by Paris Hansen
Emotions warred inside her, but Sloane knew she had to be careful not to let them free. Letting her emotions rule her had gotten her into too much trouble in the past. But she needed to do something. She couldn’t sit around while they continued to work their theories out to make Jared Bryant the bad guy they wanted him to be.
Her plan was stupid and half-cocked, but she knew she didn’t have a choice. Going out on a limb was the only way she was going to solve this case.
What was the old saying? It was easier to ask for forgiveness instead of permission?
Sloane didn’t care about either, but she figured it was a good enough motto to live by at the moment, especially when people’s lives depended on her.
Chapter Thirty-One
Taking her had been more exhilarating than any of the others. He’d never actually liked any of it before, approaching the woman he’d been watching, talking to them, then getting close to them. But with her, it was all different.
She was different.
The smile she gave him as he approached made him almost second guess what he’d been planning. He almost changed his mind. But then he remembered her and the chanting. He remembered the chaos and the heartache that settled over his home, and he knew he didn’t have a choice.
As he looked into her eyes and asked her if she needed help, he knew Amber would help him if he asked, not that he’d ever let himself ask. She was his responsibility, his burden. He’d do what was needed, and he’d never ask anyone else for help.
That was the way things worked. It’s what you did for the people you loved. Sacrifices were just the name of the game when you loved someone. That’s what she taught him. And why the blonde was unconscious in his van instead of saying yes to his invitation to dinner.
Someday things would be different.
Eventually, he’d get to find happiness for himself. He just needed to make sure she was taken care of first. She would always be his number one priority, just like he’d been hers once upon a time. He owed her his life. There’d be other women who would catch his eye. Someone else he could wine and dine, and find love with, somewhere down the line. He was sure of it.
His surety is what allowed him to knock her out and shove her into the van without remorse. With that certainty in mind, he was able to tie her hands and feet together and drive away from the grocery store parking lot without feeling guilty about any of it. Thinking of the future was what got him through most days, especially those days where he had to hurt someone he didn’t want to hurt.
Driving along the quiet country road between Walnut Creek, where the beautiful blonde lived, and the farmhouse gave him a lot of time to think. Usually, he’d listen to music as loud as his ears could handle, but this time he wanted to be able to hear her if she woke up. He wondered if it wasn’t too late to make a connection with her. Maybe she’d forgive him for taking her if he just told her why. If he admitted why he needed her, perhaps she’d feel bad for him and offer her help.
And maybe he was Liam Crawford, the Hollywood actor every woman he worked with dreamed about fucking.
A loud bang from the back kept him from having one of his usual pity parties that did nothing but make him feel shitty about himself. Glancing in the rearview mirror he’d angled down so he could see the floor in the back, he saw movement under the blanket he’d placed over her. It was erratic and violent, not the usual fighting he’d seen before.
The longer it went on, the worse it got until finally, the blanket fell from her head. Something white flew from her mouth. Whatever was happening back there, he knew it couldn’t be good.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he whispered over and over as he looked around the road he was on.
He didn’t see any other cars on the road at the moment, but it didn’t mean there wouldn’t be soon. Maybe they would ignore the sight of his van on the side of the road while he checked on the girl in the back. People were so self-absorbed these days, not to mention paranoid as hell. Who wanted to pull over and potentially get abducted by a psychopath?
Having no choice but to hope people’s selfishness worked in his favor, he pulled over onto the shoulder, careful not to drive too far over so that he ended up in the ditch. Putting the van into park, he unbuckled his seat belt, then climbed between the two bucket seats into the cargo area. The blonde still thrashed around violently, and as he got closer, he noticed she was foaming at the mouth.
He’d seen the situation before at the hospital. She was having a seizure.
Pulling the blanket off of her, something on her wrist caught his eye. How had he never noticed the medical alert bracelet before? After hours of watching her, he missed the one thing that could have saved her from his project and left her open to being his happily ever after.
Now it was too late.
Now he needed to figure out what the hell to do with her. He couldn’t take her back to the house. He had no idea what to do with someone in her condition, and he had no idea if what was happening to her was harming the baby. He couldn’t take that chance.
And he couldn’t take the chance her condition was hereditary. She needed a healthy baby, not a baby she couldn’t take care of.
He had to get rid of her, but it was too early to dump her anywhere. But who knew what would happen if he waited.
Could she die?
Did he care?
Of course, he did, but he couldn’t leave her alive, right? She’d be able to ID him if he left her alive. Or maybe she wouldn’t. She didn’t know him; had no way of figuring out who he was. Rebecca’s birth mother had seen his face, yet he was free after all these years. Maybe this one would be the same.
Could he risk it?
He wasn’t a killer. Not in the psychopathic need to take someone else’s life sense anyway. What he did was out of necessity. The lives he took were for her, for her happiness and her well-being. Everything he did was for her.
What good did letting this woman die do? Even if he didn’t slit her throat or cut her open, he’d still be her killer because he didn’t get her help.
Could he live with that?
Closing his eyes, he thought long and hard about the kind of man he wanted to be. It only took a minute before he was opening up the sliding door on the side of the van so he could roll her out into the ditch. Someone would find her before she died.
He had to believe that.
Continuing to repeat the words in his head, he buckled his seat belt and pulled back onto the road. It wasn’t until he was nearly out of sight of the dumpsite that he noticed the headlights in his side mirror.
By then, he told himself he was far enough away, and they must have pulled over long after he left. That they didn’t see him dump her body or pull away. He continued to tell himself the same thing until he pulled into the gravel driveway of the farm. Then he continued to repeat it as he got into his regular old sedan and drove back the way he came.
The blonde deserved to live. Letting her die would’ve been wrong. Letting her live was a mercy he could allow. It didn’t mean he’d sacrificed himself or his mission. It didn’t mean he’d made a terrible mistake.
Sometimes the lies you told yourself were the most important of all. Even if there was no way you could actually believe them.
Chapter Thirty-Two
She could feel Reid’s eyes on her and knew without looking at him that he was confused by her lack of movement. He’d expected her to follow him and Cade even though he hadn’t technically invited her to join them. It was just like him to assume she would do whatever he wanted without being asked.
“Sloane, are you coming?” he finally asked, though she could hear the frustration in his voice.
She turned to look at him, a forced smile on her face.
“No. You guys can fill me in,” she said, then looked down at the time on her phone. “Do you mind if I head out? I promised my agent I’d call her tonight about the new book, and it’s a lot later than I realized. I forgot I needed to worry about the time change.
”
She saw the way Cade’s brows furrowed behind Reid, but he didn’t say anything. Whether he knew she was planning to do something stupid, she wasn’t sure, but he probably had a feeling. Sloane wasn’t one to walk out in the middle of an investigation, and though she wasn’t needed at the moment, she was indeed about to walk out. At least that’s how it would look to everyone else on the team.
“Sure, we’ll catch you up in the morning,” Reid said before turning around and walking away.
Cade continued to watch her for another minute before Reid started calling his name. He was on to her, which meant she didn’t have much time before he tried to figure out what she was up to.
Grabbing her stuff, she hurried out of the conference room and to the elevator. Trevor was hot on her heels, and for a moment, she thought he would follow her around, which would not bode well for her plan.
“Here, let me swipe for you,” Trevor said as they got to the elevator.
He swiped his card on the outside, then once again inside when the doors opened. He pressed the button for the lobby, then smiled at her as he said goodbye. She gave him a wave, then let out a sigh of relief as soon as the doors closed and the elevator began its descent. By the time she reached the lobby, her phone had dinged to notify her that a car was waiting.
Knowing she couldn’t take a rideshare car to her final destination, she had them take her to the nearest rental car office. Within minutes she was maneuvering herself through the streets of San Francisco, trying to formulate a plan of attack. She needed to get a look around Zach Bennett’s house without being seen, which was easier said than done, given that he lived on a quiet cul-de-sac. Even if she went in on foot, someone might see her sneaking around, peeking in windows.
She could always say she was hoping to talk to Zach again, but no one answered the door. Lies came easier to her than most. The problem was if she had to explain herself to the cops or, worse yet, Reid and Cade. The last thing she wanted was to get kicked off the case and sent home. Not when she was so close to figuring out who was behind the murders of so many innocent people.
A slow drive through the cul-de-sac wouldn’t elicit too much suspicion, and maybe she’d get lucky and see something that would help her floundering plan. With the decision made, she fought her way through traffic into the city of Hayward, where Zach lived. By the time she turned left onto Cherry Court, the sun had finished setting, and the neighborhood was lit up by a few streetlamps and the porch lights on a handful of houses.
Even though Danielle’s attack happened during the day and she’d been targeted, it surprised Sloane that most of the houses weren’t lit up like Christmas trees. She was especially surprised Zach Bennett’s place was completely dark on the outside. Maybe he just hadn’t gotten around to it yet, or perhaps the lights on his house were the ones that came on when they detected motion. She had to hope it was the former or she was going to be in trouble.
Sloane slowed down as she rolled through the cul-de-sac, her eyes only leaving Zach’s house long enough to maneuver through the turn. She idled in front of Belinda Thompson’s house for a moment, watching for movement at the Bennett place.
What she was hoping to see, she wasn’t sure. Maybe his sister or a five-year-old little girl. Or, if she was lucky, she’d see definitive evidence that he was the unsub. Unfortunately, Sloane doubted she was lucky enough that he’d bring unconscious pregnant women back to his house on Cherry Court. If he did, someone would’ve seen something and reported it, though Mrs. Thompson had mentioned seeing him carry unidentifiable bundles into his house.
Could those have been babies wrapped up in bedding? Could Belinda Thompson have seen him bring stolen babies home and not realize it? She needed to ask the older woman more questions...or rather, she needed to get one of the actual FBI agents to do it. Which meant she needed to convince someone that it was a lead worth pursuing.
Sighing, she let her head fall back against the headrest, then let her eyes flutter closed for a moment so she could regroup. As she opened her eyes and started to put her foot on the gas, so she could drive away and keep herself from making a monumental mistake, her phone rang. Looking down at where the phone sat in one of the empty cup holders, she could make out Reid’s name on the screen. If he genuinely thought she was planning on calling her agent, he wouldn’t have called and interrupted unless it was important. He would’ve sent a text instead.
Putting the car in park, so she wouldn’t risk getting in trouble for driving while talking on the phone, she picked up the phone and swiped her finger over the screen.
“Hello.”
The minute the word left her mouth, headlights lit up her car. Casting her eyes downward, she waited for the car to drive by, hoping whoever was driving wouldn’t find her suspicious. She could hear Reid talking in her ear, but nothing he said made sense as she watched Zach Bennett pull into his driveway. He hurried from the car, unlocking the ridiculous amount of locks on his door that made her question the amount she had on hers.
At the moment, everything seemed ordinary until he pushed the door open and stepped into the house. It was then she saw movement, as a small body rushed at him. Pale arms wrapped around his legs, and before the door closed behind him, Sloane watched as a little girl with long wavy red hair bounced around him.
“Oh my god,” she said, not realizing she’d spoken out loud until Reid asked her a question.
“So, you’ll be able to get to the hospital soon?”
“Wait. What?”
“The hospital. Can you get to the hospital soon in case she wakes up? Cade and I still have Bryant in custody. He’s asking for a lawyer now. We’ll send Morrissey over to meet you.”
What in the hell had she missed? And who the hell was the little girl in Zach Bennett’s house?
“Ummm. Yeah. Which hospital again?”
“Jeezus, Sloane. Were you paying attention to anything I said? She was taken to Williams Memorial. It was the closest hospital to where she was found. We’ve already got local police guarding her, but we need to be the ones to interview her the second she wakes up. We don’t know for sure she’s a victim of the unsub, but she’s pregnant, so there’s a good chance. See what you can find out.”
Reid didn’t give her a chance to say anything else before he disconnected the call. She stared back at Zach Bennett’s house, willing the door to open one more time so she could see the little girl again. Sighing, she knew she couldn’t sit there all night. She needed to get to the hospital, and she needed to give Brian Mills a call to see if he could dig deeper into Zach and his sister.
There’d been no mention of a baby or little girl in any of the basic background information he’d looked up earlier. Could she be a neighbor girl or maybe the daughter of a friend of Bethany’s? There hadn’t been any other cars in the driveway when she arrived. Besides her, there weren’t any cars parked anywhere along the cul-de-sac. But neither of those things made anything definitive. The child could’ve been dropped off for Zach’s sister to babysit while her friend ran an errand or any number of other possibilities. The fact the little girl looked to be the approximate age of Maggie Whitten’s missing daughter and had red hair like Maggie was just a coincidence at this point.
Too bad Sloane didn’t believe in coincidences any more than her ex did.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chaos.
Suddenly his once peaceful existence had turned into complete and utter chaos, and he didn’t know how to fix it. Everything and everyone around him felt like they were spiraling out of control. She still sat in her rocking chair chanting, the word getting louder and louder the longer she said it. Soon, she’d be screaming at the top of her lungs, and he couldn’t do anything to stop it.
The situation had never been this bad. He’d never felt so helpless before. He didn’t know what he was doing wrong. He didn’t know how to help her.
Then there was Rebecca.
Scared, perfect little Rebecca. She didn’t know w
hat to do with herself. He knew the chanting scared her; he could see it on her face. And now that the babies were gone, she didn’t have anything to focus on. So starved for affection, she’d forgotten the rules earlier and ran to greet him at the door. He didn’t have the heart to scold her at the moment, but later, when he thought about it, he worried someone might have seen her. That would be the worst thing that could happen to any of them.
He didn’t know what he’d do if she were taken away. Either of them, really. He loved them both so much; he’d be lost without them.
Rebecca wasn’t supposed to be there. Although she was more theirs than anyone else’s after all these years, that little detail wouldn’t matter to anyone but him. It would rip his heart out to have her taken away. And he could only imagine the damage it would do to that poor little girl.
Which was why he needed to move them. He needed to take them to the farmhouse. Maybe the fresh air and space would help them all. Give them something to do. Perhaps it would stop the chanting. At the very least, the change would keep them safe, at least for a little while. No one would think to look for them there.
As he packed bags for all of them, he heard the telltale sounds of breaking news flow down the hallway from the living room. Despite it being late, he’d left Rebecca on the couch watching the cartoon channel. He should’ve put her to bed but knew it might be easier to move her while she was asleep. Then again, she was such a light sleeper it’d most likely be more of a hassle than it was worth. Plus, she didn’t seem to be sleepy, which meant she’d probably slept the day away.