A Twist of Betrayal (7 page)

She moaned softly and kissed him back. And he had the strangest feeling she’d somehow been made just for him.

Dan felt her through her coat against his chest. And for the first time since she accepted his invitation to dinner, Dan was uncertain of himself. He could date her, hold her hand, but he couldn’t kiss her. Not again. Not without letting go of a big part of himself, a part he wasn’t sure he could let go of, a part he hadn’t really known had been a part of him until now.

Dan let her go suddenly, as though he didn’t trust himself. Her kiss left him feeling almost drunk and lightheaded. And he didn’t like the idea that someone,
anyone
, could have such power over him.

She opened the door of her car. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He nodded and watched her safely get into the car. He walked slowly away, making sure it started and she left without any problems. And he ignored the need to unzip his coat and let the cold air and snow cool him.
Tomorrow
, he thought. It couldn’t come fast enough for him.

As it happened, he saw her again in the courtroom the next day since he was called back to the stand a second time. And he was glad he was. If he hadn’t been recalled, he wouldn’t have been there to save her life.

Chapter 7

Dan would have liked to stay there and dwell on that first perfect kiss, but first he had to save Justine from that crazy bastard. In order to do so, he would be forced to go back into his own painful past, a past he didn’t want to face.

Hell, he didn’t want to face any of this.

He knew he might be haunted someday. He had just hoped Justine would be clear of the storm. The thought of her being hurt or killed touched him like a hot iron in his gut. He blinked, trying to force away memories, wishing like hell he didn’t have to. Their feelings were so new, so fresh. He remembered the way that kiss exploded within him like a stick of dynamite, warming him in the snow. When had that excitement left their kisses? When had they allowed it to leave?

Was there something different he could have just done to keep her out of the hands of the ghost from his past? That question ate at him, but the answer ate at him even more. Yes, there was something he could have done. At home when she left for the store, he could have called after her, kept her from going in the first place, demanded that the two of them talk right then and there about the pregnancy that could very well tear the two of them apart. He could have kept better track of the bastard he never again hoped to see, but he’d allowed himself to grow comfortable in the life he and Justine built. And he let down his guard.

Hell, he could have changed any number of things that would have kept her safe, including never going out on a second date with her.

Regret rushed through him like a tornado even after Steve and the cavalry came riding in.

Dan refused to be taken to the hospital.

“At the least, you need a few stitches,” Steve said as an EMT cleaned the wound.

“They can bandage it here,” Dan insisted.

Steve gave him a hard look, but had sense enough not to argue.

While his arm was being bandaged, he told Steve and Chief Watson what had happened. With each word, Dan tried to sound and appear normal. Why shouldn’t he? Everywhere he looked, the rest of the world was normal, as it should be in its rotation around the sun, complete with birds and trees and falling leaves and insects. Yet, Dan’s insides were anything but normal. Inside, he thought he must have been falling apart one piece at a time as he tried to get Justine back without destroying their entire world.

Dan told them everything he knew while he drank the sweet soda that was forced on him.

“Which direction did they go?” the chief asked.

“I don’t know,” Dan said. He wouldn’t admit how not knowing tore at his soul.

The chief turned away with a huff and put in a call for lab techs to come and check the get-away car.

Steve sat down beside him while the EMT finished with the bandage. “What are you thinking?” he asked.

“I’m fighting the urge to climb back into my truck, drive on and keep looking for Justine.”

“Chief would have your butt in a sling if you did. He’s already mad as hell you drove off like that without your gun and then didn’t radio for help when you first discovered they were here,” Steve said.

“You don’t have to remind me how I need to follow the rules right now,” Dan snapped. He sucked in a long, deep breath and hoped it would help clear his head of the memory of seeing Justine with a gun pointed at her head and dried blood on her face. He rubbed his eyes.

Right now, Dan had to be a cop, to think like a cop, but it wasn’t easy. “What do you think he’s doing to her?” he had to ask.

“I think as long as he’s worried about his escape, he’ll keep her alive and unharmed,” Steve replied.

“That’s not much of an answer,” Dan said, feeling his gut clench at the idea of Justine being with that madman.

Steve reached out and touched his shoulder. “We’ll do everything we can to get her back safe and sound. You know that,” he promised.

When the EMTs finished with his arm, Dan thanked them and got up.

“Where are you going?” Steve asked.

“What? Did the chief hire you to babysit me?” he had to ask.

“Sort of,” Steve replied honestly.

“Well, don’t worry about me. I’m just too antsy to sit still so I’m going to walk around a bit. I give you my word I won’t get in the way. I won’t screw up any evidence. I won’t go driving off, and I won’t hinder the investigation.”

Steve nodded, accepting his word. “I’ll be here if you need me.”

Dan walked past the get-away car, pointedly ignoring its presence and looked in the direction he’d heard them go.

“I’m coming for you,” he whispered, his words lost to the sounds around him. “I’ll fix this with whatever it takes. I’ll look for you forever, Jus. Just hang in there, honey.” He envisioned her face as if she were standing before him. He thought he could even see snow falling into her hair. In the same vision, he saw the eyes of the man who had taken her. “And I’m coming for you, too. I should have never let you get away in the first place.”

Then, he turned and confronted Chief Watson. He had no choice but to go to work. Treat this as any other investigation. If he couldn’t do that, he had to at least put on the appearance that he could.

Steve stepped close to him. “I guess I can’t convince you to let me take you home and get some food into you.”

“No, you can’t. Tell me everything,” Dan said. He refused to let either of them see how hard it was to keep control.

“Maybe it would be best if you stayed out of the investigation,” Chief Watson said.

“Forget it,” Dan snapped.

The chief let out a heavy sigh and muttered, “How did I know you were going to say that?” He looked at Dan square in the eye. “All right, I’ll fill you in. But the second you interfere with this investigation because you’re thinking with your heart and not your head, I’ll toss you in a cell just to keep you out of the way, understand?”

“I understand,” Dan said.

The chief explained about the robbery, how the robber had even taken jewelry and wallets from customers, and the way Justine was dragged across the parking lot. It took all the will Dan possessed to stand still as he listened. And he had to close his eyes when he heard about Justine being struck with the assailant’s gun.
So that was how the blood got on her face.

Then Dan met Steve’s gaze. “You let her go with him?” he asked, his voice filled with accusation.

“Dan—” the chief tried to intervene.

“What would you have rather I’d done?” Steve asked. “Shot her?”

“Shot him!” Dan yelled.

“I would have had to shoot past Justine,” Steve explained, as though an explanation was really necessary.

“You could have shot out his damned tires so he couldn’t drive,” Dan said, hardly able to control the anger that boiled through him like lava.

“He had a gun pointed at her the whole time. I couldn’t take the chance.”

“She’s my wife!”

“She’s my friend,” Steve said.

“Am I going to have lock you in a cell?” Chief Watson asked. There was no anger in his voice, no emotion, nothing but that underlying tone of authority that Dan could never ignore.

Dan let out a painful sigh. “No.” His throat was so tight, the single word hurt. He chuckled bitterly. “Look how close I was, too. And I didn’t even have my gun.”

Watson continued as if Dan hadn’t spoken, explaining what else was being done and the help that was on the way. As he finished the explanation, his expression softened and his eyes filled with something that looked like pity or sympathy. It was a look Dan hated and he wanted to punch the look off the chief’s face.

Then the chief tried to offer an encouraging smile. “We’re going to get her back.”

“Yeah,” Dan muttered, wishing he could have a guarantee with those famous last words. He turned and looked toward the get-away van. He wished he knew how to actually do his job, instead of just going through the motions. He wished he could ignore the frustration that ate at him like a small animal with sharp teeth and the fear that rushed through him. It was the fear that was the hardest, keeping him hurting with its coldness.

He looked through the window of the van, doing his best to keep a thousand ‘if only’s from going through his mind. It didn’t help seeing blood on the seat and knowing it came from his wife.

His worry for Justine left him weak. He swallowed hard and looked down, waiting for some of his strength to return. The fact that he happened to run across the kidnapper might have been nothing more than a coincidence, pure and simple, but in the life of a cop, nothing was pure and simple.

Maybe, just maybe, the sonofabitch had wanted him to find them, had wanted him to see Justine held that way.

If that were true, it was his second biggest mistake. The first being he took Justine to begin with.

At Dan’s feet, something gold glittered on the pine needles, and Dan stared at it. He knew instantly what it was, and he didn’t want to face looking at it. He was afraid to touch it.

It was Justine’s bracelet, apparently pulled or forced from her wrist between here and the unknown vehicle, a bracelet the robber perhaps hadn’t known was on her wrist. He let out a heavy breath that was almost a groan, but it was all he could manage just then.

He’d given the bracelet to her for their first anniversary. He forced back another groan as he reached down and picked up the delicate gold chain, forgetting his promise to not compromise any evidence. As far as he was concerned, this wasn’t evidence. This was his only link to his wife. Although he already knew what was written on it, he read what was engraved on it. Instead of having Justine’s name or initials engraved on it, he’d had one word.
Forever
. He ran his fingers across the engraving.

Then, he crammed the bracelet into the pocket of his jeans. But even after it was out of his hand, he couldn’t seem to forget how cold it felt.

Chapter 8

Justine forced herself to remain calm. Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall, fearing she would lose all control if she did. In her mind, she cried out to Dan. Had he been shot? She thought she’d managed to mess up her abductor’s aim, but she wasn’t sure. Her chest hurt at the thought of Dan lying back at the campground, bleeding and hurt. She flatly refused to believe there was a chance he could be dead. But she was certain he must be hurt. If he’d been able, he would have chased after them. Because he hadn’t, her kidnapper had the few moments it took to bind her with duct tape after he dragged her to the van and shoved her in. He finished by putting a large piece of tape over her mouth.

If Dan had been able, he would have pounded his way into the van.

While her abductor bound her, one question continuously gnawed at her belly.

Did Dan and her kidnapper know each other? Dan had said the robber didn’t want her anyway and had offered himself, as if the robber would want him instead. The robber had talked of hurting her to hurt Dan.

Justine hoped she’d get the chance to get the answers she needed. She was unable to stop the tears from sliding down her cheeks.

Her kidnapper started the van and left the campground.

She knew that Dan couldn’t help her, not right now. Just as she knew she could give out or give in, but she could never give up. Not when she still had the power of Dan’s love in her heart. It was enough to see her through this ordeal. It had to be. Despite what just happened, she was determined to survive this and keep her baby safe. Dan was close, she felt him. She hugged her belly and wished she could fight off the coldness that held her in its grip. With her bound hands, she absently rubbed her belly, mentally picturing her child growing there inside of her. The baby was probably no bigger than a quarter, but it was living and growing every moment.

Those breaths and mental pictures helped her keep her head clear as she stared up at the windshield. From the floor of the back of the van, she could only see the sky and the clouds. But she knew they had turned left after leaving the campground, so she guessed they were heading toward Getzville.

“I’ll bet your face hurts,” her kidnapper said suddenly.

If her mouth wasn’t taped shut, she thought she might have thanked him for reminding her of that pain, too. The part of her face where he’d hit her throbbed and sent pain through her entire head. She thought she felt her nose begin to swell, and it added to her fear. If the tape kept her from breathing through her mouth, what would happen if her nose swelled shut?

Her hands were bound in front of her. Her kidnapper wasn’t very smart, and that was probably what frightened her most. Slowly, she reached up and peeled the tape from her lips. She licked her lips and tried to focus. All right, she thought, just pretend you’re fighting the biggest case of your career. What do you do first? Set priorities.

Number one was getting out of this situation. With her hands tied in a moving van, there wasn’t much she could do about that now without possibly making things worse for her or her baby. After all, she could get up and choke her kidnapper he drove, but that could cause an accident. Trying to jump out was equally as terrifying. Dare she try it? She simply couldn’t decide which would be a worse fate—the kidnapper shooting her or losing the baby and being an invalid after jumping from a speeding van. After all, the baby was her second priority. She had to do whatever necessary to keep it safe.