Finding Home (24 page)

“Colt,” Presley pouted, coming up
behind him and running her hands down his back from his shoulders to his ass, 
“are you really going to spend all your time working?  Don’t you want to
play?”

He clenched his jaw, doing his best
to show no reaction to her at all.  It wasn’t easy when her every touch
made his skin crawl.  Twice he’d had to stop her from reaching around to
grope his sex.  This time he thought maybe he should let her do it, just
so she could see that he remained soft and unaffected by her attention.

“I’m busy, Presley,” he told her,
eyes still on the circuit board he was wiring.

“It can wait.  Come play with
me.”

“I’m seeing someone, I told you
that.”

“Yeah.  So?  I’m seeing
someone, too.  But we’re here and neither of them are and you know I’ve
been wanting you for years.”

Gritting his teeth, he bit the bullet
and went ahead and let her grab him.  She pouted then tried a couple of
times to stroke him and he eventually reached down and grabbed her wrist in a
vice-like hold, removing her hand from him.

“Look, Presley, either you behave and
keep your hands to yourself, or I walk away right now and I terminate our
contract on the grounds of sexual harassment.”

“God!” she snapped, giving his
shoulder a shove as she stepped back from him.  “When did you become such
a damn tight ass?  You used to be
fun
!!”

For not the first time, Colt thanked
God he had never been stupid enough or drunk enough to fall into Presley’s
clutches.  As one of the most sought after actresses in Hollywood, it
would have been a heck of a prize if he were into that sort of thing, which
thankfully he was not.

“I’ve got a girlfriend, Presley,” he
repeated, “and believe it or not, that means something to me.  Now,
please, let me get back to work so I can finish this up.  I’d really like
to get back to her.”

She huffed and stomped out of the
room, leaving him in blissful peace.  For a moment, he closed his eyes and
took a couple of deep, cleansing breaths to calm his temper.  When that
didn’t work, he stepped back from the unit and pulled his phone out.

“Hey!” he heard Sarah’s cheerful
greeting, “Were your ears burning?  I was just thinking about you.”

He smiled, feeling everything in his
world settle and center.  “I just really needed to hear your voice,” he
told her.

“Yeah?  What’s the matter,
Colt?” she asked and he could hear the concern in her voice.

“Nothing.”

“Colt,” she said, her voice stern,
telling him she didn’t believe him.

“Just dealing with the Drama Queen.”

“Is she hitting on you again?”

“Nonstop.”

Sarah laughed.  “That’s because you’re
so hot!”

He rubbed the back of his neck. 
“That’s not funny.”

She laughed even harder.  “You
want me to come rough her up for you, baby?”

“Would you, please?”

“I would in a heartbeat,” she told
him.

“Yeah?”

“Well…you’re mine, right?” she asked shyly.

He dropped his head and looked down
at his boots, loving her shy personality after dealing with Presley’s
in-your-face boldness.

“You tell me, Sarah,” he said, his
voice husky and low.  “Am I yours?”

She laughed and he felt it straight
to his sex.  “You bet your ass, you are, Colton Harris!”

He groaned and reached down to adjust
himself in his jeans.  “Damn, baby, I wish I was there with you now.”

“Me, too.  Sleeping hasn’t been
easy the past couple of nights.”

“For me, either, babe.  You
getting ready to go home?”

“In about an hour.”

“OK, I better let you get back to
work then.  I love you.”

“Hurry home to me, Colt.”

He shook his head and put his phone
back in his pocket.  She just couldn’t do it.

“How sweet,” Presley said from behind
him.

He glanced over his shoulder at
her.  She was wrapped in a silk robe, holding a glass of wine.  Damn,
but the woman was persistent, he’d give her that.

“Told you I was seeing someone,” he
said flatly, turning back to the circuit board.

“All the good ones are,” she said on
a sigh.

“You know, if you’d stop trying so
hard, you might find someone, too.”

“Yes, but where’s the fun in that?”

He shook his head.  “Suit
yourself.  I really do need to get back to work on this, Pres,” he said.

“Fine.  Whatever.  Get it
done and get out.”

He took a deep breath. 
“Presley…look, you are…one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. 
You know you’re beautiful.  How many times have you been on the Most
Beautiful list?  You just…”

“Need to back off.  I
know.  Leopard can’t change its spots,” she said with a shrug.

“True…but you can try.”

Tag glanced again at the clock. 
Something wasn’t right.  Sarah said she got off work right at five-o’clock
and that it took her roughly twenty-five to thirty minutes to get home from
there, depending on traffic.  It was now six-thirty.  He’d called her
phone several times and sent her a couple of texts with no answer. 
Something was wrong.  He should have gone up there.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he
dialed her phone once more, relieved when it was answered.

“Sarah, thank God, I…”

“This is Officer Murray, Waco,
P.D.  Who is this?”

Alarm shot through Tag.  “This
is Taggert Bainbridge.  I was calling my sister, Sarah Sauter.  What’s
happened?” he asked, keeping his voice flat and professional.

“Mr. Bainbridge, can you confirm your
identity and your relationship to Miss Sauter?”

“Yes, but what has happened? 
Has there been an accident?”

“I am at Miss Sauter’s place of
employment.  At approximately four-fifteen, Miss Sauter was abducted from
the patio by person or persons unknown at this time.”

“Excuse me?” Tag asked, his voice
hoarse. 

“Sir, we believe your sister was
kidnapped.”

“I’ll be right there.”

He took a minute to Google Sunday’s
Gifts to get the address then sped off in Colt’s truck.  He called his
parents and let them know what had happened but decided not to call Colt until
he had something solid to report to him.  His heart was pounding. 
This couldn’t really be happening again.  Not on his watch.  Not
again.  Logic told him that there was nothing he could have done the first
time, and realistically, nothing he could have done this time.  But his
heart…was breaking.  In the short time he’d known her, she’d come to mean
a great deal to him.  These last few days with her had been amazing. 
She was sweet and funny and smart and so loving.  She was a lot like
Vivian and their mother, so much it was uncanny, regardless of whether she grew
up with them or not.  Her laugh was infectious.  He’d found himself
doing and saying whatever he could just to hear it.

And now she was missing.  Again.

When he neared Sunday’s Gift’s
building, he saw it was literally crawling with law enforcement.  He
parked in the ditch and got out, hands up as he approached the State Trooper
who was walking toward him, hand on the butt of his gun.

“My name is Taggert Bainbridge. 
Sarah Sauter is my younger sister.  I need to speak with the officer in
charge.”

The Trooper nodded.  “Stay
there.  Let me clear you.”

Tag put his hands down, keeping them
loose at his side while the Trooper cleared him.  Once he was given
clearance, he sprinted through the parking lot to the side of the building
where a patio area was marked off with crime scene tape. 

“Mr. Bainbridge, I’m Lieutenant
Marcus.  We weren’t aware until you called Miss Sauter’s phone that she
was your sister.  I’ve been to several of yours and your parents’
seminars.  I…”

Tag shook his hand.  “I
understand.  What can you tell me?”

“Her co-worker said she got a phone
call from her boyfriend, a Colton Harris…she went out to the patio to talk to
him…and she never came back in.  When they went out to check on her, they
found her phone on the ground and Miss Sauter nowhere in sight.”

“No one saw anything?”

“Unfortunately, no.  As you can
see, there aren’t many windows in the building.  The patio is off the
conference room.  No one was in the room at the time.”

“Has anyone notified her boyfriend?”

“Not yet.”

“His name is Colton Harris. 
He’s with Orion Securities.  Heard of them?”

Lt. Marcus nodded.  “I have,
indeed.”

“We need to contact him.  He has
resources that will be invaluable to us.”

“We need all the help we can get.”

Tag nodded and stepped away from the
crowd to make the second hardest call he’d ever had to make, behind the one
he’d just made to his parents.

Colt had just closed the cover on the
security panel when his phone rang.  He pulled it out of his pocket,
answering without looking at the ID.

“Harris.”

“Colt, it’s Tag.”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“I know you’re in the middle of a
difficult job.”

“Actually finishing up faster than I
expected.”

“You need to come home, Colt. 
Now.”

Tag’s tone alerted him that something
was wrong.  “What is it?”

“Sarah’s been taken.”

Colt froze.  “Taken?”

“She was abducted from the patio at
her work.”

For a moment, everything
stopped.  Colt could hear Tag giving him the details as if from a
tunnel.  Feeling weak, he stumbled from the panel and collapsed down on
the bench in the entryway.  He heard Presley calling his name, but all he
could think of was Sarah.  She must be so scared.  He’d promised her
there was nothing to worry about; that he’d keep her safe, and now…God!

“Colt, are you there?” he heard Tag
prompt him.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here.  Keep me
updated, OK?  I’m going to make a couple of calls.  Mobilize some
people and grab a flight.  I’ll call you as soon as I’m set.  Let me
know if you hear anything before then.”

“Colt?” Presley asked.  “What’s
wrong?  You’re very pale.”

“I need a flight back to Texas
immediately.  My girlfriend was kidnapped.  I need to get back
there.  Can you arrange that for me?  I’ve got to call Mike.”

She nodded.  “Certainly. 
Colt, I’m so sorry,” she said, her hand on his shoulder.

“Thank you, Pres. I owe you.”

“No, you don’t.  Make your
calls.”

He watched her go then pulled up Mike
Casiano’s number.  Mike was his team leader on the Special Forces Task
Force and owner of Orion Securities. 

“Casiano,” Mike answered on the
second ring.

“Boss,” he said, and was surprised to
hear his voice break, “they took her.  They took my Sarah.”

“What do you need?” Mike asked without
preamble.

“I’m in L.A. at Presley Preston’s
house.  Can you get a team to Waco?  Help with the investigation?”

“Riley and I will head down. 
We’ll mobilize Whit.”

“Thank you.  I’ll call Coop,
too.  I’ll be there as soon as I can.  Presley is trying to book a
flight for me.”

“I’ll charter a jet for you,” Mike
told him.  “Just head to the airport.  I’ll contact you with
details.”

“Thanks.”

He told Presley that he didn’t need a
flight after all and asked her to please retrieve his things from his hotel and
have them sent.  On his way to the airport he called Coop and mobilized
him.  He got another update from Tag and spoke with Buck and Charlotte,
and then because he needed it, he called his own mother.

“Honey,” she said, and instantly,
something inside him calmed.  “Claire told me what happened.  And
shame on you for not telling us you were seeing someone yourself.”

“I know Claire and the girls told you
weeks ago, Ma, you don’t have to act all shocked.”

“Yes, of course they told me, but why
didn’t you?”

“Claire tell you about Sarah’s past?”

“Yes…and I’ve seen her on TV, on the
news.  She’s beautiful.”

“I just didn’t want to overwhelm
her.  I was afraid meeting my parents on the heels of meeting her real
parents for the first time would just be too much for her.”

“Perfectly understandable…and a
forgivable offense.”

“Thanks, Ma.”

“Where are you now?”

“On my way to LAX.  Mike is
arranging a jet for me.”

“And how are you holding up?”

“I don’t know.  I’m
pissed.  They had to have been watching her.  They had to know that she’d
be vulnerable because I was gone; and her brother arriving had to make them
nervous. I’m scared,” he began but she stopped him.