Applying for Passion (Capture, Inc.)

by James, Jade

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying, Isabel. And there was a note attached to the brick.”

  “What did it say?” She headed to her overnight bag and pulled out a pair of jeans. She started to dress as she held her cell between her ear and shoulder. Brian heaved a loud breath but remained silent for too long. “What did it say, Brian?” she repeated.

  “I didn’t touch it. I called the cops. They’ll want to check everything out. Hurry, up and get down here.”

  “Okay. I’m on my way.” She held in the anger that threatened to overwhelm her, but she knew she was on the verge of exploding. She snapped the cell phone shut and turned to Jack, who was already dressed. God, her nerves were shot, and she had to force herself not to shake. It was clear to her and by the look of Jack’s fuming face, it was her stalker who had struck. She needed to find out who this bastard was and quick. “My shop, Jack. Now he’s gone after my shop.”

  He reached for her, wrapping his arms around her, but when he pulled back, she could see the fury in his gaze. “You’re okay, and that’s the most important thing,” Jack stated. “Did Brian call the cops?”

  She nodded.

  “Finish getting ready. While we’re on our way, I’ll call John. It’s time we set a trap for this bastard.”

  * * * *

  By the time she and Jack arrived at the store, the cops were already there and in the process of taking a statement from Brian. It was a chaotic scene, with four police officers canvassing the damage and people already starting to gather to watch what had occurred. She eyed the mess. There was glass everywhere, and the front window had a huge, gaping hole in the middle of it. She needed to call a glass company and have it replaced right away.

  She moved away from Jack and peered inside. The brick was still on the floor, and a note was tied around it. She had the strongest urge to pick it up and read it. But she knew the police would probably need to take fingerprints first.

  “Isabel.”

  She turned at the sound of Brian’s voice. He rushed over to her. “Are you okay?”

  Jack stopped alongside her, and she waited patiently. Brian looked flustered and nervous.

  “I’m fine, a bit scared, but fine. I sent the staff home and told them we’d be closed for today,” Brian replied. “And if they had any questions, they should call you. The cop I gave my statement to is going to read the note.”

  “I’m glad you’re okay, and thank you for handling the staff. I appreciate it.” She turned and watched as a police officer donned latex gloves and reached for the brick, then lifted it. He untied the note and handed the brick over to another officer, who bagged it.

  Isabel saw the officer read the note and refolded the note. He made his way to her and held out his hand.

  “Isabel Lancaster, I’m Officer Larson Banks. If you don’t mind, I need to ask you a few questions.”

  She shook his hand. “Sure. This is Jack Riley, and you’ve met Brian.”

  Officer Banks nodded.

  She pulled her hand back and stared at the paper in his hand. “What did the note say?” She couldn’t help but ask as she clenched her teeth against the need to shudder. Her emotions were off the scale, and she felt just a little bit of everything at the moment—anger, fear, nervousness.

  Officer Banks stepped forward, unfolded the letter, and tilted it so she could see. In letters cut out of a magazine and glued together, it read, You’re next.

  At those two little seemingly inoffensive words, Isabel began to shake. She felt trapped, and for a minute she had to blink rapidly, because black spots appeared in front of her vision. She would not faint. She was strong. She would survive this. Thank heaven for Jack, who wrapped an arm around her waist, and his strength seemed to seep into her. She leaned into him, hoping his nearness would calm her. There had to be a way to get this insane person.

  “We’ve taken a statement from Mr. Zink,” Officer Banks stated. “There were no witnesses around this early in the morning, but that’s no surprise being it’s a weekend. Sundays are usually quiet. Mr. Zink tells us he saw nothing. We’ll be going around to the businesses on the block surrounding yours as well as across the street, and see if anything was caught by those who have surveillance cameras. In the meantime, we’ll send a squad car to patrol the area. Is there anyone you can think of who would do such a thing?”

  Where she found the inner strength to rehash everything that had happened to her in the past year, she didn’t know. But ten minutes later she was done and had told the cops everything she knew. She felt wiped out, drained, and if it weren’t for Jack, she feared she would have collapsed by now.

  “I’m really sorry about this, and especially sorry that no one has been able to help you,” Officer Banks replied grimly. “Rest assured, I’ll be taking a look at the history of your case. At some point this week, I’d like to come over to your place to review the details, or you can come down to the precinct. I want to make sure we have all the facts. I—”

  “We’ll definitely be giving you a call. I know it’s been a long while since her attack, but is it possible for Isabel to review any photos of convicted perps in hopes of it jogging her memory?” Jack interjected.

  “That’s what I have in mind,” Officer Banks answered. “The sooner you can come down to the station, the better.”

  Isabel sighed. “I’ll make it a point to stop by tomorrow.”

  Officer Banks placed a card into her hand. “Here is my direct line. If you remember anything in the meantime, give me a call.” He nodded and then stepped away.

  “Isabel?”

  She froze, then turned. “Ariel, what are you doing here?” Her sister rushed to her with John right by her side.

  “Jack called John, and I couldn’t stay away. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. The police are handling it. No one’s been hurt.”

  Ariel enveloped her in a hug.

  Isabel pulled back after a few seconds. “I need to call a glass company and have this replaced.”

  “Already taken care of,” Jack replied. “They should be here in thirty minutes. Once we replace the glass on the store, we’ll all meet up at my place. I’m certain we’ve been dealing with the same guy, and I don’t want to take any further chances on her life. We need to catch him before he hurts her.”

  Chapter Nine

  It was midnight, but the hour did nothing to lure him into going to bed for the night. Sunday had passed by a little too quickly, and Jack found himself once again poring over the files of her case. There had to have been something he’d overlooked or missed, but he couldn’t see what the hell that was.

  He and Isabel had made an earlier visit to the precinct and spent hours looking over files, hoping something would jar her memory. But it had been a dead end.

  Jack grimaced and massaged the tight, throbbing muscle in the back of his neck. He dropped the file back on his office desk and stood. John, Sean, Mason, Cameron, and he were all meeting at the office tomorrow morning to come up with a plan. There had to be something he was missing. At this very moment, he had Mason tracing all phone calls going into Isabel’s home and cell. Cameron and John both had copies of the police report. Ariel and John had both gone home, and Isabel had fallen asleep earlier on Jack’s bed. She looked worn out, and he hated the worry he’d seen in her gaze.

  What in the hell was he missing? All evidence pointed to a stalker, but usually the person who was terrorizing the victim had some sort of connection to them. Still, in rare cases the victims never knew the person who was coming after them. Statistics showed most stalkers were unmarried, rejected lovers, and chronic failures in social and sexual relationships. And Jack used those facts when he’d spoken to Isabel earlier on her past lovers. But no one had stood out, and it seemed the few relationships Isabel had in the past had ended in amicable breakups.

  Hell, he was going to have to ask her for a list of people who came in contact with her on a daily and weekly basis. It was the only other logical direction the
y could head to, besides setting a trap. It was merely a matter of time before her attacker attempted to make another move on her. And Jack had no qualms about ripping the bastard apart to stop him.

  * * * *

  Isabel woke alone. She touched Jack’s pillow and noticed it was cool, which could only mean he must have risen a while ago. She found it odd he hadn’t let her know where he was going.

  As she showered and dressed, she wondered where Jack could be. She searched the apartment and waited an hour for his return, hoping he’d gone out to grab breakfast. But he still wasn’t back yet. She couldn’t wait any longer. She needed to stop by her place and then head to the bakery. The glass had been fixed, but there was cleanup to be done in the store as well.

  After snatching the set of keys Jack had given her earlier, Isabel sent him a quick text notifying him of her intentions, and that’s when she noticed she had a message from Jack. He’d gone to the office early to get some work done.

  She headed out door, then hailed a cab and was in front of her building within twenty minutes.

  She headed up the stairs and then opened her apartment door. As she turned to close and lock it, she noticed her neighbor Patrick, standing right behind her. Her heart felt like it dropped to her feet, and for a second, she was frozen in fear. It seemed as if he’d appeared out of thin air. How the hell had she not heard him? He’d been her neighbor for a little over a year. She’d introduced herself to him when she’d moved in.

  But he’d always been a little too creepy, always leering at her. Nonetheless she had written him off as harmless, attributing his stares to him being socially awkward. But at this very moment, every bone in her body tightened with anticipation and seemed to scream at her she’d been wrong about him. How could she have made such a mistake?

  Isabel took a deep breath and tried to brush the fear aside. She needed to remain focused and calm. Patrick shuffled a tad closer, and Isabel glanced down quickly, noticing his foot was now in her apartment. If she closed the door, it would be practically impossible to remove him from her doorway.

  “Isabel, I’ve been waiting.” He whispered the words, but she heard the anger beneath his voice and even saw the rage in his stare.

  She swallowed tightly and she strained to smile. “Patrick, how are you?”

  His eyes narrowed, and she tried to keep herself from trembling.

  “I’ve been waiting for you.”

  Isabel noticed that one of his hands was tucked behind him. The urge to flee was so great that she had to force herself to remain still. “Really? Well, I’m here now. What can I help you with?”

  “Where have you been?”

  How the hell do I answer that? She had a strong feeling the truth would set him off. “Out, you know, running some errands.” It was the first thought that popped into her head, and she hoped to hell he believed it.

  Patrick shook his head and grimaced. “Are you by any chance lying to me, Isabel? I would really…really be upset if that were the case. And at this point, upsetting me wouldn’t be good for you.”

  His voice somehow became deeper, angrier, the exact same tone that had been terrorizing her for so long. And all the memories came rushing back, falling into place like pieces of a jagged puzzle. The night she’d been attacked, the fear of him, the terror of thinking he’d kill her as he’d grabbed her tightly, and the phone calls all clicked together. This time she couldn’t stop the trembling from overtaking her. She locked her knees, hoping he wouldn’t notice her distress, but from the look in his eyes, he did. She saw the obsession in his crazed gaze, the evil in it.

  Her heart felt like it would leap from her chest, and still she asked what she needed to know. “It was you all along. Why?”

  “I wanted you from the very beginning,” Patrick shouted, “and if you’d have given me half the chance you’ve given your new lover, I would have been fucking enough!”

  “How…how…were you able to get my phone number?”

  “Getting it was a piece of cake. If you’d have taken the time to get to know me, you’d eventually have learned I work for Bell Communications. But you and everyone else thought they were too good for me!”

  He took another step forward, and it left Isabel no choice but to take one back, just as Isabel heard her phone ring in her bag. “Maybe you should pick that up.” He sneered the words, and Isabel knew there was no hope in getting out of this alive. She was sure this psycho had no intentions of letting her go, but she had to make some sort of effort.

  As slim a chance as it might be, running was her only possibility, and as adrenaline spiked within her body, her heart pounding in fear, Isabel ran toward her bathroom. If she managed to lock the door, it wouldn’t hold him for long, but if she could just reach it, she’d have a chance to call Jack.

  The doorknob came in sight, but the footsteps behind her were too close. She’d never make it in time, and just as she realized it, blinding pain exploded in the back of her head, causing her to fall to her knees. Her vision blurred before her world went black.

  Chapter Ten

  “She’s not answering her goddamn phone!” Jack gripped his cell phone as the urge to toss it against the wall threatened to overcome him. Deep in his gut he knew something was wrong, and it scared him to death. As soon as he’d read the text she had sent him, he’d called her, but she hadn’t picked up. Fuck! He had left her sleeping and hadn’t had the heart to wake her. He would never have thought in a million years she would have left his place alone, especially not after what she’d been through.

  John, Sean, Mason, and Cameron all rose as Jack made his way to the cabinet in his office. He pulled out his GLOCK and ammunition. His team knew how to wield a deadly weapon with precise accuracy, and he never needed them more than this very moment.

  “Shouldn’t we call the police?”

  Jack turned and faced Sean. His office was a fifteen-minute drive to Isabel’s place, and by the way he intended to drive, he’d cut it down to ten minutes. “We’ll call them once we get to Isabel’s home.” There was no way this son of a bitch would ever have the opportunity to lay his hands on his woman ever again. He just hoped to hell he didn’t get there too late.

  And it was left unspoken between them: they were going to shoot to kill.

  * * * *

  She’d woken about five minutes ago, her head throbbing. She was bound by ropes and tied to her poster bed. Isabel tried to regulate her breathing, fought to control her fear and tears. Patrick hadn’t come back into her bedroom yet, but she could hear his footsteps outside her room as if he were pacing back and forth. She could make out his faint voice but wasn’t sure if he was talking to someone on the phone or to himself. It was only a matter of time before he came back. There would be no rationalizing with him. She’d seen the crazed look in his eyes. Patrick was going to kill her.

  I’m never going to see Jack or Ariel again.

  This time the tears slid from her eyes, but she refused to break down completely. She would gain nothing by screaming hysterically and losing her composure.

  Get a grip, Isabel.

  Her room was cloaked in semidarkness. The lights were off, but sunlight filtered through her curtains. She hadn’t been unconscious that long, since it was still daylight out. She shifted her head, then whimpered at the aching tenderness.

  She twisted her wrists, hoping the rough ropes that were cutting into her skin would loosen. But after a few seconds of dealing with the burning abrasion against her flesh, she gave up. The ropes wouldn’t give. He’d tied them so tight it felt like her blood supply was being cut off.

  Her throat seemed clogged, and pressure weighed her chest down as anxiety filled her stomach with dread. She was not having a panic attack. She would get through this. She struggled for air but couldn’t help but feel it was all hopeless. Completely and utterly hopeless. There had to be something she could do.

  She froze at the sound of her door opening. The hinges creaked eerily as Patrick entered the room. The
hallway light was on, and she could see him clearly. In his hand was one of her kitchen blades, the shiny steel reflecting the light. Fear seemed to freeze every bone in her body, along with her breath.

  He walked over to the bed and stopped when he hovered above her. He traced her cheek with the tip of the knife, and she remained utterly still. “It should have never come to this,” he whispered. “Never come to the point where I had to tie you down, just so you could be with me.”

  She closed her eyes as he pressed the steel against her cheek. She couldn’t help the sob that escaped as she felt the pressure, then her flesh break. A burning pinch seemed to spread over her face before the wetness of her blood slid down her cheek. He momentarily lifted the knife from her skin, then placed the blade on her stomach, underneath the shirt she wore. He moved the tip up and ripped the bottom of her blouse.

  “I would have never hurt you if you’d only seen me. But no one has ever seen me. You were no different from the others I’ve shown lessons to.” He tore her shirt all the way open before holding the blade against the front clasp of her bra. “I have something special planned for you, though. I’m going to fuck you before slicing your neck. You’ll bleed out in seconds and when they find out, it’ll be much too late.”

  Oh God, he’d done this to other girls. Bile rose in her throat, but she didn’t even dare take a breath, and kept her eyes closed. She felt him moved the knife upward to her neck, and withheld the scream she desperately wanted to let loose.

  She would die at the hands of a madman, and there were too many things she wanted to do in this world, wanted to experience with Jack and her family. But it was too late to turn back the clock, even as she wished she had remained in Jack’s home.

  Her heart seemed to beat a mile a minute, and every fiber of her being tensed for what she horrifically envisioned would be the end of her. She would not look him in the eyes. If he was going to kill her, her last thoughts would be of Jack and Ariel. And she forced herself to think of them, pushing away all thoughts of Patrick.