he saw the unknown-caller ID on the screen.
“Agent Ryland,” Sawyer cautiously answered.
“You have to help me,” the woman said, her words rushed together. It took him a moment to realize who the caller was.
“Dr. Blackwell? Where are you?” Sawyer asked, and he put the call on speaker so Cassidy could hear. “There are people looking for you.”
“Please, you have to help me,” she repeated. “Two men kidnapped me—”
And before the doctor could say another word, the line went dead.
Chapter Eleven
Cassidy’s heart slammed against her chest. No. This couldn’t be happening again. Even though she hardly knew Diane Blackwell, she did know what it was like to be taken captive. And in this case, the kidnappers were also killers.
Well, they were if it was the same people who’d taken April, Bennie and her.
Sawyer cursed, and he immediately scrolled through his numbers to call Grayson. No doubt so the sheriff could try to trace the call and locate the doctor before it was too late.
“Grayson,” Sawyer said the moment he answered. “We’ve got a problem.”
But before he could give the sheriff any details, Sawyer’s phone beeped, indicating he had another call coming in. Cassidy glanced at the screen and saw unknown caller, the same as before.
“I’ll have to get back to you,” Sawyer said to Grayson, and he clicked over to the other call. “Diane?”
“It’s me,” the woman said in a whisper. It was hard to hear her words, but Cassidy had no trouble hearing the fear in her voice. “We got disconnected or something.”
Better than the alternative of the kidnappers taking the phone. Or harming her so she couldn’t speak.
“Where are you?” Sawyer asked. He took the landline phone off the hook, pressed in Grayson’s number and handed it to Cassidy. “Tell him what’s going on,” Sawyer mouthed.
“I’m not sure where I am,” the doctor answered. “Some kind of warehouse. I managed to get away from the men, and I stole one of their phones. But I know they’re looking for me. That’s why you have to help me.”
Cassidy got through to Grayson and asked him to try to trace Diane’s call. He kept her on hold while he tried to do that, and she gave Sawyer a nod to let him know what was happening.
“And I will help you,” Sawyer assured her. “I’m having someone try to pinpoint your location now. Just stay on the line and describe where you are.”
“A big metal building.” Her breathing made a soft hiccupping sob. “It’s empty except for some wooden crates.”
“How’d you get there?” Sawyer pressed.
“The men were holding me in a nearby building. A vacant office.” She paused, gave another of those panicky sobs. “I think I’m in San Antonio. Please, you have to help me.”
“I will, I promise,” Sawyer said. And Cassidy knew that he would certainly try. “Look around you. Can you see the city lights or hear traffic?”
“No. But the men didn’t drive that long after they kidnapped me. God, I’m so scared.”
“I know.” Unlike Diane, Sawyer’s voice was level and calm. But not the rest of him. He had a crushing grip on the phone. “Just give me all the details you can.”
“Okay.” But it still took her several long seconds to get control of her voice. “I’d just gotten back from Silver Creek and was in the parking lot of my office building. It’s underground, and the light over my assigned space was broken or something.” Another sob. “I didn’t think anything of it, but the men took me the moment I stepped from my car.”
Again, it was hard to hear. They’d done almost the same thing to her. Grabbed Cassidy as she was coming out of her downtown office. She’d left in a rush that day. Distracted. Because only moments earlier the kidnapper had called to tell her that they had her brother. The last thing Cassidy had expected was for them to kidnap her, too, and that she needed to get the money for the ransom.
“Did you see the men’s faces or recognize them?” Sawyer demanded.
“No,” the doctor answered, and didn’t hesitate, either. “They wore these cartoon masks, like the kind kids wear to trick-or-treat. And they didn’t speak. They just threw me on the floor of a van. There were no windows in the back, so I couldn’t see where we were going.”
“How long were you in the van?” Sawyer asked. “Because it can help me pinpoint where they took you.”
“It’s hard to think.” Diane started to sob again.
“I know, but you can do this. You can help me save you.”
It was silly, but Cassidy wished that she’d had him on the other end of the line when she’d been taken. She’d been out of her mind with fear for Bennie and for herself, and there had been no one like Sawyer to help. Still, he’d managed to save her, an
d she hoped he could do the same for Diane.
“The kidnappers drove for maybe fifteen minutes before they stopped and took me into the empty office,” Diane finally said. “I ran here after I got away from the other building where they were holding me.”
And she’d obviously hidden herself since the kidnappers hadn’t found her all this time she’d been on the phone with Sawyer.
“Look around,” Sawyer instructed, “and try to guess where you are.”
“Uh.” Diane made several more of those sounds and was, hopefully, looking around. “I think I’m on the south side of town near some abandoned buildings.”
“Good.” He motioned for Cassidy to relay that to Grayson, and she did. “Just try to remember if you saw something, anything that will help us find you.”
“She’s using a burner,” Grayson said to Cassidy, and she passed that information on to Sawyer.
Cassidy had already learned that the cops couldn’t trace a disposable cell, and that meant it was even more critical for Diane to tell them exactly where she was.
“Put my call on Speaker,” Grayson added to her, “so Diane and Sawyer can hear this.”
Cassidy did, and she held the landline phone near Sawyer’s cell.
“San Antonio P.D. is sending two cruisers out to an area on the south side where there are warehouses,” Grayson explained. “Diane, I need you to listen for the sirens. That’ll help us pinpoint your location.”
“Wait,” Diane said, her voice shaking again. “I think the men are coming into the building. Oh, God. I think I hear footsteps.”
Cassidy put her fingers to her mouth. Held her breath.
“Just stay quiet a moment and try to keep out of sight.” It was good advice, but Sawyer mouthed some profanity after giving it. Probably because he hated not being able to help her. Diane was alone and no doubt terrified.
The seconds crawled by, and even though Diane wasn’t saying anything, Cassidy could hear plenty from Grayson. Speaking in whispers now, he was giving instructions to the officers heading out to look for the woman. She only hoped that the cops got to Diane before the kidnappers found her.
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