by Mary Abshire
Chapter Twenty-Four
Andrew stared with his hands on his head as the boat Emily had boarded left the dock. Fear and anger consumed him, but mostly fear fueled his pounding heart. He had no way to follow her. Anything could happen while the ship was at sea. They could all end up raped, murdered, and thrown into the ocean.
“Annie sent me a text. She said she’s on her way,” Matt said, standing behind him. He’d sent a text to her, asking if she were still attending her usual party after the show. Her message confirmed what Emily had said in her last communication to him. Andrew’s gut feeling suspected Annie had no plans to show up at all.
Andrew couldn’t tear his gaze from the long boat. “We should stay and see if she is coming, but I don’t think she will.”
“Maybe we should go back to the hotel.”
“I’m not leaving this dock,” Andrew said a little louder than he’d meant to.
“I know you’re concerned about your wife, but we haven’t seen anything to lead us to believe something bad would happen to her or the other girls.”
“I know Carrie. She wouldn’t have asked for help unless she truly needed it.”
Her last message had scared him to death. Since New York, they’d decided not to involve Troy in their work. The fact she’d told him to contact him meant something seriously had gone wrong. But what frightened him the most were her last two words, I’m sorry. The love of his life had put herself in grave danger and she knew it.
“I hate to say it, but we can’t do anything from here,” Matt said.
Andrew withdrew his cell from the pocket of his jeans. “I’m waiting here.” He sent another message to Emily asking where she was. He’d sent one ten minutes ago. If someone else had her phone the person would see he was checking in with his wife.
“If we wait here and Annie is on her way, she’s going to be pissed when she sees us.”
“We’re not leaving,” Andrew said flatly.
“Let’s go back to the car. She won’t see us if we wait there.”
Andrew hated to leave the dock. He could still see the ship. It seemed pointless to go back to the Jeep since the demon bitch wasn’t going to show up anyway. But he understood Matt’s position. Because there was no evidence to support Emily’s theory, he believed the girls would be fine and Annie was a saint. Andrew needed Matt on his side, more than ever now that Emily was out of his grasp.
“Fine, we’ll wait in the Jeep,” Andrew said reluctantly. “But if she’s not here in a half hour, will you believe she’s not coming?”
Matt looked out at the water. “I won’t know what to believe.”
The ship continued to head out of the marina. In little time he wouldn’t be able to see it from the dock. Worry and rage consumed him so much he wanted to scream or hit something. Both would help him release some anxiety. If she’d only listened to him and had stuck to her promise, then she wouldn’t be in trouble. Damn her for scaring him, for putting through such emotional distress. She couldn’t put him through such angst and expect him to be okay. He couldn’t tolerate such actions of selfishness any longer.
“Come on,” Matt said.
Clenching his jaw, he started walking down the pier toward the car lot. Phone in his hands, he held it up and checked for messages. Emily hadn’t responded.
She’d told him to contact Troy. Every bit of him detested the idea. He and Troy had a bit of a falling out in New York. Her best friend didn’t want Emily working with Andrew because he believed Andrew would lead her to get hurt, possibly killed. Troy had tried to convince her to stay and work for him. In the end, she’d decided to go with Andrew. She believed she would save lives and do something right with her life. Troy left, but his message to Andrew was clear. He’d kill Andrew if anything happened to Emily. It now looked like he might get the chance.
But Andrew didn’t fear Troy. The man was smart and skilled in ways Andrew could never compete with. Not that he was trying to. Troy and Emily had grown up together. Nothing could break their relationship. Andrew admired their strength and devotion. He wanted the same with Emily, and he’d thought they had it. If Troy wanted to kill him for any harm to Emily, then so be it. Andrew wouldn’t stop loving her. He’d fight to his death to save her.
Andrew glanced back at the ship before stepping onto the bridge. He could barely see the lights. It would reach the Pacific in thirty minutes.
His pulse raced as he crossed the bridge. The clock was ticking. He needed to act soon.
He’d parked the Jeep at the far end of the lot, several rows back from the van. Reaching the pavement, he started to jog. He needed his old cell or Emily’s to call Troy. Fortunately, they’d left them in the glove compartment.
“Wait up,” Matt said, his shoes pattering faster on the pavement.
The night had a small breeze, but not enough to keep Andrew from perspiring. As he neared the vehicle, he tapped the keychain. The lights flashed briefly. He hurried to get inside the vehicle and then removed both cells from the glove box.
Matt climbed into the passenger seat. “What’s the rush?”
Andrew tapped the screens. Emily’s screensaver showed a field of flowers. Leaving his old phone on his lap, he held hers and accessed her contacts. With one touch, the phone dialed Troy’s number.
His breaths were heavier than normal. Sweat trickled down from his temple on his left side. He hadn’t prepared what to say without causing Troy to panic. But at this stage, he didn’t care. Anything could happen to Emily and Andrew couldn’t protect her.
Troy’s voicemail came on. Andrew cursed silently. After the beep, he said. “It’s Andrew. I have an emergency. I need you call this number back as soon as you can. Our girl is in trouble and I need your help. Please call me.” He ended the call, but held onto the phone.
“Who did you call?” Matt asked.
Andrew wiped the side of his face on his shoulder. “Her best friend. The one who trained her.”
“But you don’t know if she’s in any real danger yet.”
“I do know. Carrie is a tough-ass woman, the strongest, most stubborn, and bravest I’ve ever met. She doesn’t like for me to step in and help her. For her to ask and tell me to contact her best friend says a lot.”
His hand shook as he held onto Emily’s old cell. He returned his old phone to the glove box and then leaned his elbow on the side of the car. If he had to sit and wait for a call or message for too long he would go crazy. He tried to think of a way to get to the ship. Plenty of small boats were docked at the marina.
“Do you know how to drive a boat?” Andrew asked.
Matt’s brows came together. “Yeah. Why?”
“Do you know how to hotwire one?”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“My wife is in danger. Those girls are in danger.” A touch of panic laced his tone.
“You don’t have proof.”
“My wife is not wrong about this,” Andrew said louder.
Matt took a deep breath. “You said you would wait to see if Annie shows up.”
The phone in his hand vibrated. Troy’s name appeared on the screen. Andrew pressed it before he lifted the cell to his ear.
“What the fuck is going on?” Troy asked.
“Emily’s in trouble and I can’t get to her.”
“If you’re fucking with me I will cut off your balls and feed them to you.”
“You know I’m desperate or I wouldn’t have called you.”
“Where is she?”
“We’re in San Diego. She boarded a boat. It’s left the marina and I can’t follow it.”
“Why the fuck did she get on a boat?”
“It’s a long story and I don’t have time to tell it.” He swallowed hard. “She told me to call you.”
“Fuck!” Troy yelled. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
Andrew held the cell away from his ear. His reaction matched what Andrew had expected.
“You’ve got her phone, but does she have any other on
e with her? Or did you get the name of the boat? What marina are you at?” Troy asked too many questions too fast.
“I’m at Harbor Island Marina. I couldn’t see the name on the ship. And she does have a company phone.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“We’re contract employees and our employer provided the phones.”
“I know what a fucking company phone is.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“Just shut the fuck up. Are there other people with phones on the ship?”
Troy’s attitude sparked anger within Andrew. He fought the temptation to tell Troy a few curse words. If he didn’t need Troy’s help, he would’ve shared his irate thoughts before hanging up.
“Yes,” Andrew said.
“Do you know her number and theirs?”
“Yes.
“Give them to me.”
Andrew lowered the phone to retrieve the data. As he found each number, he read them to Troy. He made sure he said Carrie instead of Emily when he gave her digits.
“Give me twenty minutes. I’m not near a computer,” Troy said.
“I don’t mean to sound desperate, but I am. The ship is heading to the Pacific.”
“Why the fuck didn’t you call me sooner?”
“It wouldn’t have mattered. The boat left within five minutes of her boarding it,” Andrew said, irritation rich in his tone.
“Why the fuck did you let her on it?”
Time ticked away while they argued.
“Can you please hurry to get to a damn computer? Do whatever the fuck you have to do. Please.” Andrew tried to sound calm, yet the urgency in his tone couldn’t be missed.
“Fuck you,” Troy barked. “I call you back.”
The line became silent. Andrew let out a long breath and closed his eyes briefly.
“He did not sound happy to hear from you,” Matt said.
“He’s always like that.”
Lights rolled across the parked vehicles as a car pulled into the lot. Andrew and Matt watched as the blue sedan took a spot in the front. A man in a uniform exited and headed for the main building.
“Damn it,” Matt said, shaking his head.
“She’s not coming.”
“We wait and see.”
Andrew didn’t plan on going anywhere unless he could commandeer a boat. “Can you hotwire a boat?” He turned the key in the ignition to lower the windows.
Matt stared at him. “No. It’s different from a car.” His flat tone revealed his annoyance.
“I wish there was a way to get a boat.”
Silence lasted several long minutes.
“What’s your friend going to do?” Matt asked.
“I have no idea, but he can get access to things.”
“Does he work for the government?”
“No. Nothing like that.”
“Is he in law enforcement?”
“Not exactly. He’s just … special.”
Matt tilted his head back in understanding. “I know a few people like that too.”
More silence filled the time. Andrew bobbled his leg, but it did little to calm his nerves. He kept checking his cell every few minutes. No messages had come in from Emily. He sent another asking her to please tell him where she was.
When Emily’s cell buzzed, Andrew jumped. He tapped the screen. “Hello?”
“I checked the phone number you gave for her. According to the GPS software I’m using, she’s in the marina,” Troy said.
“That’s not possible.”
“The other two numbers I check are a few miles in the Pacific.”
Andrew stilled, his breath lost, his mind unable to relay words to his mouth.
“Did you hear me?” Troy asked.
He swallowed hard. “She’s not in the marina.”
“Then the phone has been ditched. I can monitor these other numbers for a little while, but you’re going to need to tell me what the fuck is going on.”
“She’s with the people who have those numbers. Stay with them. Let me call you back. I’m not alone.”
“If anything happens to her—”
“I don’t care if you kill me. Just monitor the fucking numbers.”
Andrew ended the call. As the number flashed, he looked at the time.
“We’ve waited over a half hour,” Andrew said. “Annie isn’t coming.”
“Your wife’s phone is in the marina?” Matt asked.
Andrew ran his hand through his hair. His head began to throb as worry overwhelmed him. “Yes.”
“Tell me the truth. Tell me everything and maybe I can help you.”
“Do you believe she’s in danger now?”
“Nothing is making sense, but my instinct tells me something is wrong. I’m willing to work with you to get your wife back and make sure those girls are safe.”
Matt’s words gave him a tiny bit of hope. Andrew considered sharing everything. The only thing he had to lose was job, which meant killing Annie would be a hundred times more difficult. At this point, his priority had changed to getting Emily back.
Andrew couldn’t do anything without a boat. If someone showed up for a late-night sail, he could use his gun to take over the vessel and go after Emily. Maybe he would get lucky and her ship would return. Even if it did, she might not be on it. His best option was to wait for someone.
“Tell me the truth,” Matt said again.
Andrew stared at him, wondering if Matt would believe him. Then he looked at the bandages on his forearm. Emily’s life meant more than destroying the demon inked on him.
“All right.” He met Matt’s gaze. “I’ll give you the truth.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Slaps on Emily’s cheeks pulled her from the darkness. She struggled to open her eyelids.
“Wake up,” the familiar man said.
A harder smack created a sting that crawled up to her aching head. She forced her eyes open and saw the blurry image of a man. Blinking, she lifted her gaze. When her vision began to return to normal she recognized the asshole standing in front of her.
“Welcome back,” Don said.
Sitting in a chair, she tried to move her arms and quickly found out they were bound behind her. Rope pinched her skin. She looked around the room. One of the two tables had been pushed back along with the chairs that had been underneath it. A gun and a phone sat on the furthest table. Fragments of glass remained on the floor not far from where she sat. The ground swayed gently. She quickly gathered she was in deep trouble.
“Why am I tied up?” Her voice sounded a bit strange. She wondered if it had anything to do with the ache in her skull. She felt as if she was in a deep tunnel and her head weighed a ton.
“Carrie Reynolds. Is that your real name?”
“Of course it is. Now let me go.” She tried to remain calm, but her anxiety seemed to have a will of its own. The rope chaffed her skin each time she twisted her wrists to see how loose the rope was. The tightness of her restraints made it impossible to escape them.
Don folded his arms. “Cut the bullshit and I won’t have to mess up your pretty face.”
She stilled and stared at him. Though she knew his threat was real, she didn’t fear him. She’d taken hits before. Bruises always healed.
“Why would I lie about my name?” she asked.
He shook his head and lowered his arms. Tension shot through her as she expected him to hit her. He swung his fist fast. The blow to her eye spawned pain to her nose and jaw.
He flexed the hand he’d used. “Are you a cop?”
“Of course not.” She lifted her throbbing head to meet his gaze.
“Are you some kind of undercover agent?”
“No, but I wish I was. I’d throw your ass in jail in a heartbeat.”
His balled hand shot at her again and then again at the same eye. Her head spun along with her vision. A loud thud in her ears disoriented her.
He stepped back. “Tell me your name and why y
ou’re poking around in Annie’s business.”
Business? Why would he call her parties a business?
Emily looked up at him. She could barely see from the one eye he’d smacked. “You know my name. And I don’t know anything about Annie’s business. I was merely concerned about the girls.”
He smirked as he drew near. “I had a feeling you would be a tough bitch to get to talk.”
His balled hand hit her nose so hard she heard the bone snap. Fiery pain spread through her face like a fast growing vine. A warm thick fluid rolled down to her lip. Unable to breathe through her nose without causing more agony, she coughed. Of course, the tiniest movement from her head brought a world of misery to her. Sucking in air through her mouth, she began reciting a Billy Idol song in her mind. Troy had once told her the best distraction from pain was to replay a song. Since Andrew had recently played Rebel Yell and had sung it to her, the tune was the first one she thought of. Amazingly, she started to feel numb.
She licked her lip and tasted the coppery fluid. Don scooted a chair in front of her and then sat. Legs spread wide, he splayed his hands on his thighs.
“You don’t need to play the tough girl act. You can’t escape. Your husband, or whoever he is, can’t save you. Just tell me your name and what you’re plans are and I’ll take it easy on you,” Don said.
She stared at him with her one good eye while the Billy Idol song continued to play in her mind. Did Don think her brains were too rattled to understand the reality of the situation? She knew he wouldn’t stop hurting her.
“My name is Carrie Reynolds.” Her voice sounded different since she couldn’t breathe through her nose. “And my plans were to find out what was happening to the girls at Annie’s party.”
He took the edges of her jacket and pushed them back over her shoulders. His gaze hovered over her chest as he returned to his seat. “I’m going to enjoy pounding my cock into you.”
Fear crawled down her spine. She could take a beating. Physical pain would eventually go away. Violating her body would devastate her emotionally. Memories would scar her worse than anything.
“I’m not lying to you,” she said in a calm tone.