A Billionaire's Redemption (17 page)

She put the phone down on the seat beside her and concentrated on the progressively narrower and more treacherous road. Near the summit now, it switched back hard next to a massive drop-off. A wide valley stretched away into the distance hundreds of feet below her. It was Willa’s least favorite part of the drive. She clutched the wheel tightly and slowed cautiously as she approached the turn.

A tremendous impact made her scream aloud as the van behind her slammed into her. Willa fought her fishtailing car back under control, tires squealing as she hit the brakes. Another bone-jarring impact shoved her car partially off the pavement. She stood on her brake pedal for all she was worth, locking up the tires completely. But the van revved behind her, using its superior weight and horsepower to shove her closer to that ominous expanse of blackness.

What the heck was wrong with that driver? Willa shouted at him to stop regardless of the fact that the driver couldn’t hear her.

Her remaining tires hit the gravel shoulder and she abruptly lost all traction. Her little car lurched forward and the hood pitched down and out of sight. Her seat tilted forward violently as the car went over the edge.

Willa only had time to scream, “Nooooooo!”

Chapter 15

G
abe got out of a mind-numbingly long staff meeting that had turned into a dinner meeting, it had run so long. He’d been neglecting his company badly the past few days, and several major decisions had stacked up waiting for him.

He listened in shock to his voice mail as Willa praised him for abandoning her last night. How in the hell had she turned the most despicable thing he’d ever done into some sort of favor to her? Guilt tangled in his gut as she called him smart and thoughtful, when, in fact, he’d been a selfish jackass. He never should have made love to her last night. And once he had, he shouldn’t have left her like some coward. He should have faced the music this morning and broken things off with her face-to-face. Like a man.

He headed wearily back toward Vengeance. Normally, he’d spend the night in Dallas close to his corporate offices, but the memory of Willa in his bed and in his arms was too fresh. Too painful. He’d never wanted a woman so bad in his life. The hell of it was that she was eager and willing to have him, too.

He so shouldn’t have taken her. She was twelve years younger than he, the daughter of his archenemy, and everyone was already giving her hell for spending time with him. If word got out that the two of them were having a torrid affair, Willa’s friends and neighbors would crucify her outright. He couldn’t take them all away from her. She’d lived in Vengeance her entire life. Everyone she knew and loved was there. The good people of Vengeance would shun her completely if she got involved with him. For her happiness, he owed it to her to suck up his own desires and stay the hell away from her.

If only she hadn’t led such a sheltered life in such a small town. If she had known anyone outside of Vengeance, had any friends who didn’t come from the town’s inner circle of moneyed elite, if she’d had ties to anything at all outside of Vengeance, he could have thrown caution to the wind and continued his relationship with her.

He passed a hand across his face, tired beyond belief. He hadn’t slept a wink last night and he’d been going hard all day at the office. He felt every one of his forty years keenly tonight. Yet another reason to set Willa free. She was still in her twenties. Plenty young enough to find herself a great guy, settle down and have some kids. The family and normalcy she craved.

Funny how his wealth and extravagant lifestyle were the exact opposite of what she wanted. He’d always assumed that if he got rich enough, he could have any woman he desired. Who’d have guessed it would drive away the one woman he really did want? Another day, the irony might have amused him darkly, but tonight it just pissed him off.

His cell phone rang, and he didn’t recognize the number on his vehicle display. Why would some security company call him at this hour? It was too late for solicitors to be bothering him. Annoyed, he answered the call.

“Dawson, here.”

“Sorry to bother you, sir. I’m calling from Elite Security Services. We’re currently working for Senator Merris, and we’ve got a little problem. We were hoping you could help us.”

At the mention of Willa’s name, Gabe’s blood ran cold. “What’s wrong?” he snapped. His foot levered downward on the accelerator and the Cadillac leaped forward. Toward Willa.

“We’ve lost the senator.”

“
Lost
her? How the hell did that happen?”

“There was some sort of altercation between the senator and her mother. Senator Merris left her mother’s home rather abruptly and my men were unable to follow her. Their cars were blocked in. By the time they got out, she was gone.”

A hum of alarm set up shop low in his gut. Something was wrong. Very wrong. “How long ago did she leave the Merris mansion? You’ve checked her place?”

“She disappeared approximately two hours ago. Her house was the first place we checked. I’ve got a team waiting there now in case she shows up. We were hoping she might be with you.”

“I’ve been in business meetings all day. Let me check my condo. I’ll call you back in a minute.”

Gabe quickly dialed the phone number to his downtown pad and waited impatiently through the recorded message. “Computer, this is Gabe.”

“Good evening, Mr. Dawson. What can I do for you?”

“Is there anyone in my apartment?”

“No, sir. Your residence is currently unoccupied.”

“What time did Willa leave this morning?”

“She left at 9:31 a.m., sir. She exited the elevator at the lobby level of the building.”

Dammit. “Thank you, computer. Text my cell phone if anyone arrives at my apartment.”

“Of course, sir. Shall I prepare a hot bath for you?”

“No.” Gabe wasted no time on niceties with the machine and hung up on it. He dialed back the security firm. “She’s not at my place in Dallas,” he announced. “Have you checked my house in Vengeance?”

“Second place we checked, sir.”

He didn’t know whether to be relieved that Willa’s security team knew her behavior so well, or chagrined that the two of them hadn’t done a better job of hiding their liaison. Gabe frowned. That hum in his gut was turning into a full-blown chorus of wrongness. “Can’t you guys track her cell phone or something?”

“Only law-enforcement authorities can legally access cell-phone signals.”

“Then do it illegally!” he exclaimed. “I’ll take responsibility for it if you get caught.”

“With all due respect, sir, we wouldn’t get caught. My men are very good.”

“Then do it, already. Call me back when you get a location on her.” He was still about a half hour out of Vengeance. His foot pressed down on the gas even harder. “I’ll be in Vengeance in twenty minutes.”

“We should have her signal isolated by then,” the security man said briskly.

He bloody well hoped so. He was going to start hurting people if they didn’t find Willa, and soon. He pulled up in front of his house in eighteen minutes. By what miracle he’d managed to avoid any speed traps or the vigilant Vengeance police force, he couldn’t say.

He charged into his house, shouting, “Willa? Are you here?”

Only the echo of his worried voice answered him. He swore freely and dialed the security company again. “Where is she?” he asked without bothering to identify himself.

“We lost her signal west of Vengeance.”

“What do you mean, lost it?”

“The signal stopped. She must have turned off her phone.”

He sat down heavily on his sofa. Why would Willa run away like this? It was totally unlike her. Not only was she not a rebel by nature, but she had nowhere to go. To his knowledge, she didn’t know anyone in the next county over. Her whole life centered around Vengeance, Texas.

Where was she headed? It was possible she’d headed for the Vacarro oil field, which was about seventy miles west of Vengeance, but surely she knew better than to go to an oil drilling operation by herself. They were dangerous places if a person didn’t know their way around an oil rig.

There wasn’t anything else west of Vengeance but farms and grazing land for hundreds of miles. Was she just driving around randomly? Working things out in her head? He’d been known to do that from time to time. Although it didn’t particularly seem to be her style. Worried, he paced his living room and did his best to ignore the fat lady bellowing a veritable opera of alarm in his gut.

C’mon, Willa. Come home to me.
At least call me.

Although, why should she? Despite her effort to put a happy spin on it, fact was, he’d abandoned her last night. He’d been the worst sort of cad and walked out on her after making love to her. She deserved so much better than that. Than him. Was that why she had run? Was this his fault? He swore at himself. How could it not be his fault?

If she was out there somewhere, alone and upset, he owed it to her to find her and make it better. He grabbed his car keys and headed out to his truck. Texas was a big place, but he’d find her somehow. And when he did, he owed her an epic apology.

He headed west toward the hilly area where the security firm had last pinged her cell phone. A series of deep valleys and high bluffs ran north-south through the western part of the county. His geologist’s trained eye identified it as ancient river erosion. Cell-phone coverage in the area was terrible. If she’d gone there, she might not have turned her phone off at all. She could’ve simply lost a cellular signal. The rift ran for nearly fifty miles north and south of Vengeance. She could be anywhere in it. Determination to find her anyway steeled his jaw as he pointed his truck at the area.

The sun had dipped below the west rim of the first valley already, and deep shadows striped the road. Tall deciduous trees, protected down in the valley from Texas’s vicious winds, crowded the asphalt and created a mysterious emerald ambience all around him. He could see Willa coming to a place like this to find comfort.

The security man had mentioned she and her mother had had a fight. Gabe sincerely hoped it hadn’t been over him. Yet another cross for him to bear if he’d come between Willa and her mother.

He’d just topped the rim and was starting down into the next gully when his cell phone rang. He was impressed that he still had coverage out here and snatched it up hopefully. “Willa?”

“No, sir. This is Agent Delaney of the FBI. We have news regarding your wife.”

He really wished they’d quit calling Melinda that. “What news?” he asked quickly.

“We’ve found Dr. Grayson. An operation earlier this evening to liberate her from her captor was successful.”

A week ago, that news would have made him the happiest man alive. But now, he could barely spare attention for the news in the midst of his panic over Willa.

The FBI agent was speaking again. “If you would like to meet me at Vengeance Hospital, that is where your Dr. Grayson is being taken.”

“She’s hurt? How badly?”

“I don’t have that information.”

Dammit. He really wanted to stay out here and look for Willa. But Melinda could be seriously injured and traumatized. He weighed Willa being alone and upset against Melinda definitely hurt and traumatized. Heavily, he turned his truck around and headed back toward town.

As the valley retreated in his rearview mirror, he murmured, “I’ll be back for you, baby. I promise.”

* * *

Willa blinked, but her eyes weren’t working properly. Everything was unfocused in shades of gray around her. Like it was getting dark. Or maybe she was dying. She became aware of pain. Too many places on her body hurt to list, and they all blended into an overwhelming ache that made it hard to think. She was too sleepy to concentrate and figure it all out.

A sound came from nearby. Deep. Braying. Like someone laughing. A laughing hyena. Except those lived in Africa, right? Why was her brain so muddy? Oddly, the sound seemed to be coming from above her. How was that possible? Did birds laugh? Where was she?

Her car. Except it was tilted all crazily on its side. Toward the passenger door. A mat of leaves covered the windows. A big tree branch was sticking into the car like it had grown through the glass. Strange dream.

Her weight hung in the too-tight seat belt and shoulder harness. Hurt. And there was a floppy white bag draped all over her front. She shoved at it, shocked at how feebly her hands moved. Sticky. Her hands were sticky. Curious, she examined her palms. Something black and wet was smeared all over them.

What happened?

Gabe would know. He knew everything. Her mouth tried to form his name. To say it aloud. If she could just say his name, he would appear and rescue her. He always did. But no sound came out of her mouth, and her chest hurt from the exertion. Instead, she wished hard for him to come for her, to take care of her. He always looked out for her. He was so good to her.

Something warm leaked out of her eye and trickled down her cheek. She missed him so much when he wasn’t with her. As if a piece of her was missing. Was this what love felt like? It was sweetness and pain, joy and sorrow all rolled into one. It would be lovely if only it didn’t hurt so much. The pain was starting to come in waves now, each one a little worse than the one before.

That crazy laughter echoed from above her again as she drifted away on a cloud of peaceful darkness that carried away all the pain. All the confusion. Everything.

* * *

Chaos reigned as Gabe parked in the hospital’s car lot. News trucks were jockeying for position by the emergency-room entrance. Deputy Green was doing his best—and failing—to force the vans back from the hospital doors. A crowd of bystanders had gathered, but for the moment, the Vengeance fire department seemed to have them contained behind wooden sawhorse barriers.

When he hopped out of his SUV, a chorus of shouts went up. The reporters had spotted him. They sounded like a flock of geese. He ignored them as he shoved through the crowd, and Deputy Green waved him through the barricades.

The emergency room was relatively quiet after outside. He spotted the FBI analyst who’d watched Melinda’s videotape and who’d called him.

“Any news?” he asked her tersely.

“Ambulance brought her in a few minutes ago. None of her injuries appear serious.”

“How is she emotionally?” Now there was a question he’d never thought to hear himself ask about Melinda Grayson.

Agent Delaney shrugged. “Haven’t had a chance to speak with her yet. Medics said she was lucid but upset.”

He winced. Melinda
upset
equated in his mind to her having a screaming hissy fit. Surely, the FBI analyst didn’t mean the word that way. “Can I see her?”

“As soon as the doctors are done treating her.” She added a shade too innocently, “Dr. Grayson asked that you be with her during her debriefing.”

“She did?” Gabe blurted.

“You sound surprised,” Delaney commented mildly.

“She’s usually so strong and independent. It’s not like her to want support from anyone. Being kidnapped must have been a hell of an ordeal for her to ask for me like that.”

He waited impatiently; glad he was here for Melinda, but fretting over Willa. He called the security company and was frustrated that they’d heard nothing from Willa. Problem was the security team was Dallas based. They didn’t know the local area and weren’t being the slightest bit efficient in searching the western part of the county for her. He’d do a much better job of it if he could just get out of here.