Love to Hate You: a Hope Valley novel

by Prince, Jessica

The sun had long since set and he’d spent the past half hour telling me everything. He told me all about the case he and Leo had been living for months. He told me about Greg Cormack’s involvement, and chills formed across my skin when I found out what a monster the man was.

  He finally explained who Charlie was, going in depth about the young woman’s life and the absolute hell she’d had to live through, not only with her current circumstances, but in her past as well. I had to fight back the desire to cry for this woman I didn’t even know as he told me all about her. By the time he finished, it was easy to see how he’d come to think of her as a kind of little sister and felt such a strong need to protect her.

  My heart broke for him and Leo for how they’d struggled to bring justice to one of their fellow officers. It broke for Charlie Belmont, for Sidney Callo and her daughters. But at the same time, my veins were filling with rage that this asshole was walking around free as a bird while good people were suffering.

  I dragged my fingers across his chest, distractedly tracing random patterns through the small smattering of short hair as I replayed his words in my head.

  “Red? You good?” I tilted my chin so I could look up at his strong, chiseled face, the moonlight bouncing off the sharp plains and edges, making him look like a Greek god. One arm was braced behind his head while the other wrapped around me, holding me in place so tightly I couldn’t move. Not that I had any intention to. “Was that too much?”

  I stopped drawing on his chest and draped my arm around his stomach, burrowing in and squeezing him tight. “No,” I replied adamantly. “When it comes to you and your life, Micah, I’ll always be able to handle it. I just hate that you’ve been dealing with all of this on your own. You need an outlet. You need to get this out so it doesn’t suffocate you.”

  “You were that for me, baby. You and Ivy and Sylvia were my outlet. But it was pointed out to me recently that maybe I wasn’t utilizing that to the degree I needed to. I wanted to keep all this shit from spilling into your life and tainting it.”

  I pushed up, bringing both hands to his chest and resting my chin on the backs of them so I could look right into his eyes. “That’s the thing about relationships, honey. When you love someone, they become part of your life. Your job is part of who you are, Micah. I don’t want you keeping things from me because you want to protect me from it. If you do that, I don’t get all of you, and I want all of you.”

  His arm around me squeezed tighter. “I know that now.”

  “Good. Because I’m a whole lot tougher than people think.”

  His voice was low and husky as he replied, “Believe me, Red, I know how tough you are. It’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with you.”

  “All right. Then it’s settled. If you need to let something out, I can take it, so I want you to give it to me. No more secrets.”

  He lifted his head off the pillows and bent his neck so he could reach my lips. “Deal. No more secrets.”

  With that, the heavy stuff was done, and Micah let me know he was ready to move on to something much more fun by rolling me to my back and sliding his thick, hard cock into me slowly. He made love to me the same way, taking his time and savoring every second of it.

  Once we finished, he cleaned me up and we tucked in for the night. Curled in Micah’s arms, I slept harder and deeper than I had in a week.

  * * *

  Micah

  Walking into the bullpen Monday, my mood was considerably changed from the week prior. I felt so damn good it was a wonder I wasn’t whistling a damn tune.

  Ivy had come home from her dad’s the night before, and the moment she walked into the house and saw me kicked back on the couch, she’d let out a shriek loud enough to pierce my eardrums.

  “You’re back!” she’d screamed before throwing herself at me and wrapping her tiny arms around me as tightly as she could. As soon as mine closed around her little body, the last piece of my heart that had been missing for the past week clicked back into place, and just like that, I was whole again.

  “I’m back, Monster,” I’d told her, pulling in her soft scent. It reminded me of sugar and fabric softener. It was warmth and comfort, and I hadn’t realized how badly I missed it until that moment. “And I promise I’ll never disappear on you again.”

  She’d been so excited it had been a nightmare trying to get her to go to sleep later that night. I’d had to read her favorite book twice, then make up a story about a little diva rocker princess who loved glitter and playing in the dirt before she finally passed out.

  “I’m guessin’ by the grin on your face your weekend was a vast improvement from the week before.”

  I sat at my desk and kicked my feet up, looking across at Leo. “And you’d be right.”

  He was still smiling, but I could tell by the look in his eyes he was dead serious as he asked, “You love this chick?”

  I gave it to him straight. “Yep. Never expected it to happen. Before her, I never even wanted it. But yeah, I’m fuckin’ crazy about her, and I couldn’t be more fine with that.”

  “Good. Happy for you, brother. Hayden’s a good one.”

  He didn’t have to tell me. I was all too aware of how incredible she was. “Thanks, man. She actually mentioned last night havin’ you and Dani and your brood over for dinner, asked me to talk to you to set something up.”

  At that, my partner busted out laughing. “Man, look at you, all domesticated and shit. This is a trip.”

  I cut him a look, tossing a paperclip at his head that he managed to dodge. “All right, asshole. So can I tell her you’re in, or what?”

  “Yeah, brother,” he said on a chuckle. Count us in.”

  I couldn’t even be annoyed he was giving me shit, because I knew that Hayden would be over the moon that Leo had said yes, and making her happy was the only thing that mattered to me.

  We got to work after that, the morning moving at a normal pace. I’d gotten comfortable enough to think that maybe I’d get through the day without any nasty surprises cropping up when everything suddenly turned to shit.

  My cell rang and Dalton’s name flashed across the screen. “Hey man, how’s it goin’?”

  “Tell me she’s with you.”

  A chill worked its way down my spine. “What are you talking about? Who?”

  “Charlotte,” he clipped, the man sounding more frantic than I’d ever heard him. “Is she with you? Have you heard from her at all?”

  My gaze shot across the desks to Leo’s and I jerked my chin to the stairs that would take us out of the bullpen and to the back exit of the building.

  He grabbed his keys and we were on our feet, moving out as I answered, “No. She isn’t and I haven’t. Talk to me. What the hell is goin’ on?”

  A string of curses blasted through the line. “She gave me the fuckin’ slip,” he fumed.

  “Goddamn it,” I clipped, picking up the pace through the parking lot. “How the hell did that happen?”

  “Said she wasn’t feelin’ good. That she got her period and needed to take a hot bath. I didn’t wanna bother her, so I let her be. When too long had passed, I knocked on the door. She didn’t answer, so I kicked it down. She’d bolted out the fuckin’ window.”

  Leo beeped the locks once we reached his truck. I yanked the passenger door open and leapt in as he started it.

  “All right. We’re headin’ to Alpha Omega now. The other guys know yet?”

  “Those calls already went out. Linc’s there now. So’s Xander. I’m en route, and Trent’s out trackin’.”

  “Good. We’ll see you in a few.”

  Leo drove out of the station’s parking lot like a bat out of hell, and I sent up a silent prayer that, wherever the hell she was, Charlie was safe.

  * * *

  The AO offices were running with controlled chaos. The tension filling the air was thick enough to choke a horse, but we powered through.

  For doing something so incredibly fucking stupid, Charlie had been smart
about it. She’d left her main cell at the house, only taking the burner I’d given her to stay in contact. I called the number over and over, praying that one of these times it would connect, but it was currently powered off so there was no way to trace it.

  Xander was going through security cam footage of the stores and shops near her house to see if we could get a lock on the direction she’d gone, but so far, we were running blind.

  Leo’s voice spoke over the din of the conference room. “We have a problem. I called into the station to see who was supposed to be on shift this mornin’, and Cormack no-showed.

  “Fuck,” I snapped, whipping around to Xander. “Get a trace on his phone, fast as you can.”

  “On it.”

  “It’s him,” Leo grated, coming up beside me. “You know it’s him, man.”

  My heart was in my throat, panic gripped my chest like a vise, because my partner was right. Wherever the fuck Charlie was, Cormack had her. “We’re gonna get her back.”

  “If that motherfucker so much as touches her—” Dalton snarled.

  I reached out and clasped him at the back of his neck, giving him a jostle. With each minute that passed, the man became more of a loose cannon, to the point I was afraid Linc and his guys were gonna have to lock him down so he wouldn’t fuck up finding her.

  “She’s gonna be fine,” I assured him. “That girl’s got steel in her spine, man. You know that. We’re gonna find her, and she’s gonna be okay.”

  “Got a trace,” Xander called out, rattling off the address where Cormack’s phone was pinging.

  Linc pointed at him, ordering, “Get that address to West and Trent, tell them to move their asses. Red lights and stop signs are only suggestions today.”

  I lifted my phone, prepared to dial Charlie’s burner again when the screen came to life, flashing the letter C.

  “Thank fuck,” I rasped. I looked to Xander to see he was prepared to start a trace as soon as I answered. I engaged the call, putting it on speaker. “What the fuck were you thinkin’?” I boomed through the line. “Where are you?”

  My question was met with silence.

  “Charlie?”

  “Guess again,” a man spoke. “But I got your girl’s phone.”

  At the sound of Cormack’s voice coming from Charlie’s phone, red began bleeding into my vision. “Motherfucker, if you hurt her—”

  “Gotta say, Langford, it surprised the hell out of me you were able to flip her. Out of all the assholes working for me, I always thought she was the toughest. Never thought she’d be the one to flip. Then she started up with that PI prick, and I knew something had to be going on there.”

  “Cormack, you let her go now, you can still walk away from this,” I tried to reason as desperation clawed at my throat.

  “Oh, I plan to walk away from this. Unfortunately, your girl here isn’t gonna be so lucky. Hope you didn’t get too close to your CI, my man, ’cause she’s not gonna live long enough to see another day.”

  The call disconnected after that, and when I looked to Xander, he shook his head, telling me there hadn’t been enough time to get a lock on his location.

  The only chance we had of finding Charlie, and it was gone.

  I’d just broken every promise I’d made to that girl. I’d failed her. And the pain that caused was enough to take me to my knees.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Hayden

  “I can’t believe I let you talk me into a second lesson,” I wheezed after sucking back my entire bottle of water.

  McKenna looked at me like I was being ridiculous. “You did great, and look!” She pointed at where I was standing. “You’re still on your feet. That’s a huge improvement from last time.”

  “Yeah, well, I guess that’s something.”

  She waggled her eyebrows as I picked up my gym bag and slung it over my shoulder. “And just think, you’ll be able to put on a sexy little show for Micah in no time. Imagine the appreciation he’ll dole out for that.”

  I let out a laugh and moved in to give her a tired, sweaty hug. “Point taken. I’ll come back for another lesson.”

  “Good. And I’ll call you this week. We’ll do coffee. And hey, I’m glad you’re happy again, honey.”

  Man, I had some of the best friends here in Hope Valley. “Thanks, babe. See you soon.”

  I headed out of the studio and down the back hall of Whiskey Dolls. I pushed through the door to the alley where I’d parked when my cell phone started ringing.

  Pulling it out of my bag, I answered and put it to my ear. “Hey, honey.”

  Micah’s voice came out in a rush. “Red, where are you?”

  “I’m just leaving McKenna’s club. I should be home in about fifteen. Is everything ok—” My words died when something hard slammed into my temple. Everything went black just before I hit the asphalt.

  * * *

  I came to with a pain in my head that felt like my skull had been split clean open. Something wet clumped my lashes together when I tried to blink my lids open, making my vision muddy as it dripped into my eye.

  The full realization of my surroundings didn’t hit me until I tried lifting a hand to wipe it away and discovered they’d been bound together. So were my feet. And I had what felt like duct tape wrapped around my head, covering my mouth. I began to panic, thrashing around in my small, dark confines, yelling against the tape.

  Whatever I was in was moving, because I was thrown around like a rag doll when it lurched to a stop.

  Trunk, my brain registered. I’d been knocked out, was bound and gagged, and had been stuffed into someone’s trunk.

  What the fuck?

  I started screaming louder from behind the tape, kicking my legs out the best I could and beating on the lid of the trunk. It flew open a second later, and the sudden burst of sunlight made it impossible to see.

  I blinked rapidly to clear my vision, finally able to see who’d kidnapped me at the same time I felt his hands close around my arms. I fought even harder, trying to get away. Curling my hands into fists, I swung them wide and hard, connecting with his nose.

  Greg stumbled back, cursing, “Goddamn bitch!” He lunged back into the trunk and punched me in the same temple he’d hit the first time. My arms and legs instantly fell limp as stars burst in front of my eyes. “You keep fighting I’ll make this a lot fucking worse than it needs to be. And trust me, you don’t want that.”

  I let out a pained groan as he hefted me out of the trunk and tossed me over his shoulder. All I could see were dead leaves and twigs scattered about beneath Greg’s feet. He climbed up a set of steps and kicked a door open. He moved inside the building and dropped me to the ground unceremoniously, knocking the breath out of my lungs and making my bones scream in agony.

  I whimpered when he reached for a knife he had tucked into his belt. Every inch of my body protested as I attempted to slither away.

  “Stop moving,” he gritted. Reaching out, he cut the bindings on my feet first, then the ones on my wrists. He unwound the tape from around my head, and I sucked in a sharp hiss when he ripped it off my skin, yanking out some hair with it.

  Fear fueled my movements as I pushed to sitting and scuttled backward, trying to get away from him. My heart started beating dangerously fast when my back slammed into a wall. Glancing around, I saw we were in a cabin that looked like it hadn’t seen signs of human life in well over a decade. It could have been a set out of a horror movie, and I wouldn’t have been surprised.

  Greg moved across the room, grabbing one of the dust-covered chairs from a small, crudely built table. He carried it closer, setting it down in the center of the room, effectively blocking off the only exit out of this hellhole, and sat down, forearms to his knees.

  I couldn’t stand to look at him, so I shifted my attention to the side, sucking in a sharp gasp when I saw the bruised and battered body of a woman lying on the floor near the corner.

  “Oh my God,” I cried, crawling across the floor and r
eaching for her. I sat back and rested her head on my thighs, prodding at her throat in an attempt to find a pulse, but my hands were too shaky.

  “Relax,” he grunted. “She’s alive. For the time being.”

  My head shot up, tears welling in my eyes, mixing with the blood that had dripped into them from the gash on the side of my head, created when he’d knocked me out. Bile slithered up my throat, making it burn as I asked, “What did you do?”

  “Nothing she didn’t deserve,” he hissed through gnashed teeth. “This is what happens when you rat.”

  Rat. Oh my God. Looking down at the woman’s face, I couldn’t make out a single thing thanks to all the swelling and mottled bruises everywhere. “Charlie?” I whispered, hoping this wasn’t the woman Micah had told me about only a couple days ago, the woman who’d endured more than anyone’s fair share of hell on earth. Her body gave a little jerk, and one of her eyelids opened just a fraction.

  God, no. Desperation to get us both out of here began coursing through my veins.

  My voice rattled as I told him, “You don’t have to do this. You can leave right now. Get in your car and drive away. You’ll be long gone by the time anyone finds us.”

  He raised his arms at his sides and looked around. “You aren’t really in the position to be bargaining right now, beautiful.” That endearment made my skin crawl. “There isn’t a chance in hell of your little boyfriend finding us any time soon, and by the time he finally picks up the trail, I’ll be long gone and you’ll be dead.”

  I wanted to cry. I wanted to curl up in a ball and beg and plead, but my pride wouldn’t let me. That fire that Micah loved so much forced my chin up and my eyes into a glare as I demanded, “Then why haven’t you done it yet, huh? What are you waiting for?”

  He looked at me curiously, his eyes taking me in slowly. “There’s one thing I have to know first.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Why him?”