Bound by Danger

by Danielle M. Haas

  “Then tell me why you were on that plane.” She spoke each word through clenched teeth.

  “Why does it matter? It happened, I took in the bad guy, and it’s over. Move on.” He yanked open the front door and glanced back at her. “Now let’s go.”

  The floor swayed beneath her and her knees buckled. She leaned against the wall to steady herself. It all made sense. The man on the plane knew Pete, and he happened to be on her flight. That’s why no one had known an FBI agent was on the plane to begin with. He was following the hijacker.

  No wonder she was on the top of their list of suspects. She had been in contact with not one, but two men in the investigation. Even she could admit it was one hell of a coincidence. But how could she prove them wrong?

  Her hand slid into her front pocket of her denim shorts and wrapped around a small piece of paper. What she’d found might not give her any answers, but it could be a start. She couldn’t let Agent Grassi shut her out. She’d have to do this on her own. Becca’s life, and hers, depended on it.

  …

  Mickey took a deep breath to settle her shaky nerves. It didn’t help. She stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror at O’Hare airport. A strong, confident woman stared back at her. It didn’t matter that dark circles hung low under her eyes or her hands trembled slightly at her sides. All the passengers on board to Detroit would see was a competent flight attendant doing her job.

  Righting the collar of her white button-down shirt, she stood tall. She smoothed down her hair and made sure the pins held the bun at the nape of her neck in place. She was as ready as she’d ever be. Time to get this over with.

  Her heels clicked on the white linoleum floor as she hurried to the plane. Her normally long stride was cut short by the tight A-line skirt that hugged tightly to her curves. She rounded the corner toward the gate and relief loosened the knot in her stomach. Allison and Vanessa stood together with forced smiles, their hands clasped together. Mickey hurried toward them and threw her arms around them, pulling them close to her.

  “How are you guys holding up?” she asked Allison. She pulled back and took in the dilated pupils in their widened eyes. She grabbed onto each of their hands and squeezed. “This is going to be fine. As soon as we get back into our routines, everything else will fade away.”

  Tears filled Allison’s velvety brown eyes. “I heard about Becca in the news. Are you sure you can handle this right now?”

  Mickey’s shoulders dropped forward. She’d hoped neither Allison nor Vanessa had found out about her missing goddaughter. She could only handle one crisis at a time. Getting back on the Boeing 747 staring at her from outside the large window would be hard enough. She’d fall apart if she had to talk about Becca right now, too.

  “I’m fine, and they’re going to find Becca. I know it.” She put as much false enthusiasm in her voice as she could muster. The truth was, Becca had been missing for over twenty-four hours now. The more time that passed by, the slimmer the chances of finding her.

  “How’s Suzi?” Allison asked. “My heart breaks for her. I can’t imagine how scared she is right now.”

  Mickey bit back pain that threatened to pull her under. Besides Suzi and Lydia, Allison was her closest friend. They’d taken jobs at the same airline together after college when they couldn’t land a job in their field of study, and after flying all over the world together over the last five years, they knew almost everything about each other. It made sense Allison would want to know how Suzi was.

  “She’s as good as can be expected.” She couldn’t bring herself to admit Suzi thought she played a role in Becca’s abduction. Suzi had been on her mind all day, and she wanted to reach out, but fear of Suzi’s accusations kept her from making the call.

  Allison folded her arms in front of her and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “It’s been one hell of a week. First the plane and then Becca. Let’s hope it’s not true what they say about bad things happening in threes.”

  Mickey’s blood turned cold. She couldn’t handle anything else in her life going wrong. But if she didn’t find a way to clear her name, her entire life might be the third thing to go to shit in this scenario. But it was a price she’d gladly pay if it meant Becca came home safely.

  Vanessa leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “Have either of you talked to Captain Fuller?”

  Mickey and Allison both shook their heads.

  “I went to visit him and his wife at the hospital. He told me the hunky FBI agent who saved us went to see him. He asked him a lot of questions about what routes he usually flew and the crew he worked with. He wanted to know if Fuller had ever seen anything suspicious on one of his flights to Cancun.”

  “More suspicious than a man stabbing him and stealing his plane?” Allison asked with a snort.

  Vanessa cringed and her face went white.

  “Sorry,” Allison said and rubbed a hand down Vanessa’s arm.

  “It’s okay. But anyway, Fuller said it seemed like he was fishing for information about someone who worked for the airline.”

  The knot in Mickey’s stomach tightened again. He’d been fishing for information about her. What did he think he’d accomplish by asking an airline captain about his crew? Sure, Fuller knew her well. She almost always flew with the same crew. But he didn’t know much about her personal life.

  She tried to keep the quiver out of her voice when she asked, “Did Fuller say why he was being asked all of these questions? Did he know what the guy was after?”

  Vanessa glanced around and nodded as the captain and co-pilot of their flight walked by. She waited until they were out of earshot to answer. “He thinks it had something to do with human trafficking.”

  Mickey’s saliva caught in the back of her suddenly dry throat. She covered her mouth and coughed. Allison grabbed a bottle of water from the black tote hanging from her arm and handed it to her. “Thanks,” she said as she unscrewed the cap and chugged half the bottle. Her nerve endings sparked with electricity and she swore a sign on her forehead read, I slept with a pedophile. But even if she did, no one could judge her as harshly as she judged herself.

  “Are you all right?” Vanessa asked. “I know it’s upsetting to think about someone involved with that on one of our flights.”

  Mickey pressed her lips together and shook her head.

  “It probably happens more than we realize,” Allison said, her voice thick and low. “You can never let your guard down these days. You never know what kind of creeps are lurking around under your nose.”

  Vanessa shivered. “I’ll have my eyes open from now on. If a guy like that can get on a plane, and then try to crash it, what other sickos are we serving every day?”

  Mickey bit into her tongue to stop from saying anything. What Allison and Vanessa said was true, but it was a lesson she’d already learned. Even if it was too little too late.

  People drifted to the gate and sat down to wait until boarding began. The door to the walkway opened, signaling it was time for her to board the plane and start preparing the cabin. Her chest tightened and she glanced at her friends. Fear lurked behind their false bravado, but they straightened their spines and hardened the lines on their faces.

  “Are you guys ready?” she asked.

  They both nodded.

  Mickey turned on her black heels, stepped through the door, and walked toward the plane. The last time she’d done this, her life had been normal. It had been just another day, just another flight. But now everything was different. The last plane she’d been on had almost crashed into the ground. She never imagined she’d prefer that nightmare to the one she was currently living. At least on the plane she’d had a brave knight to help her take down the villain.

  Now she had no one fighting in her corner, and the monster was a whole hell of a lot scarier. He knew everything about her, and he held the most precious thing in her life in his hands.

  As she stepped onto the plane and took in the familiar sight, relief washed
over her.

  She could do this.

  She could get through this flight, and the next one. And then she would do what she needed to do to find the sonofabitch and push a dagger through his heart.

  She had no other options.

  Chapter Ten

  His damp clothes clung to him like a second skin. Cold air blasted down from the vents in the elevator and a shiver ran down his spine.

  All he wanted was a hot shower and change of clothes. If the old man pressed against the corner of the elevator was any indication of how he smelled in his day-old clothes, a shower couldn’t come fast enough.

  The elevator stopped at his floor, he nodded to the old man, and walked to his apartment. Fatigue pulled at him. He hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, not with all the notes he had to pour over, and then the memory of Mickey’s soft lips on his. After he’d left her at her apartment earlier this morning, he hadn’t had time to stop at home. He had too much to do and not enough time to do it.

  He’d talked to the mothers of two of the missing girls. The notes in their files had been extensive, but he wanted to see things for himself. Now he needed to talk to Suzi Stanley again, but he had to take a small break to fuel up and regroup. The best way to do that was with a quick bite to eat after washing the grime from his tired body. His stomach growled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten all day.

  Stepping into his apartment, all the tension of the past two days eased away. He sighed, rubbing a hand over the rough whiskers on his chin. His gaze flitted around his familiar surroundings, and all he wanted to do was sink into the brown leather couch and shut his eyes for a few hours.

  But there was no time to rest. His long strides took him past the kitchen and living room and into the bathroom. He opened the glass door of the shower and turned the nozzle. Hot water sprayed down, trickling down his forearm, and steam clogged the small room. He shook the water from his arm before he pulled it out of the shower and peeled his wet shirt off his chest. He threw it in the corner where it landed with a loud plop. Stepping out of his pants and boxer briefs, he sighed as he added them to the mound on the floor, and then stepped into the shower.

  Warm drops of water pelted him from the large showerhead mounted on the ceiling. He quickly lathered shampoo in his hair and soap on his body. The water sprayed down and the suds swirled around the drain before disappearing. He leaned a forearm against the marble wall and let the water pelt the back of his neck.

  One minute…just one minute to close my eyes and let the weight lift from my shoulders.

  One minute stretched into two and the warm, wet air erased the tightness in his muscles. He allowed himself the small luxury of closing his eyes and blew out a long, slow breath.

  Ring, ring, ring

  And just like that, all the tension snapped back in his muscles like a rubber band stretched to its limit. He yanked the nozzle, turning off the water, and jumped out of the shower. Drops of water dotted the tiled floor, forming small puddles. He reached for a white towel and wrapped it around his waist before he grabbed his phone from the pocket of his discarded pants.

  “Agent Grassi.” The interruption of his short moment of peace soured his mood, turning his words hostile.

  “It’s Harper. I want to know your progress on the Bogart case.”

  Graham swallowed down his irritation. He didn’t need to be reminded he’d messed up in Austin by Harper micromanaging him. Harper’s constant checking in and refusal to offer extra support only fueled his desire to close this case.

  “I’m about to check on Becca Stanley’s mother. I didn’t get a chance to speak with her very long yesterday. I’m also waiting for a warrant to come through on Pete Bogart’s apartment.” The towel slipped low on his hips as he walked into his bedroom and pulled a pair of pressed steel gray trousers and a baby blue button-down shirt out of his closet. He glanced toward his discarded gym shorts and T-shirt from a few days ago. He’d much rather throw those back on and call it quits for the day, but it was only four p.m. He still had plenty of hours left to track down Pete, and the FBI preferred their agents to look a little more put together than dirty shorts and a ratty Aerosmith T-shirt.

  “You mean a warrant for the apartment you already entered without permission?” The calmness of Harper’s voice made the words he spoke harsher somehow. The hairs on the back of Graham’s neck rose.

  “I tried to speak with the building manager before I entered but couldn’t get through. When we touched base this morning, he was more than willing to let me back into the apartment. Before that, I was let into the apartment by a friend of the suspect who was given a key. There was no forced entry. Nothing illegal was done to get onto the premises.”

  A harsh laugh vibrated through the phone. “You’re right. Technically you did nothing illegal, and that’s the only reason you aren’t being taken off this case. You’ve already been warned to toe the line, and having a person of interest let you into the apartment of the man who kidnapped three girls is treading dangerous waters, Grassi.”

  He ground his teeth together. Eric must have told him Mickey was the one who’d let him inside. He’d deal with his partner’s big mouth later. Now, he concentrated on Harper’s harsh words. He wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know. Instead of arguing, he said, “Yes, sir.”

  “Now, let’s discuss your involvement with Miss O’Shay. I understand you stayed the night at her apartment last night.”

  He pushed his teeth together harder until pain shot through his jaw. “That’s right.” The towel dropped to the floor and he activated speaker phone before setting the phone on the deep blue comforter covering his bed. He wasn’t going to give Harper more information than what he asked for.

  “Do you think that was a wise move? Or the best use of your time when you should have been following leads and tracking Bogart? Do I need to remind you of the agency’s policy in regards to getting involved with someone connected to one of your cases?” Harper’s voice rose a notch with every word. Graham could imagine him sitting at his desk, his face growing red with anger.

  He rubbed the back of his neck and blew out a tight breath. Of course he thought it was a wise move or he wouldn’t have done it. Okay, so kissing Mickey in her kitchen was a bonehead move, but it was a mistake he wouldn’t make again. She might be hot, but she wasn’t worth risking his career. Harper was a jackass, but he needed to keep his temper in check.

  “Yes, on both counts. She claimed someone broke in and tried to kill her, and I wanted to be there in case the person came back. As it turns out, the woman who broke in is the same woman who leased Pete Bogart’s apartment.” His voice was low as he slid the shirt over his arms and buttoned the small white buttons before yanking on his pants and grabbing a pair of socks. The soft mattress dipped beneath his weight and he crossed his ankle over his knee and jammed the soft cotton on his foot.

  “Does that surprise you?” Harper asked with amusement.

  Graham froze with one sock halfway on his foot, the white tip dangling toward the floor. “What do you mean?”

  “Miss O’Shay is a suspected accomplice. If she’s smart, she’d want to divert attention from herself. Regardless of the depth of her involvement, she had a relationship with Bogart. By claiming someone who has a connection with Bogart broke into her apartment and tried to kill her, she’s shifting suspicion onto someone else.”

  Sonofabitch.

  It had entered his mind Mickey might have other reasons for letting him into Pete’s apartment, but he’d assumed it was because there was no risk of Pete getting caught. Mickey wanting him to find the connection between Connie Difico and the woman from her apartment never crossed his mind.

  He squeezed his eyes shut and the image of her pale face and worried eyes branded his brain. He’d bet money she hadn’t known the woman who’d tried to kill her also leased her ex-boyfriend’s apartment. Spending so much time with Mickey over the last day might not have been the wisest move, but it had eased his susp
icions about her relationship with Pete.

  If only he could trust his instincts.

  “With all due respect, sir, I don’t think Miss O’Shay was aware of whose name the apartment was listed under. Nor was she aware of what we’d find once we got there.”

  “You sound awfully confident. Does that mean you figured out why Bogart broke all the rules with Miss O’Shay?”

  A sliver of doubt crept into the back of his mind. After what had happened in Austin, his career would be over if he messed this case up, too. Not to mention God knows how many girls would be lost forever. He had to stay focused on the task and stick to the facts. He jammed the rest of his sock on his foot. “Not yet.”

  “Well, you better figure it out soon. Stop wasting your time and get some answers.”

  “Another agent on the case could really help, sir. Eric’s in Mexico following a lead on a property he found and I have my hands full with interviews. If I could have someone running names and digging into backgrounds at the office, it could speed everything up.”

  Harper’s short laugh made him want to reach through the phone and punch him in the face. Asking for help hadn’t been easy, but dammit, he needed it. Hell, the missing girls needed it. “You have all the resources you need to get this done. If you don’t agree, I’ll find someone else to do the job.”

  The line went dead. Shit. Doing his job was hard enough, but doing it with a pissed off boss and his only help in another country made it nearly impossible. Harper had a reason to be pissed at him, but Harper allowing his feelings toward Graham to affect his current case was unacceptable. They should be throwing everything they had at this case, not letting past issues get in the way of the job.

  Pushing himself off the edge of the bed, he walked back into the living room and grabbed his laptop. It hummed to life as he turned it on. He didn’t have time to go into the office to run the names he’d uncovered…mainly Connie Difico. And Eric was on a flight to Cancun so he couldn’t do much right now. But he could start a search on his home computer while he ran to Suzi Stanley’s.