Mr. Gansett whispered to both men.
That one or two seconds gave her ample time to get her phone out of her purse. As she dug around inside, Riley was failing at the only task that could probably save her life. She had to call Josh or at least send him a text.
She continued to feel around in her bag, not taking her eyes off the men.
Mount Everest Man studied her for a beat before he stalked over, holding out his hand. “Give me your purse.”
Riley’s breathing ramped up as she backed away the closer he got. Before she could take her next breath, she was up against the window.
His large paw came at her. Riley ducked and ran toward the door.
Baldy blocked her with an evil smirk on his pocked face.
Mr. Gansett crossed his arms over his chest. The pinhead was enjoying all this.
Riley inched backward, right into the arms of Mount Everest, who threw her purse on the desk. The sound exploded in the room, causing Riley to jerk, and when she did, Mount Everest let go of her.
“You won’t be needing this,” Mount Everest said as he tossed her phone to Mr. Gansett.
Suddenly, Riley wanted to cry. She had no way out and no way to call for help. Staying calm was out of the question.
Mount Everest wrapped his fingers around Riley’s arms and squeezed as though he were trying to juice a lemon.
Anger, hot and maddening, made her bite down on her tongue as tears stung. She wasn’t going down without a fight. She swung her body around as best she could and kneed Mount Everest in the crotch, another thing Ross had taught her. “Always go for a guy’s manhood.” Well, he hadn’t said it so eloquently.
Mount Everest bent over, grunting and wincing.
“She’s a fighter,” Mr. Gansett said with a smile in his voice.
Riley darted around Everest and circled the desk, her breathing so darn heavy, she thought her lungs would collapse. She looked for anything that could be used as a weapon, while Baldy and Mr. Gansett just stood there.
They knew she wasn’t getting past them. They also knew she had no chance of hurting them. Riley didn’t care. The longer she kept them in the office, trying to get free, the more chance she had of someone in the building showing up. Riley hoped someone who worked there would peek in to see what all the commotion was about. That was one time she wanted Candace to catch them in the act.
“Bart,” Mr. Gansett said. “Get her out of here now. Use the back entrance.”
Baldy grinned, seemingly enjoying the chase.
Riley grabbed the closest thing to her—a stapler. “Baldy Bart.” She giggled like a school kid who had just heard the funniest thing. The name Baldy Bart seemed funny as nerves overtook her entire being.
Then in a blur, Bart covered her nose with a piece of white fabric, and the room around her went dark.
Chapter Twenty
Josh growled, itching to throw his phone out the window. Riley wasn’t answering. It seemed that no matter who he called lately, no one picked up anymore. But with traffic moving, he couldn’t text her.
Charlie perked up his head as they went over the bridge into the city. “As soon as we get to the coffee shop,” Josh said to Charlie, “I’m going to kiss Riley like she’s never been kissed before. Then we’ll check in with Agent Wallace.” Aside from those two things, he had no other plan.
He tried Riley again.
When he got her voice mail, Josh’s gut plummeted to the floorboard as he braked at a red light. It was the same feeling he’d gotten that day he went into the apartment building in Afghanistan. His stomach got tight. His body shivered. That always happened right before something big went down.
Josh puffed out his cheeks, saying a silent prayer as the light turned green. After two more blocks, he found a parking garage. Within five minutes, Charlie and Josh were walking into The Coffee Bean Factory not far from Stitches, Inc.
Josh walked around but didn’t have to. The comfy coffee shop was small enough to see everyone and everything right from the entrance. Patrons lounged in living-room-style chairs, at tables, and a few at the high bar that surrounded the barista area.
Not one black-haired woman who made his mouth dry and his body sizzle with heat sat among the crowd. Nevertheless, he asked the short young girl making the coffee if she’d seen a woman of average height with long black hair that probably appeared dark blue in the light, gray eyes, and snow-white skin. He’d forgotten what Riley was wearing.
“Sir, you know you just described most of the ladies that walk in here,” the girl said.
His pulse ramped up.
Charlie pulled on his leash.
Josh glanced down and let the dog lead him. Charlie sniffed his way over to a table by the window, where a middle-aged hippie sat absorbed in his laptop.
Charlie continued to sniff around the table and the empty one next to it.
“Excuse me,” Josh said to the hippie, who was wearing his hair up in a man bun. Josh wouldn’t have been caught dead with that hairstyle, not because he was a Navy SEAL and the buzz cut was uniform issue, but long hair on men wasn’t his thing.
The hippie eyed Josh, dragging dirty nails down his unshaven face. The only time Josh hadn’t shaved was when they were deep in the mountains of Afghanistan and shaving had been the last thing any of them had on their hygiene list.
Charlie nuzzled the chair as if to tell Josh Riley had been sitting there.
“Have you been here long? I’m looking for a lady, pretty, long black hair, gray eyes—”
“She smells like cherries?” he asked.
Josh’s jaw came unhinged. “Yeah.” He thought he was the only one who’d noticed that.
The hippie held out his hand to Charlie. “I overheard her talking to someone named Liza. Then she took off and went that way.” He pointed a finger in the direction of Stitches, Inc.
“How long ago? Did you hear anything else? Like where she could be going?”
“Um, she left about an hour ago. And other than the name Liza, I heard her say Taylor.”
“Thanks, man.” Josh hightailed it out and started toward Stitches, Inc. Riley had mentioned in one of her texts that she was going to make Taylor talk.
Charlie and Josh waltzed into the fashion company ten minutes later and were greeted with no one. Josh checked his watch to see if the workday had ended, but it was approaching four p.m.
“Hello,” he called out, glancing down both hallways.
Charlie and he started with the offices on the opposite end from where Liza’s was located. With each door they opened, they found a room that was barebones empty. Then they started looking in the offices on Liza’s end.
Josh felt as if he were in a Walking Dead episode in which Rick used caution when he scoured a building. Josh had had to do just that on many missions, but missions and normal life in a big city were by far on the opposite ends of the spectrum.
Charlie managed to tug his way out of Josh’s grasp and slipped into an office two doors down from Liza’s.
“Charlie?” Josh called in more of a whisper.
Charlie came out of the office, and his wet nose nudged Josh’s hand. Then he darted back inside. His actions told Josh he’d heard a noise that he wanted Josh to know about.
A large cherry-stained desk, a credenza with liquor on display, and a wall full of photos of models and photographers decorated the plush room.
Charlie trotted to the closet then sat on his haunches.
“Is someone in there?” Josh wasn’t on a mission, so he shouldn’t have been apprehensive. He studied his dog as he closed his hand around the knob, praying a bomb wouldn’t go off. Josh knew he was overreacting, but that fateful day would always be fresh in his mind.
Slowly, he opened the door and gasped.
Red, or Candace, if he remembered her name, was tied and gagged as tears streamed down her face, cutting a path through her makeup.
Josh made quick work of untying her.
When she was free, she threw her
arms around him, practically tackling him to the ground. “I’m so glad you didn’t obey the rules.”
Josh knew she was referring to the fact that he hadn’t listened to her the last time he’d been there. He peeled her off him, needing answers. “What’s going on? And please speak loudly. I’m deaf in my left ear.”
She fixed her hair, which was wild and free, then flicked her fingers over her eyes and cheeks. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” She shuddered.
Try me came to mind, but instead, Josh said, “I’m looking for Riley. Have you seen her? Or Liza? Has Liza shown up? And where is everyone? This place is like a ghost town.”
She scratched Charlie’s ears, muttering something Josh couldn’t make out because he couldn’t see her lips.
He tapped her on the shoulder. Normally, Josh wouldn’t mind anyone giving Charlie some love, but they were wasting time.
“Sorry,” she practically shouted. “Mr. Gansett and his men took Riley.”
Josh swayed on his feet, silently swearing like a sailor that he would seriously kill anyone who dared to touch Riley. “Come again? You mean Liza’s boss?” Josh had never met the man, but Liza had said the name a time or two and had nothing but good things to say about him.
Candace sat down in one of the wooden armchairs. “Yes.”
“Tell me everything up to the point of how you ended up in the closet.”
“I was just coming out of the bathroom, when I heard Riley’s voice in Liza’s office. I was about to find out why she returned, when Mr. Gansett started talking. He didn’t sound like the nice man I knew. At first, I thought good for him for finally putting his foot down about Riley just walking in like she worked here. But then he said, ‘I’ve been through this office, and you won’t find what Liza is looking for.’ That made me pause. So I listened. Riley and Mr. Gansett went back and forth about a thumb drive. Finally, Mr. Gansett told Riley that she was going to help him get the thumb drive.”
Liza must’ve had it, which was why her place had been ransacked.
Charlie lay down at Josh’s feet. “How did you end up in the closet?”
She wiped the area underneath her eyes. “I heard the elevator ding. So I ducked back into the bathroom then came out as if I’d heard nothing. I was walking back to reception, when two big men, one bald with a goatee and the other with thick black hair and easy on the eyes, stalked down the hall. I smiled and proceeded to sit at my desk. I didn’t know what to do, but I had to somehow help Riley.” She inhaled and blew out a breath. “I couldn’t hear from where I sat. So I got as close to Liza’s office as I could. Mr. Gansett told the men to take Riley and her phone. Then Mr. Gansett said to the men that Taylor probably has the thumb drive. Before I could move, Mr. Gansett came out of the office and caught me.”
Josh shoved his hand through his hair and pulled. He needed to feel pain.
Take a breath, man. Riley is a tough woman. Tough or not, he had to save her. That was who Josh was. He saved people. He’d done it many times on SEAL missions. But you had Intel on where those prisoners were. You had a team of SEALs backing you up. You had tactical gear. And most of all, you were one hundred percent healthy. Besides, you don’t know where to look. You can’t hear well enough to walk into a sticky situation, let alone run with your bad leg.
Josh growled low, and Charlie perked up.
Candace regarded Josh with tears streaming down her face. “We need to find Riley. We need to call the cops. We need to call Taylor.” She wiped her eyes. “What is Liza into?”
The same question Josh had. He waved a hand around. “The entire floor is empty. Am I missing something?”
She swiped a hand under her nose. “Several of the offices on this floor have never been occupied as long as I’ve worked here. Plus, three of the managers are away on business. Josh, thank you. If you hadn’t found me, then I might have died in that closet.”
He doubted she would’ve died. “Do you know where Taylor is or where she could be? Anything?”
“Taylor was fired.” Then her eyes went wide. “I think Mr. Gansett has Riley’s phone. You could try calling it.”
“I have.”
Now it was time to call in the cavalry.
Chapter Twenty-One
The scent of something pungent and disgusting made Riley choke. But the odor wasn’t as bad as the pain in her head. It felt as if someone had whacked her several times with a sledgehammer.
As a male voice drilled through her fuzziness, Riley found herself on the floor of a van, surrounded by musty blankets that stank of urine. She sat up, or tried to, when her head banged against the metal side wall of the van.
“She’s awake,” a male voice said.
Riley knew that voice. It was the same person she’d kneed in the crotch. In record speed, her mind cleared.
Pressing her hands to the floor, she managed to push to a sitting position then oriented her vision to find that they were parked in some alley. At least Riley assumed they were from the dumpster behind the rotund man standing outside the van’s door.
She blinked, and Mr. Gansett came into focus. He’d shucked his business suit for a pair of jeans that looked odd on the hefty man. Riley desperately wanted to call the fashion police. A laugh bubbled to the surface. He owned a fashion company, and she wanted to tell him that high-waisted jeans were out of style. At least she thought they were. In fact, Josh wore his jeans low on his hips.
Oh my. Josh. Riley’s muscles tightened. He was probably worried sick that she wasn’t at the coffee shop. She took inventory of her body. Her hands were tied behind her back, her mouth was gagged with the same fabric Baldy Bart had shoved over her nose, and her ankles were wrapped in thick rope like the kind used to secure a boat to a pier. Nevertheless, Riley wiggled, kicked, and screamed, but no one would hear her since her mouth was gagged.
Mr. Gansett was wearing a smirk that she wanted to rip off.
“Where are we?” Riley tried to ask, scanning every nook and crevice in the beat-up van.
The only window that existed was the windshield, which she couldn’t see through since Mount Everest was blocking her view. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway to know where she was since Mr. Gansett had her phone.
Mount Everest waved.
Really? “How’s the crotch?” Riley was talking to herself since her words were garbled.
Mr. Gansett glanced toward the back of the van. “Well.”
Bart appeared, his bald head shiny or maybe oily. “Taylor isn’t there. And the Feds are all over Liza’s apartment. They won’t find the thumb drive. Moretti and I tore that place apart.” Bart stabbed a finger at Mount Everest.
Riley whipped her head toward Mount Everest. So he was a Moretti? He wasn’t the one that the FBI wanted to put in prison. She’d seen pictures of the old man in the media. Mount Everest was far from old, although now that Riley was really looking at him, she could see that he resembled the elder Moretti with his dark hair and dark eyes.
Moretti grinned, showing pearly whites. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m Stefano Moretti’s son, Leo.”
Riley must’ve had that question written all over her face.
“Get in,” Mr. Gansett said to Bart. “It’s time for our next move.”
Riley tugged at the rope around her wrists, hoping to break free, although for the moment, she was safe. After all, they needed her to accomplish their goal.
Mr. Gansett climbed in, and the van moved with the weight of his body. He sat on a crate opposite Riley then pulled out her phone from the back of his jeans pocket. “What’s your passcode?”
Riley rolled her eyes, hoping he would get the message that he was a moron. Then again, he didn’t strike her as the mafia type. So maybe he hadn’t kidnapped anyone before.
“Take off the gag,” Bart said. “No one is going to hear her. We’re in an alley.”
Mr. Gansett hesitated then acquiesced.
Riley coughed then spit on the floor, taking in a few deep breaths. “Idiot.”
Leo chuckled. “I like her, even though she probably ruined my chances of having kids.”
Again, she rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Mount Everest?”
Leo’s eyebrows came together as did Bart’s.
“Never mind. I’m sure you’ll still have kids.” Before she could utter another word, Riley’s phone rang.
In a blur, the phone was in Mr. Gansett’s fat hands. “It seems Liza’s cousin Josh is in a panic over your disappearance.”
“He’s an ex-Navy SEAL,” Bart said. Riley detected envy in his voice.
The phone continued to trill in the small space, and Riley’s heart proceeded to beat wildly. If her hands and ankles weren’t tied, she would’ve tackled the fat man.
Mr. Gansett chewed on his lip. “From what Liza has told me, he’s been injured in combat. He’s worthless. Besides, he can’t do anything over the phone.”
Growling, Riley used all the energy she could to kick the crate he was sitting on. The nice thing about gravity was that the heavier something was, the harder it fell. Gansett listed to one side, then his butt hit the floor.
She giggled. He didn’t.
Her phone slid under a blanket. The ringing stopped. So did her pulse, mainly because Mr. Gansett was primed to backhand her.
Riley stuck out her chin, ready to take whatever he was about to dish out. She would take the pain because in the end, she’d enjoyed seeing him fall. She also believed in karma. He would get what was coming to him. She just prayed it was before he killed her.
The ringing started up again.
While Mr. Gansett got back on the crate, Bart collected the phone, sneering at Riley in the process. “Hello.”
Silence rained down as Leo, Mr. Gansett, and Riley watched Bart’s expression morph into surprise.
Maybe Josh could be scary over the phone. Or maybe Agent Wallace was on the line.
Bart put the phone on speaker.
“Where is she?” Liza asked in a voice Riley didn’t recognize.
Riley sighed. “I’m right here.”
Rescuing Riley: The Gold Coast Retrievers, Book 2 Page 12