Nine Inch Nails radiated through the gym, doing little to ease my temper. The song was raging, the lyrics “I want to fuck you like an animal” assaulting my eardrums. Out of breath, I fumed, needing Aly more than I’d ever needed anyone, and hating myself for it.
Once I was done, I tore my bar apart and racked the weight plates, then finished with a round of curls before hitting the showers. I decided after the baseball players left, I’d surprise Aly at work. It was almost opening day, and I had to make sure those dudes were happy. We were set to shoot the billboard ads the following week. So far, it had been a sweet arrangement.
I was finishing working with the baseball players, doing a series of stretches on yet another new roller ball I was trying out, when Chloe walked out on the floor.
“Jake?”
“Busy, Chlo,” I huffed out.
“Someone here for you.”
“Is it Camper?”
“No, it’s some guy who reeks of smoke. Says he knows your girlfriend?”
“My what?”
“Your girlfriend.”
“Hey, guys.” I turned to the guys I was working with, trying to laugh it off. “I’m going to see who this is. Probably some nut,” I said with a forced grin. Then I turned to Tony. “Hey, can you stretch the guys out?”
“Yeah.”
Scowling at my front-desk girl, I said, “Go, Chloe. Tell him I’m coming. No need to stand and stare.”
I took a deep breath to calm myself and swiped my damp hair back as I made my way up the stairs to reception. The piped-in music faded as I closed in on the man standing there waiting for me.
“Can I help you?” I crossed my arms in front of me, flexing my biceps.
“Um, I’m Barry,” he said, paling a little as he took me in. “I work with Alyson. She didn’t come into work this morning. I called her phone a few times and she didn’t answer. Thought maybe you’d know where she is?”
Anger flashed through me as I saw red. Bright fucking blood red. “What are you accusing me of, lawyer boy?”
“Nothing!” He held his hands up in surrender and cleared his throat, but he still sounded like he had a frog stuck in there when he spoke next, shooting his words out rapid fire. “Nothing, I promise. Aly is gone, our client’s out on bail but his ankle bracelet isn’t working, and I want to call the cops but I wanted to make sure she isn’t sick or just taking a day off with you.”
Before he’d even finished, I grabbed the schmuck by the shoulder and dragged him to my office. “Call the cops,” I yelled at him once we were behind my closed door. “She’s not with me or sick. You guys let that bastard out, and now he has her!”
I watched Barry pull out his phone with shaking hands and hit the button for a contact at the police department. He told them Alyson was nowhere to be found, and they already knew about the monitor going haywire.
As I waited impatiently, I was reminded of the similar scene with Camper last week. How many times was I going to call the cops from my office? Jesus Christ, I was turning into a humanitarian.
When he finished the call and shoved the phone back in his pocket, I growled, “If something happens to her, I’ll kill you and that guy I already beat the shit out of. I don’t care if I go to prison for life.”
Barry just shivered, the stupid, worthless idiot.
“Go!” I shouted at him. “Go look for her. That’s what I’m going to do.”
I stormed out of my office, not waiting to see what Barry did. As soon as I got in my truck, I called Bess, only to learn Lane was out of the country. She demanded to know what was going on, and with the chatter of an AA meeting happening in the background, I told her.
“Did you hear me?” I asked.
“I did. You have to calm down, Jake. The police are going to help.”
I hung up. I didn’t have time for her positive vibes. Next, I called the detective I was paying, and found out she didn’t come home last night.
“I thought she was with you,” was the excuse he offered up.
Furious, I hung up on him too and sped off to the rental.
After using my key to let myself in, I found Mav in a puddle of pee and shit in his crate. Scooping the poor guy up in a towel, I carried him out crying and whimpering to the yard where he relieved himself. Then I hauled him straight to the basement sink and washed him off. After giving him some food and a small walk, I felt slightly more centered, closer to Aly, even though she was nowhere to be found.
I kept texting Barry, and he kept texting back, assuring me, “We’re on it.”
Bullshit.
I had to find her, but needed someone to take care of Maverick. I pulled out my phone and called Bess back, this time asking nicely if I could meet her halfway between here and there with the dog.
Thank God she never said no to me. An hour later, I pulled into a rest stop and waited. Bess showed up fifteen minutes later in her enormous SUV, Brooks jumping around in the back.
“Where’s my niece?” I asked.
“I left her with May back at the house. She was off today and was watching Maddy while I went to a meeting and to volunteer. Don’t worry about her . . . Maddy’s fine. Give me the puppy, and go do what you need to.”
“Thanks,” I said, raking my hands through my hair and pulling on the ends, causing pain to sear through my scalp. I needed to feel something.
“Jake?” Bess called as I was hopping back into my driver’s seat. “Come spend the night at our place.”
“I’ll see,” I yelled and slammed my door closed.
I wanted to gun the engine, but waited for Bess to pull out and exit. I watched her hit the road, a small compact car right behind her, and then I peeled the fuck out of there.
Aly
Someone was dragging me by my hair, the roots pulling on my throbbing scalp. I tried to open my mouth to scream, but it was taped shut. My legs dragged along something rough and jagged, and tiny pricks—maybe splinters—tore through my yoga pants. My brain willed my eyes to open despite the droopiness settled in the lids, but they were also covered with tape.
The tender skin of my lips was already peeling off, sticking to the adhesive taping them, and salty tears gathered in pools below my eyes. I squeezed my eyes shut, even though I already couldn’t see a damn thing.
Losing my sight completely forced me to listen harder so I strained my ears, trying to pick up any sounds. What was I listening for? Clues, noises, anything, my captor’s breathing.
Desperation and anxiety bubbled up my throat and a scream escaped my lungs, only to be blocked by the tape.
“Mmph!” filtered through the tape covering my mouth, rather than the shrieking Help! I’d wanted to release.
A sharp jab made contact with my shin, and I heard a loud crack, like a snap. Quickly, it registered the snap was actually my own leg bone.
Pain screamed through my body, and I was dropped to the floor with a thud. My head hit the floor hard, thankfully making everything go black once again.
The whine of a small motor awakened me, then a grinding noise, and for a second, I wished it hadn’t because the pain only intensified, blasting through my leg. I tried to move it, but it was completely lifeless.
Grunting from the effort, I kept trying to move my lower leg, but it wouldn’t budge. The whine roared to life again. I shifted, trying to roll to the side, off my face, but something fell on top of me. Something sharp poked into my rib cage, and I didn’t dare move.
“Where are you going, missy?” The voice that rang through the room was loud and feminine at the same time. Hoarse and seductive, foreign and familiar.
Fear froze me as I shook my head, unable to say anything.
“I’m going to take the tape from your eyes, but no sudden movements. I got my stiletto angled exactly right to puncture a lung if you do.”