Hell or High Water (13 page)

Kay hurried straight to the bedroom. A chill rushed up her spine and slammed into the base of her skull. The bed was empty. Covers were strewn across the floor. She opened the bathroom door a crack.
 

Empty. “Something’s not right,” Kay muttered. Scanning the bedroom, she noticed a throw pillow on the bed that was normally on the couch. A small cell phone lay on top.
 

Not Holly’s iPhone.

“Oh, God.” Bitter coffee rose in her throat. She looked closer, hoping for anything that might help. She slipped her gun from its holster.
 

She wanted to run. To scream. Procedure demanded Kay call in the crime and leave the scene undisturbed.
 

Instead, she stopped and considered the cell. Who but her was supposed to find it? She approached the bed nervously.
 

Holly’s life could depend on Kay making the right decision. She blew out a breath, wrapped her trembling fingers around the cool plastic and slipped it inside her jeans pocket.
 

She whirled to leave and ran face first into rock hard chest. She screamed and struggled to get free of the hands gripping her arms. A mixture of fear, anger, and embarrassment burned her cheeks.
 

“Easy, sweetheart. I’ve got you.”
 

Nate’s strong hands held her in place, calming her jagged nerves while his gaze swept the room. The muscles in his jaw twitched.
 

Had she pocketed the phone before he saw? Could she convince him that she was supposed to find it? For Holly’s sake, Kay wanted to determine the purpose of the phone before confiding in anyone. Her gut said she had to surrender the cell to the police, but her heart insisted she keep it. She, Nate, Marcus, and Tyrell could devote their undivided attention to finding Holly. Nate had said it best. They didn’t have rules and restrictions like the cops did.

“Holly wouldn’t leave without saying something to me.” Guilt triggered a torrential downpour coming from her eyes. “Somebody forced her out of her bed and made her leave with them.”
 

“I know.” He tilted her head up with his fingers. “We’ll find her.” The conviction in his eyes brought no comfort to Kay.

“We have to.” She leaned against him as he led her toward the door. She prayed silently that God would let Holly return unharmed.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said. “We’ll call the cops from your place.”

Tyrell and Marcus had followed and were waiting in the hall. She had no way of telling how much they’d heard, but they listened intently while she called for help. Then, without hesitating, she dialed Tomas. Her call went straight to voice mail. The message she left pleaded that he and Wayne come right away.
 

Marcus opened his arms, gathered her close and she broke down again.
 

“This is my fault,” Kay sobbed into his chest. “Who would take Holly?”

“Stop blaming yourself,” Nate scolded, pulling her away from Marcus. He gripped her shoulders, his intense gaze locked on hers. “Pull yourself together. If you don’t, you’ll be more of a hindrance than a help.”

He was right, and she knew it. His strength telegraphed assurance to her. Together as a team, they’d find Holly.
 

“I’m fine.” Kay stumbled to the kitchen sink and splashed cold water on her face. “It just caught me off guard.”
 

Tyrell’s expression turned cold and hard. “I’ll kill the son of a bitch who harms a hair on that woman’s head. Cut his nuts off and feed them to him.”
 

 
“You can do what you want as soon as we find her.” Kay refused to expect anything other than a safe rescue for her friend.
 

“I will. She’s family. Like you.”

Within minutes, someone pounded on Kay’s door. She opened it to find two uniformed officers waiting. A patrol car must’ve been nearby for the officers to arrive so quickly. She let them in, identified herself to the uniformed officers, and introduced everyone. Kay let the police in Holly’s apartment then returned to her place to wait.

She paced, unable to relax until they finished looking around. They returned unconvinced and reluctant to call in a CSU team. Instead, they theorized since there was no evidence of foul play, Holly could’ve gone off on her own .
 

Kay’s anger bubbled over. The cops would listen and believe.

“The place has to be dusted for prints. Questions have to be asked of the neighbors.” The doubtful expression on the cops’ faces made her consider turning over the cell in her pocket.
 

“Ms. Taylor, wait forty-eight hours. See if she turns up.”

“No way. Here’s proof.” Kay ran out on the small balcony where she had the perfect view of the parking lot and pointed. “See. Her car’s right next to mine.”

“There was no sign of forced entry.” The young cop edged toward the door, eyeing Nate, Tyrell, and Marcus as if maybe Kay had partied too hard with them last night.

“Doesn’t mean a thing.” Kay didn’t try to hide the bitterness in her tone. “My apartment was broken into twice without showing signs of a breakin.”
 

“Did you file reports on those incidences, ma’am?”

“No. Nothing was taken.” The more she talked, the deeper the hole she dug. “This isn’t about me. My friend has been kidnapped.”

A knock on the door interrupted the argument. Kay breathed a sigh of relief to find Tomas and Wayne standing in the hall. “Thank God. Maybe now somebody will take action.”
 

Wayne and Tomas relieved the first responders, sending them back out on patrol. Kay made introductions again and waved everybody to the living room. With Tyrell on one side, Marcus on the other, and Nate standing as if about to be inspected by the admiral of the fleet, either unable or unwilling to bend his knees and sit, Kay repeated the facts.
 

Tomas and Wayne took turns quizzing her, filling in the blanks. Their gazes were solemn and attentive.

“We’ve worked a lot of cases together,” Kay insisted. “I need you to believe I’m right about this.”

Wayne nodded. “There are still protocols to follow. Questions have to be asked and answered.”
 

“This has to tie back to Hank Walsh,” Kay insisted, knowing the most important clue was in her pocket. Something unexplainable made her keep it. She just knew it was left for her.

She needed Tomas and Wayne to leave so she could check out the phone. She’d find out if there was a message and then decide who to involve.

Guilt shredded her insides.

“Kay,” Wayne said in his official tone. “We’re waiting for the Crime Scene Unit to finish. CSU don’t need us tromping around in the way.”

“They’re here?” Relief washed over her. They’d believed her. A surge of hope rushed over her.
 

“I called them after I listened to your message.” Tomas stood, casting a steely glance at Nate, Tyrell and Marcus. “We appreciate that you have private protection, but all of you need to listen up. Stay out of this investigation. Let the professionals work the case. If your friend’s in trouble, we’ll find her. And if Walsh is connected, we’ll take him down.”

Her apartment fell silent as a tomb. Kay nodded and escorted Tomas and Wayne to the door. The cell was an important key, and she couldn’t wait any longer.
 

“I have a headache. Think I’ll rest for a while.” She spoke in her firmest, leave-me-alone voice. She swallowed hard. Lying to Nate and the guys was hard. They were on her side. If her hunch was right, Holly had been kidnapped, and the people who had her wanted to talk to Kay, not three angry men.

Nate moved from where he’d stood for the past hour and blocked the path to her bedroom. She’d never seen his expression this hard and unyielding.

“If you’re desperate for quiet time, why not leave the phone with us? Or were you keeping that all to yourself?”

“What’s he talking about?” Tyrell snapped out the words like a bullwhip.
 

Her shoulders sagged. That Nate hadn’t betrayed her to the law meant more than he could imagine or she could say. She pulled the throwaway from her pocket, trudged to the couch, and then sank down. “He’s referring to this. I found it in her apartment. It’s not hers.”

“Damn it, Kay. Why didn’t you give that to the cops?” Sweet Marcus didn’t sound sweet anymore. “You’ve handled it, wiping out any fingerprints that might have been usable.”

“Because she’s guessing whoever snatched Holly wants to be able to contact Kaycie.” Nate came to her defense, giving her a measure of confidence that she’d done the right thing. “It may be a stretch, but what else do we have? The cops would’ve confiscated the damn thing, and we’d never learn what these assholes want.” He rested his hands on her shoulders, leaned over the couch and studied the cheap cell.
 

“It’s time to turn it on,” Nate said.

She found herself leaning back, breathing in his warm, musky scent.
 

Marcus moved closer, his expression full of concern. “Nate’s right. Won’t do us any good if they call and the phone is turned off.”

A blast of adrenaline hit her as she pressed the button and the small screen lit up. The cell vibrated almost immediately. “There’s a message.”
 

Nate’s breath brushed her cheek as he stilled her hand and studied the screen.

“We listen on speaker. One of us might pick up a background noise, any sound to help us figure out where the message was recorded. I don’t think you can trace calls from these throwaways, but new technology comes out every day. I’ll check with a friend.”

“Good. ‘Cause the company I work for won’t help. Too afraid of losing their license.” Tyrell squatted and rocked back on his heels. He was calm and all business. “To get Holly back, we’re gonna break a few laws.”

Marcus cleared his throat, and all eyes turned toward him.

Kay had no idea what was running through his mind. “You okay with this?”
 

A slow smile crept across his face, giving him a much younger appearance than thirty-three. He moved to the chair, his pen and notepad ready.

“For you? Hell, yeah.”
 

“Then let’s listen.” Kay placed the cell on her coffee table, pressed Menu, and then scrolled to messages. Nate eased down next to her. His presence gave her strength.

“Go ahead, sweetheart. We need to hear.”

 
Chapter 13

Nate gripped Kaycie’s knee reassuringly. She seemed to have pulled herself together. He was damn proud of her resilience.
 

He moved closer when she leaned forward and pushed the button.
 

An automated voice informed them of one message, recorded this morning at two o’clock. “If you’re Kay Taylor, and you’re listening to this message alone, you have a chance to get your friend back alive. You have something valuable that I want.” The man’s voice was a whisper, and everyone leaned closer. “And I have someone you love. You’ll trade or she’ll die.”

Kaycie reached for his hand. Nate wound his fingers through hers for support.

“Keep this phone with you,” the male voice instructed.

The automated voice returned with instructions. Nate hit five to save. He hadn’t picked up on any outside noise on the call other than what might have been Holly struggling. Kaycie wrapped her arms around her middle. She’d pull away if he hugged her, so he tucked her under his arm.
 

Something other than lust stirred deep inside him. A protective instinct to keep her safe gripped his lungs and squeezed out precious oxygen. He’d opened his agency to work special operations, expecting to run into danger and violence. He hadn’t expected to find it in his backyard. If anyone harmed Kaycie or her friend, that person would meet his maker. This, Nate promised.
 

“What does he think I have?” Her words came out in a strangled cry. “Why didn’t Walsh come out and say what he wants?”

Marcus scrubbed his eyes with his hand. “We don’t know who ‘he’ is. Not for sure.”

“We don’t have ironclad proof,” she agreed. “But the only controversial case I’ve had this year was Leann’s. She identified Hank Walsh from a photo array and now she’s dead.”

“You recognized his voice?” Marcus asked.

“No. I’ve never spoken with him. DPD interviewed him.” She shook her head, and her lips curved downward. “He probably searched my apartment. Makes me sick to my stomach to think he might’ve touched my things.”

 
Tyrell paced, running his hand over his bald head. Nate tried to measure the tension in the room. Judging from the snarls on Tyrell’s and Marcus’s faces, they were ready to go to war. Nate dug deep and forced his rage to the back of his mind. Losing their tempers would help no one.

“She’s right. We’ll operate on the assumption Walsh is behind Holly’s disappearance.” Nate turned Kaycie around to face him. “Think back. Did Leann give you something? Ask you to hold on to anything?”

“No.”

“The search wasn’t random. He was looking for something in particular,” Nate said.