The Embrace Series: Romantic Suspense Box Set

by Dana Mason

  At the car, she took Micah out of the stroller then strapped his car seat in before stowing the stroller in the trunk. As she slid into the driver’s seat someone came up beside her. He grabbed her arm and pushed her sideways.

  “Move over.” It was a hushed whisper but Ali recognized the voice instantly.

  “Carl, what—no!” Ali grunted, yanking her arm back. “Get awa—”

  “Move over,” he said through his teeth as he jammed something into her ribs under her arm. “Now.”

  Ali looked up into his face and a chill brushed over her skin at the look in his eyes. She slowly lifted her body and slid over the console between the seats as Carl lowered himself into the driver’s seat waving a gun at her.

  She glanced around the parking lot, hoping someone had noticed their struggle, but it was deserted. “What are you doing?”

  “Taking you on a trip,” Carl said as he angled the car out of the parking lot.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Johnny hated paperwork. When he became a cop, he had no idea most of his life would be filled up with paperwork. What happened to chasing bad guys? What happened to rescuing damsels in distress? He smiled and thought about Ali then glanced at his watch. She’d be calling any minute, her lunch with Julie couldn’t go much longer.

  “Hey!” Brian bellowed bringing Johnny out of his thoughts. “We got her!” he said between a half smile and a frown. “The bitch!”

  “Who?” Johnny asked, leaning back in his desk chair.

  “Peters called. They’ve picked up Ms. Maria Behar for child abduction.”

  “What!” Johnny bolted out of his chair.

  “They’ve got the name of the driver too. Mike Horner, both from Roseville. Agents are trying to locate him as we speak. They crossed the border into Nevada yesterday morning. Once they hit Reno, one fine Healdsburg resident recognized them from the news reports. They were eating in a Denny’s off the freeway. The woman called the hotline, but before Peters got someone out there, they were gone.” Brian chuckled. “Didn’t take long to grab her, the tipster took down the description of the car, license plate number, and even overheard their conversation about heading to Salt Lake City.”

  The weight and stress from worrying about Micah’s safety lifted off Johnny’s shoulders. Damn it was nice to get some good news for a change. “Well, they’re a few cards short of a deck, aren’t they? Blabbin’ about their plans in a crowded restaurant.”

  Brian laughed. “Yeah, but this tipster was on it. She got everything Peters needed to track them down.”

  “What about Horner?”

  “They found the car in a motel lot in Elko, Nevada. Went in, but Horner wasn’t there, just Behar. He’s hiding somewhere in the area. They’ve put out a news report. It’s just a matter of time now.”

  “Hammel,” Detective Martinez called from across the room, holding the phone receiver out. “It’s Peters, I’m sending it over.”

  A few seconds later Johnny’s phone rang, Brian snatched it up and said, “Hammel.”

  Johnny leaned back in his chair again and watched as Brian smiled, responding with short grunt like answers.

  “Where?” Brian said. “How long? . . . Bennett and I will meet you there.” He slammed the phone down. “Got ’em! Got ’em both!”

  “So . . . we’re driving to Elko?” Johnny said, lifting a hand in question.

  “No.” Brian smiled wide. “Napa, Got ’em both—as in Hayes and Horner.”

  Johnny bolted out of his chair. “Behar implicated Carl?”

  “You got it, and the crooked lawyer who set-up the black-market adoption.” Brian did a quick fist pump. “Peters is leaving his office now in the city, we gotta meet him in Napa.”

  Johnny ran a hand through his hair. “Son of a bitch!”

  “Let’s go break the news to Ali.”

  “She’s having lunch with Julie,” Johnny said.

  “I talked to Julie twenty minutes ago, she’s at home.”

  “But Ali hasn’t . . .” He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed her number. “Voicemail,” he muttered.

  “Try the house phone. Maybe she left her cell in the car.”

  Johnny dialed the house phone and waited. “Voicemail again.” As Johnny said this, Brian’s phone started buzzing.

  “It’s Melissa . . .” Brian said, looking at the caller ID. “Hello?”

  Brian’s rolled his eyes. “Lis, you can’t call me every time your sister doesn’t answer her phone.”

  A shout came through the line and Brian said, “What do you mean talking in code?” Brian’s expression hardened. “Tell me exactly what she said, Lis.”

  He listened intently, then placed his hand over the speaker and asked, “Did Micah have a pediatrician appointment today?”

  “No, what the hell is going on?” Johnny felt pressure on his chest. He laid a hand up to rub away the pain.

  “Lis, hold on, I’m putting you on speaker so Bennett can hear.” He pushed the speaker button then put the cell phone down on the desk and pulled out his notepad. “Okay, Lis, what’s code about a doctor appointment?”

  “I don’t know! That’s the problem.” Melissa was talking fast and had to take a breath. “I had a creepy—Brian, I mean creepy spine tingling feeling about her so I called.”

  “Yeah, so?” Brian shrugged and said, “You get that whenever she stubs her freaking toe.”

  “She asked me to pick Jamie up from school and keep him until she got back from Micah’s appointment with Dr. North.”

  “Whoa, whoa, Dr. North?” Johnny’s eyes met Brian’s.

  Melissa blurted, “She knows I can’t get to Jamie’s school in time to pick him up. I’m in Berkeley. Brian, something is wrong.”

  “Who is Micah’s pediatrician?” Brian asked.

  “Webber,” Johnny said. “And it’s Mark’s day to pick-up Jamie.”

  “She said to take Jamie to her house and wait for her, and then she gave me some bogus alarm code.” They heard paper rustling. “101128.”

  “Is that the code?” Brian asked, as he wrote the number down.

  Johnny shook his head. “Not even close.”

  “Brian, I know my sister. Something is wrong. I could hear it in her voice. She was trying to sound super breezy and normal, but there was nothing normal about this conversation.”

  “Okay, let’s sum this up. She doesn’t have a doctor’s appointment.”

  “She had lunch plans with Julie then she planned to go home. That’s it. She usually calls me when she gets home and I haven’t heard from her yet.” Johnny leaned in closer and he and Brian examined the notes, trying to decipher the numbers. “North must be important. What about highway numbers.”

  Brian slammed his hand down on the desk, making the cell phone clatter. “Fuck! It’s highway 101, north.” He looked up at Johnny. “It crosses highway 128.”

  “Melissa, was there anything else. Did you hear someone talking in the background?” Brian asked.

  “No, not even the radio.”

  Johnny slowly slid back down into his desk chair and had to swallow back the wave of nausea that hit him. “Oh God . . .” he said, clutching his stomach. He leaned over and put his head between his legs. If anything happened to her or Micah . . . he needed to throw up. “Who . . . oh fuck,” he moaned. It had to be Carl. Who else would do this?

  “Bennett, man,” Brian cursed under his breath and shouted, “Martinez—I need you to ride with me, Bennett is sick.”

  “No, I’m going,” Johnny said, forcing himself out of the chair.

  “No, hell no, I’m not taking you with me. You’re a wreck—you can’t help.”

  “I’m fucking going!” Johnny said, getting in Brian’s face.

  “Fine,” Brian said, “You call Peters, I’ll drive.” Brian picked up his phone and turned off the speaker. “Lis, call us if you hear from her.” He turned his back to Johnny and said, “Yeah, Lis, I know,” he was quiet for a minute, running his hand t
hrough his hair. “Lis . . .” His voice lowered. “No, it’ll be fine, babe—shh-shh-shh . . . stop crying. I’m not going to let anything happen to her or Micah, I promise.”

  Johnny got another wave of nausea when he realized how scared Ali had to be. He shouldn’t have pushed her to go out. “This is my fault,” he whispered.

  “Come on.” Brian slid his phone back into the case on his hip. “Let’s get out of here—Get Peters on the phone.”

  “Carl, do you want to go to jail?”

  “It’s doesn’t matter now,” he said.

  “It’s not too late. Go back so we can drop Micah off at a hospital . . . or police station. I don’t want him involved in this, not with you waving a gun around.”

  He laughed and said, “Hell no.”

  Ali stared at him. He’d completely lost his mind. He was one brave soul to mess with her. Johnny would surely kill him now.

  “I need him to make sure you do what I want.”

  “I’ll do whatever you want.” Her pulse spiked at the look in his eye and she realized he was more than crazy, he was dangerous. “I just want Micah safe. Just stop somewhere.”

  “No! He’s coming with us.”

  Ali took a couple of deep breaths, she needed to calm him down and get him past the agitation so he could think rationally. “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see when we get there. Stop talking!” He shouted as he glanced from mirror to mirror.

  “Carl,” Ali said softly, resting her hand on his arm. “You are not a criminal. Why are you doing this? This is kidnapping, you’ll be in so much trouble.”

  “I told you, it’s too late.”

  “No, it’s not, not yet. Take us back.”

  “I just wanted you back,” he said, his voice lowering as if he were talking to himself. “I didn’t want any of this. If I would have known . . .”

  “Known what?”

  “If I would have known Micah was so important to you.”

  “Of course he is, but what does that have to do with this?”

  “None of this would have happened if it weren’t for him,” Carl growled. “Why did you have to go and get yourself pregnant?”

  “Micah is a blessing. If you don’t see it that way, you don’t have to be his father. I already told you you’re free of the responsibility of taking care of him.”

  He shook his head vehemently. “But I’ll lose you too.”

  “Yes, Micah and I go together.” She kept her voice low, hoping not to set him off.

  “Alison . . . I thought you loved me.”

  “I did until you rejected my son.”

  “We’re great together without a baby. We were free to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. No babysitters, no diapers . . . why would you want to ruin that.”

  God she wanted to smash her foot right into his stupid face. She took a deep breath and prayed for patience. “Carl, stop this nonsense and take us back.”

  “No!” Before she could react, he threw his hand out, backhanding her across the cheek, making stars erupt behind her eyes.

  The car swerved and jostled her head into the headrest. “Carl!” She screamed and braced herself for impact. When she reached to hold on, she gripped onto her cell phone resting in the center console.

  Carl righted the car and shouted, “See what you made me do!”

  Ali took the chance with racing heart to switch the cell phone to her right hand and held it between her seat and the door while Carl focused on the road and steering the car.

  She held down the speed dial button to call Johnny and waited, watching the screen for him to answer. When he did, she nearly came out of her seat in excitement.

  “Carl . . .” She had to fight tears of relief as she tried to question him. “Where are we going?”

  He fidgeted and she braced for another blow, but he just gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I told you, you’ll know when we get there.”

  “Isn’t your parents place up here . . . near Mendocino, right?” She prayed to God Johnny was listening.

  Carl’s shoulders relaxed a little. “You remember.” He smiled over at her. “Doesn’t that sound like a nice vacation spot?”

  “This is hardly a vacation. Taking me against my will does not constitute a pleasure trip.”

  “You’ll change your mind when we get there,” he said. “It’s beautiful, Ali. You’re going to love it.”

  “If we’re going to a remote house on the coast, we’ll need some things for Micah. I don’t have formula or diapers.”

  “We can get whatever we need in Mendocino, honey. If not, we can drive up to Fort Bragg.”

  Johnny and Brian looked at each other and smiled. “Damn she’s good,” Brian said and picked up the radio to call in the information. “Here.” Brian handed Johnny his cell phone. “Call Peters and give him an update. Maybe we can head them off in Albion.”

  The screen on Ali’s phone showed Johnny was still connected so she tried to keep Carl talking. “How much further?”

  “Not far, maybe another hour.”

  “I thought your parents sold this place.”

  “No, they had it on the market, but no bidders were high enough.”

  “You know . . . in a couple of hours people are going to know I’m missing. Then they’ll start looking for me.”

  “They’ll never find you up here, besides they’ll assume you left on your own, especially after talking to Melissa. I mean, making arrangements for Jamie to be picked up—that was smart. They’ll assume you were buying yourself more time.”

  Ali chuckled sardonically. She couldn’t help herself. “You really are delusional, aren’t you? Nobody is going to believe I left Jamie—or Johnny for that matter.”

  “Don’t say that name!” His grip tightened on the steering wheel again. “He doesn’t exist any longer in your world. It’s just us now, you and me.”

  Oh my God she hated him. How could she have ever thought she loved this man? What a selfish, arrogant son of a bitch. “You forgot about the baby in the backseat—again!” Ali shouted. As if on cue Micah started whining. Ali turned to talk to him. “Micah, sweetpea, we’re almost there, baby.”

  “Can’t you do something?”

  “He’s hungry and probably needs a diaper change,” Ali said. “He’s been in the car for a long time.”

  Micah started crying louder. Ali shifted and tried to calm Micah down by talking to him, but it seemed to irritate him more.

  “Alison, shut him up.”

  “I’m trying. Maybe you should pull over for a minute.”

  “I can’t pull over, we don’t have time.”

  “Carl, I can’t do anything if you don’t pull over.”

  “Shut up! Between his screaming and your bitching, I can’t think.”

  “Don’t tell me to shut—ow,” she yelped when he grabbed a fistful of her hair. “—okay—let go!” she screamed as Carl yanked her across the center console.

  He pulled her face close to his and tightened his grip on her hair. Ali tried to shrink away from his bulging eyes as they surged with anger. She’d never seen anything like it. “Make him shut up!” He pushed her with so much force her head smacked the passenger window hard.

  She held her breath as her eyes swelled with tears.

  When the pain subsided, she gently placed the phone in the door storage pocket, hoping Johnny could still hear. She clicked off her seatbelt and leaned into the backseat.

  “Micah, please, sweetpea.” Her voice broke and she had to take a deep breath to talk. She laid a reassuring hand on his head and said, “Try to sleep, baby.”

  When he had calmed slightly, she shifted back into her seat and replaced her seatbelt.

  Carl reached over to rub her knee. “Ali, I’m sorry, honey.”

  “Don’t touch me.” She pushed his hand away. “Don’t ever touch me again.”

  “Don’t be like this,” he said, trying to take her hand.

  Ali smacked him and pushed his
face as the car swerved. “I said don’t fucking touch me!” She screamed. “If you’re going to hit me—you don’t get to touch me!”

  “Ali, stop! I can’t drive.” He placed his hand over her face and shoved her away.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Johnny’s eyes locked on Brian’s.

  “Things are getting bad,” Brian said.

  Johnny’s stomach knotted tighter with each scream that rang through the phone. He prayed Carl didn’t crash the car. “I wish she would stop trying to get him to talk. She’s just provoking him.”

  “Relax. You need to keep your cool, Bennett.”

  “He’s going to wreck the car . . . I hope she has her seatbelt on.” He rested his head back and looked up at the roof of the car. God, keep them safe . . . please keep them safe. “Brian, what if he hurts them. Carl already said he plans to get rid of Micah.”

  “Ali won’t let anything happen to Micah.”

  “Then who’s going to take care of her while she’s taking care of Micah?”

  “We are—we will take care of her—fucking stop, Bennett. Hold yourself together. Peters has a team on the way to Mendocino, it’s going to turn out fine. Ali’s got her shit together more than you. Thanks to her we can hear everything. We even know where they’re going now that Martinez got us the address for the Hayes’ beach house.”

  “I can’t stand this; I can’t stand to hear Micah cry like that. He never cries like this”—Johnny rubbed his forehead—“can’t you drive faster?”

  “I’m not going to kill us trying to get there,” Brian said. “Chill out, take a deep breath and stop freaking out.”

  “Okay! Okay!” Johnny stretched out and sat upright, he needed to pull himself together. “Wait—shit-shit-shit!” He looked at his phone.

  “What?”

  He held the phone out to Brian. “We lost her.”

  “She lost her signal . . . they’re in the hills, driving through the redwoods, that’s all a dead zone for cell phones.” He turned to face Johnny. “Don’t panic they’re almost there and we’re less than an hour behind them.”