I nodded, though I doubted we had anything left to discuss. Four hours later, we sat in a booth at the little café across the street. It had been a miserable morning, and the sight of the waiter tripping all over himself to talk to Kim didn’t improve my mood. We ordered, and finally he left us alone.
Kim took a deep breath and grabbed a napkin from the dispenser. “I wanted to talk to you about Jason.”
“There’s really nothing—” “He’d kill me if he knew I was doing this.” Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she gave a shaky laugh as her fingers twisted the napkin. “But what can I say? I love the guy.”
The pain in her voice caused a rush of compassion. Awkwardly, I patted her hand. “Kim, we’re not seeing each other—”
“I know, and I feel like that’s my fault. Andrea told me what she said to you, about him being a player. It’s not true, Necie. He was always straight up with me about what he felt …” she ducked her head as a tear streaked down her cheek, “… and what he didn’t. I held on for awhile, hoping I could make him fall in love with me, but it wasn’t happening.” She paused. “He was already in love with you.”
A startled laugh escaped me. “Cougar doesn’t love me. Whatever this thing is that’s been happening between us lately … it’s not love.”
“It is. And it’s not just lately. He’s been in love with you for a long time. I think I knew it even before he did. We’d be together, and it was always ‘Necie this’ or ‘Necie that’ …” She laughed. “I got so sick of hearing your name.”
“You’re confusing friendship with love. We were tight—me, him, and Angel. But all this crazy stuff only started happening lately.”
“Because you were finally available.”
“That may have been part of it,” I admitted. “A new challenge for him, another notch on his bedpost, whatever. But it’s not love. I was just the one who was there at the time.”
“You sound like Andrea.” She leaned back and studied me. “I hope you’re only saying that because you’re still getting over your divorce and everything else that’s happened lately, because if you really believe that, you don’t deserve him anyway.”
Ouch.
She frowned. “You need to open your eyes, Necie. Jason craves love, real love, more than any man I’ve ever known, and he thinks you’re the one. I’d give anything I had to be in your shoes.”
“Maybe you should try Simone Walker’s shoes. She’s the one he was making out with in his car this morning.”
Her lovely face paled. “What?”
I dug some money out of my purse and tossed it on the table. Standing, I forced a smile. “What’s that they say on that trashy talk show, don’t hate the player, hate the game? Looks like we’ve already struck out, Kim, and the next batter is already up.”
Back at the office, I tried not to think about him, but it was hard to do, especially when he was so close. I watched his shoulders hunched over his desk and wished we could go back to the way we were before, wished that Kim had been right, wished I’d handled it differently. Then I ran out of wishes and felt sorry for myself some more.
That night while we were getting ready for the ice show, I got a collect call from Lewisburg Penitentiary and declined the charges. It made me feel somehow guilty, but I couldn’t risk getting Maria on my back again.
Grady acted stiff and formal when he picked us up. I was so stressed out by that time I just wanted to scream “What’s wrong?” but I got my answer when we were standing in line to buy Abby a Mickey Mouse doll. While Abby sat on a bench a few feet away eating a hot dog, Grady stared straight ahead and asked, “Who’s Jason?”
“Jason is … nobody,” I said.
“Abby said you’re going to marry him.”
With a mortified laugh, I said, “That is not true. He’s a friend, from work.”
“Must be a pretty good friend. She said you spent Christmas Eve with him.” He cleared his throat. “She said she saw you kissing him.”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Abby’s my business. You’re always telling me to act appropriately in front of her. I expect you to do the same.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
The rest of the night we ignored each other, saying what we needed to through Abby. It was just like old times.
But then she went to sleep, and we resorted to a stony silence. He gave in first, after we pulled into my parking lot.
“Mom sent some of Abby’s clothes over, so she’d have them to wear to school.”
“I’ll carry her up, then come back to get them.”
“I’ll carry them. It’s a big box. You get her.”
My phone rang. I handed him my keys. “Four-B,” I told Grady, and answered it. It was Bill, with a new case for me. I hoped Cougar wouldn’t be working it, too, but I didn’t ask. I’d find out soon enough in the morning.
Through the windshield, I watched Grady struggle up the stairs with the box. Bracing myself against the blast of cold wind, I opened the door and climbed out of the car while I listened to Bill’s briefing.
Despite the bitter cold, a teenager coasted up and down the pavement on a skateboard. He didn’t even have a coat on. I shivered and hugged myself, watching him execute a jump, before I retrieved Abby from the backseat.
I heard a crash, and turned to see the skateboard flying in one direction, the boy in another. He smacked the ground hard and cried out, clutching his knee.
“Let me call you back, Bill,” I said. “A kid on a skateboard’s just killed himself.” Hanging up, I shoved the phone in my pocket and set Abby down. “Go upstairs. Daddy’s up there already. I need to check on this boy.”
She nodded and headed up the sidewalk, clutching her Mickey doll. I ran over to check on the teenager.
“Are you okay?” I asked, squatting beside him.
“I think … so … ahhh.” He groaned when he tried to straighten out his leg.
“Where do you live? Do you want me to call your parents?”
“No, I … agggh. Could you help me up?”
I wrapped my arms around his chest and tried to tug him up. After a couple of tries, we got it. “Thanks, lady,” he said.
“Necie!” I turned my head when I heard Grady shout.
“Over here!” I yelled, figuring Abby had told him about the kid. When I glanced back at the kid, I was surprised to see him running around the corner of the nearest apartment. I looked down to see if he’d taken my purse, but realized I’d left it in Grady’s car.
“What are you doing?” Grady asked, stepping around a snow-covered car. “Where’s Abby?”
“I sent her upstairs to meet you. Some kid wrecked on a skateboard, and I was trying to see if he was all right.”
“In this cold? What kid?”
I shrugged, and he frowned. “I didn’t pass Abby on the stairs …”
We looked at each other, and I felt that first burst of fear. Grady spun on his heel and took off running back to the apartment. With my heart thudding in my chest, I raced for his car.
No Abby.
“Abby!” I yelled. “Abby, where are you?”
Grady stuck his head out the apartment door and shook his head. “Abby!” he shouted.
I ran to the spot where I’d set her down. Her small footsteps were still visible in the muddy snow. They went on for a few feet, heading toward the building. Then… My stomach clenched when I saw another set. A bigger set. Abby’s footprints stopped abruptly, joined with the bigger ones. Then the big ones reversed, heading back the other way. They were spaced farther apart, and I realized whoever had left them had been running.
I raced around the corner of the building, following them. The buildings were U-shaped, and the footsteps stopped at the pavement of the next parking lot. Something red caught my eye.
Lying in the muddy snow was Abby’s Mickey Mouse doll.
CHAPTER
14
I wasn’t sure who called the police. Maybe it wa
s Grady, or maybe it was one of the neighbors, calling to report me. Although I saw the footsteps and what they suggested, I couldn’t comprehend it. This wasn’t happening.
Not my daughter. Not my baby.
I ran down the sidewalk, screaming her name. I darted between buildings, scanning the shadows for her like we were playing hide-and-seek. Splashing through a puddle, I ignored the icy water that soaked through my shoes.
“Ma’am,” someone said. “Ma’am!”
The officer ran alongside me and caught my arm, stopping my frantic pacing. “Ma’am, you have to calm down.”
I don’t think it really hit me until I watched the blue lights play on his face.
Abby was gone. I didn’t know who’d taken her or if I’d ever see her again.
I swayed on my feet. The young cop made a grab for my waist, and I shoved him away. He grabbed me again, and I barely got my head turned in time to keep from vomiting on his shoes.
When I finished, he wrapped his arm around me and led me to his car. Opening the driver’s side door, he gently pushed me into the seat. He was speaking, but I couldn’t focus on what he was saying. He motioned for me to stay and jogged over to speak to his partner, who stood with Grady.
My cell phone rang, and I fumbled in my coat pocket until I found it. For some insane reason, I half-expected to hear Abby on the other end, but it was Tucker who said hello.
Choking on my sobs, I tried to answer him.
“Necie? Necie, what’s wrong? Where are you?”
The young officer reappeared so quickly I jumped. He gently pried the phone from my fingers.
“Hello,” he said, and turned his back. I couldn’t hear most of his muffled conversation, but I didn’t care. I hugged myself and rocked against the seat. The oily smell of Armor All made my stomach lurch.
I wiped my face and spent the next several minutes trying to calm myself. I wasn’t doing Abby any good like this. Just when I thought I could hold it together, Tucker’s car roared into the parking lot. On shaking legs, I stood to meet him. One look at his pale face, and I lost it again.
He ran over and took me in his arms. I buried my face against his shoulder and sobbed.
“We’ll find her. We’ll find her, I swear,” he said.
An angry-looking Grady stalked over with the other officer on his heels. Tucker released me and turned to face them. He shifted slightly, and I realized he was putting himself between us.
“What happened?” Tucker asked.
“Who are you?” the cop said.
“A friend. Do you know for sure she was kidnapped?”
When no one spoke, Tucker reached into his back pocket and extracted his wallet. He flashed it at the officers. Even though the DEA had absolutely no jurisdiction here, they seemed to relax. One of them handed Grady’s statement to Tucker. He read it, ignoring Grady’s stony gaze.
The other cop quickly pulled me aside to get my statement. I realized he was trying to make sure we didn’t compare stories. By the time we’d finished, two more units had arrived, and people had gathered in the parking lot to watch. The officers went door to door, asking if anyone had seen anything. For a moment, Grady, Tucker, and I stood there alone.
Grady ran his hand through his hair. “I can’t believe … how could you just leave her alone like that? In this crappy neighborhood? She’s six years old, Necie.”
“It was only for a minute,” I said, hugging myself. “I saw that skateboarder fall. All she had to go was up the stairs. I didn’t think—”
“Damn straight, you didn’t,” he snapped, and Tucker moved in front of me.
Holding out his palms, Tucker said, “Please, just calm down. I know you’re upset. Necie is, too. This won’t help th—”
“Jason, is it?” Grady said, and threw a lightning-fast punch before either of us could respond.
It caught Tucker square in the chin. Horrified, I watched him fly backward onto the hood of the police cruiser.
“Don’t tell me what to do!” Grady said, and lunged for him. I jumped between them, but Grady shoved me aside like a rag doll. I tripped over the sidewalk and fell to my hands and knees in the dirty snow, but at least I’d given Tucker a moment to recover. He launched himself off the police car and tackled Grady like a linebacker. They went down in a pile, rolling in the slush.
A car door slammed, and a couple of men ran past me. It took me a moment to realize it was Cougar and Bill. Bill grabbed Tucker and yanked him off Grady, while Cougar planted a boot in Grady’s chest to keep him down.
“Give me a reason,” Cougar snarled.
Looking over his shoulder, he said, “Tuck, are you okay?”
Tucker nodded, but blood streamed from his nose and he nearly slipped as Bill helped him to his feet. Cougar’s gaze darted past them and seemed to find me for the first time. His eyes narrowed, then blazed while I feebly grasped the cop’s side mirror and pulled myself up.
“What did he do?” Cougar yelled. “What did he do to you?”
“Cougar, no!” I shouted, but he ignored me.
Seizing a fistful of Grady’s shirt, Cougar jerked him to his feet and slung him across the narrow yard into the side of the building. Grady smacked against the brick wall with a dull thwack and slumped there, dazed.
Cougar yanked off his coat and threw it on the ground. “Come on!” he said. “You wanna hit somebody? Hit me. I’m ready for it. Man, I’m aching for it!”
“Stop right there!”
The cops had finally realized what was happening. They ran toward us, guns drawn.
“He’s armed!” one of them said, and my gaze fell to Cougar’s ankle holster.
“Raise your hands and don’t move, Cougar,” Bill said calmly. “Let me handle this.”
Bill approached the officers, his hands held wide at his sides. “It’s okay. It’s over. I’m William Davidson, DEA supervisor. My badge is in my back left pocket. This man is one of my agents.”
The cops moved forward. One of them seized Cougar’s gun as another checked their IDs. Bill did some fast talking. After making sure no one wanted to press charges, they finally stood down, though they didn’t give Cougar’s gun back yet. Grady followed one of them to the manager’s office to get some ice for the rapidly swelling lump on his head. Some of the tension followed with him, like air rushing out of a balloon. I sagged against the police car, and Cougar hurried to my side.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly, placing his hands on my shoulders. “Did he hurt you?”
“She’s gone, Cougar,” I whispered. “Somebody took Abby.”
“Tell me exactly what happened,” Bill said, and for what seemed like the thousandth time that night, I told them my story.
Bill and Tucker looked shocked that I’d gone to the ice show with Grady. Cougar merely grimaced. I’d never felt more stupid in my life, but I plunged on. “… so, Grady was going on up to the apartment—”
“What was he doing up there?” Cougar asked, his eyes suddenly icy.
I frowned. “I’m stupid, but I’m not that stupid. He was carrying up a box of Abby’s clothes. I was carrying Abby. At least until I saw that skateboarder kid fall.”
They listened to the rest without comment.
“It sounds like a setup,” Cougar said finally. “We need to find that skateboarder.”
Bill nodded. “I’ll go make sure they’re asking around.”
We watched him walk away, then Cougar glanced at Tucker. “What happened here, with you and Grady?”
Tucker’s eyes widened as if it were just dawning on him. “He called me Jason, then he slugged me.”
Cougar blinked. “He did what?”
Tucker’s mouth twitched, and he almost smiled. “This knot … it was supposed to be yours! He was yelling at Necie, and I stepped between them. He said, ‘Jason, is it?’ and he sucker punched me.”
Cougar exhaled and smacked his fist against his palm. “He wants a go at me, all he has to do is step up. I’ll be happy to oblige.”
“Poor Tuck,” I murmured, and touched his chin. “How many punches are you going to have to take for me?”
Tucker wrapped an arm around my neck. “Ah, it’s okay. He and Cougar both hit like girls.”
Cougar chuckled, but I couldn’t manage a smile. All I could think about was Abby.
Restlessly, I shoved my hands in my pockets. “I can’t stand this. I should be doing something.”
“Hold on,” Tucker said. “Let me see what Bill’s found out.”
He walked away, leaving me alone with Cougar. “Babe,” he said, his face pained. The bleakness in his eyes scared me. I put my hands over my face.
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against his chest and hugging me tight. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll find her, I swear it.”
In the safety of his arms, I could almost believe it. But then I thought of Maria—
Wait until I take everything …
If Maria had Abby, the police couldn’t help me. Even Barnes
… Daddy won’t be able to help you now.
might not be able to stop her. But he was my only hope.
“I need to make a phone call,” I told Cougar and took a few steps away from him while I fished my cell phone out of my pocket. He stayed back, trying to give me privacy, though I knew he could still hear me. I didn’t care anymore.
I retrieved the number Barnes had phoned me from before the arraignment and called it. His lawyer answered on the second ring.
“This is Denise Bramhall. I need to speak to my father,” I said, and sensed Cougar look up.
“Denise! I’ll be glad to give him the message, but you know visiting hours—”
“Look, I know you can get to him. I don’t care how. I have to speak to him tonight.”
After a long pause, she said, “Okay,” and hung up.
I closed my eyes and prayed that she would do it. I wasn’t worried about his ability to contact me. People like Barnes didn’t play by the rules, and I’d be surprised if he didn’t have free access to a phone.
“You’re calling your old man?” Cougar said, when I shut my phone.
I exhaled. “He has money, and power. He can move through channels quicker than we can.”
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