Once again in his own room, he snatched the bottle of Jack Daniels off the desk, pouring several inches into a glass. He swallowed deeply, welcoming the liquor’s fiery sting, and moved to the bathroom to tend his injuries. After cleaning and taping his damaged ear, he wound a makeshift bandage around his battered fingers. Returning to the living room, he scrubbed his unshaven face in his palms. He took several deep breaths, the inferno of rage now a low smoldering, the emotional wildfire of the previous half-hour consumed by its own intensity.
Where could they be now? Casey’s not stupid. He won’t go home or anywhere near his offices…same for Ryan. How do I get them to surface?
His devious mind shuffled a slate of possible ways to reacquire his targets into coalescence, bringing his anger in check and his determination to a razor’s edge. An insidious idea percolated to the top of his Machiavellian thoughts.
Simple, grab someone he cares about. He must have a family…friends. He took someone I cared about…time to return the favor.
He sat down, opening Trish’s laptop. The memory of her resting on the very same couch just hours before came flooding back, immersing him in a blazing pyre of feral emotion.
Aaron Casey...He touched the enter key and waited for the WebCrawler to do its work. Google’s dispassionate response contained thousands of results.
Okay. Let’s narrow it down.
He tapped the keys again. Aaron Casey...Boston…
A few thudding heartbeats later the computer responded with a much smaller list. He skimmed the entries, passing those heralding awards and ribbon cuttings, before a single headline leapt from the screen, standing out from the rest.
Jury Verdict: DUI caused fatal crash.
The teaser was subtitled as well and he continued reading.
Construction Co. heiress the lone survivor.
Clicking on the link, a full color picture of a horrific car crash appeared on the screen. Seconds later, the image resolved, flanked by the inset headshots of a man and two women. Clark read the accompanying text, greedily consuming the details of the tragedy’s only survivor.
So Casey, you have a sister. I’ll bet you’d do anything for her, wouldn’t you?
He lined up his thoughts like dominos until a path came into view. The road lined with piercing hatred, his mind created a clear avenue to a righteous, incendiary wrath on the man who’d ripped Trish away from him.
He closed the lid, shutting down the computer. An insidious grin crossed his features.
Casey, I’m going to make you hurt in ways you can’t even imagine.
He packed his things and walked out of the hotel a few minutes later. No one seemed to notice him as he stepped off the elevator. He by-passed the busy lobby, instead moving down a back hallway and out into the parking lot beyond.
"Chain Reaction" Power Failure Book I Page 53