Hell or High Water (29 page)

“The rats will keep you company.”
 

The small room fell dark and silent.

Kay fought to catch her breath. She rolled to her side, hoping the pain would ease.

Her imagination ran in a thousand directions. Would he really leave her here to die? Rape her? Put the gun to her head and pull the trigger?
 

She’d read case studies of extreme cruelty, and his irrational behavior painted gory images in her mind. Alone and shivering more from fear than the cold, Kay refused to give in to blind terror. She’d escaped before and she’d do it again.

No one knew she was missing, so no one was searching. When she didn’t show up for work, somebody would call. Eventually they’d GPS her phone and come free her. Until then, she’d have to deal with the crazed father alone.
 

But where was her purse? Her cell? She could tell by the absence of weight her Glock was gone. Damn, she’d removed the tracer from her holster.

She pulled her wrists to her mouth. The small rope was securely knotted. She wouldn’t rip the restraints with her teeth this time.
 

As the long night wore on, she faced the possibility of her own death. Kay questioned her own stubbornness. Her past mistakes. So many regrets. So many hurts unresolved. So many truths unspoken. She’d allowed her father to blame her for her brother’s death way too long. Should she have come clean after he died? Would it have mattered?

The worst rip in her aching heart was Nate. She’d wanted him to stop her from walking away that day at the hospital, but he hadn’t. So why hadn’t she fought for him? Forced him to admit he loved her?

Instead of wondering where she was right now, her real-life superhero was probably deep in the jungle where he, too, might die.
 

The motorcycle-riding ninja who’d saved her wouldn’t magically show up to rescue her. Not this time.

She sobbed out his name and whispered, “I love you.”
 

Chapter 29

Tomas and Wayne escorted Nate through the security checkpoint at the city jail. The group followed a broad-backed uniformed guard down the drab gray hall.
 

Nate’s jaw ached from grinding his teeth. His shoulder throbbed, but he mentally forced the pain out of his mind.
 

Trying to pound answers out of Jake probably wouldn’t accomplish a thing. Didn’t mean the urge to try wasn’t strong.
 

A guard led the way to a small interview room and motioned them inside where Jake Donovan, wrists handcuffed and ankles shackled, waited.

The guard spread his feet and folded his arms over his chest.
 

“You got zilch from him, right?” Nate wouldn’t put it past the cops to hold back information.

Wayne gave his head a slight shake. “Other than denying he’s Jake Donovan? We got nothing.”

Tomas’s hand was on the doorknob when Nate stopped him. “Let me talk to Jake alone. If he wouldn’t open up to you before he sure won’t if he feels like we’re ganging up on him.”

Tomas glanced over his shoulder, his expression stone cold. “No. If he sees three of us, he’ll know we mean business.”

“You’ve got ten minutes.” Wayne clamped a hand on his partner’s shoulder. “If you get nothing, then we’ll try a group run at Donovan.”

Tomas stepped aside.

Nate’s palms itched when he entered the interrogation room. He turned the chair around and straddled it, facing Jake, who stared at the top of the table.
 

“Look, it doesn’t matter if you remember me or not. Just listen.”
 

Nate forced himself not to rush. It was agony to talk about the past, explaining how they’d been friends. He pulled the chain from under his shirt and over his head.

“Take a look.” He slid his hand with his dog tags and the Saint Jude medal resting on his palm across the table. “Somebody gave you one of these. Do you remember who?”

Nate’s blood pressure freaked when Jake lifted his head. His gaze was blank as it locked with Nate’s.
 

“No.”

Shit. He’d hoped for some kind of recognition. “Kaycie Taylor gave one to you, me, Marcus, and Tyrell over ten years ago. She had some foolish notion it would keep us safe.”

“Seems to have worked for you.”

Nate bit back his simmering anger. “Kaycie used to be your friend. And she’s missing. I believe her abduction is tied to your case, and you can help me find her.”

For the first time, Jake’s expression brightened, and a smile tugged at his mouth. “I’d like to see Holly.”

“After what you put her through, what makes you think she’d agree to be in the same room with you?”
 

Jake’s shoulders sagged, and his gaze dropped back to the top of the table.
 

Damn it. Holly had suffered a lot. Asking her to confront her captor might be too much. Nate gripped the back of the chair until his knuckles turned white. Jake’s silences stretched his self-control to the limit. Nate had to reach deep inside the silent man’s subconscious.
 

“You and I have a lot of history. Out of Wolfe’s Pack, as Kaycie nicknamed us, you and I were the tightest. Tyrell and Marcus were good football players, but you were great. You could read my mind from anywhere on the field. If I got into trouble, you were the one who broke free and came back to pull off the catch of the game.”
 

Jake lifted his head and quirked one eyebrow. His lips might as well have been glued shut. Nate accepted that Holly was the key.

“I’ll ask Holly. But if she refuses, I expect answers.”

Jake’s eyes locked with his. Nate swallowed. What if medical science couldn’t help Jake? What had he endured that brought him to this place?

“I’ll only talk to her.”

Nate bolted from the room.
 

****

Kay’s screams vibrated off the walls in the empty room. Her calls for help had gone unheard. All she’d accomplished was a dry and raw throat.

Flat on her back, she used her feet to shove her body through the darkness. Each time she applied pressure to her soles, the stinging from lack of blood burned worse. Convinced she’d been here and knew her way around, she struggled until she rose to her knees. Her bound extremities made moving difficult and exhausting. Still, she had to try to get outside.

The sound of footsteps brought both hope and fear. Maybe somebody was looking for her. Maybe a security guard was making his rounds. Maybe Anthony Walsh had returned to inflict more misguided punishment for his son’s death.

Too close to the door, she turned her body, trying to get out of the way, but something slammed her in the back and sent her sprawling facedown. She landed hard on the cement floor.
 

For a second time, the overhead light came on, blinding her. She kept her focus on the figure’s feet, recognizing Walsh’s shoes immediately.
 

He dragged a chair into the room, sat beside her, and rolled her over. He was the picture of calm, but his brown eyes were cold and cruel. He poked the toe of his shoe against her and then administered a series of kicks to her ribs.

Kay gasped for air but refused to beg. It had only angered him earlier.

“Trying to leave before the party started?”

“Take me home and we’ll forget this happened.” She lied, and he knew it. “You’re not thinking rationally. It’s grief talking.”

“You could be right. I did have a hard time concentrating tonight because of you. In fact, I made my excuses and withdrew early. I never understood some men’s enjoyment inflicting suffering on a female. Until now.” His gaze slid down her body, making her feel stripped naked. “First, I’d planned on having the pleasure of killing you. During the first course, I had a better idea.”

“Kill me, and you’re no better than Hank.”

Walsh laughed through a sneer. “Stupid bitch. You haven’t figured it out yet. You will soon enough.”

He reached down, dragged her to her feet, and then he released his hold. He made no effort to catch her, allowing her to fall. The crack of her shoulder reverberated inside her head, and waves of nausea washed over her.
 

“Why?” she asked. “This is way past revenge.” If he wanted to kill her, why hadn’t he shot her in the parking lot? This was more. Torture?
 

“This isn’t revenge. It’s justice.”

She closed her eyes away from the ugliness and pictured Nate. Prayed he knew she cared for him. If given the chance, she’d tell him how much she loved him. Always had. Always would.

She startled when something sharp pricked her leg. Walsh had a knife pressed into her skin. Grinning, he leaned down and cut her ankles loose. Blood rushed to her feet, sending electric tingles and shocks straight to her toes.

“Get up,” he commanded. “We’ve got business to take care of.”

Kay scooted to the chair. Using it for balance, she leveraged herself upright. She recognized the room. Just as she’d thought, she’d escaped from here once before. Could she do it again?

The knife blade came to her neck. The cool steel sent a shiver through her. Walsh had obviously gone crazy.
 

He half-dragged her out of the warehouse. He shoved her in a car, slid the knife into his coat pocket, and pulled out a gun, which he aimed at her as he moved around to the driver’s side.
 

“Where are you taking me?” She glanced around the car, hoping to find her purse. If someone had noticed her missing, they could track her using the GPS on her cell.

“You won’t find anything that belongs to you. That fancy smartphone’s battery has been removed, and all your things have been disposed of.”
 

After a few blocks, he drove around behind a different warehouse and parked. Using a key card, he swiped the lock and forced her inside. Kay moved slowly while her mind raced. Her head, ribs, and shoulder throbbed. Her hands had lost all feeling, and they were pale from loss of blood.

No time for pain. No time for tears. No time for fear.

He pushed her down the hall to a room where a post stood in the middle of a small platform. Handcuffs were welded to the top. Kay stomach roiled. She stared at the man standing beside her. The truth sent blood racing from her head.

“Hank wasn’t the monster behind the kidnappings and human trafficking. You are.”
 

The elder Walsh had come across so kind and concerned about his son, they hadn’t considered him a suspect. She realized now it was all an act. He was as evil as Hank. Maybe more so.

“I said you’d understand soon.” His lips curled into a smirk.
 

In a dangerous move, he stabbed the knife between the rope binding her wrists and cut her free. Blood rushed to her hands, sending a burning sensation all the way to the tips of her fingers. She clutched her hands to her chest, rubbing life back into her skin.

“Get up there.” With his hand between her shoulder blades, he shoved her onto the platform.

“You’re a sick bastard. A son of a bitch who preys on unsuspecting young women!” she screamed. “Well, I’m not one of them. I’ll see you on death row for Leann’s murder.”

“Such brave words.” His lips curved into a cruel smile. “It won’t take long for you to lose that fake bravado.”

The feeling had returned to Kay’s hands and feet. So she searched for a way to take advantage of her freedom. She forced herself to wait and pick the right time to move. Anger fired heated rockets throughout her body and blinded her to the danger of making him mad.
 

“Don’t you want to know what’s about to happen?”

“And spoil your fun? I’m sure you’ll tell me.” She gathered all her resolve and tried to sound brave while every nerve cell quivered.
 

Wait. Keep him talking until he stepped from behind the post. When he moved into the clear, she’d rush him. If he expected her to go quietly, he was in for one hell of a surprise. She’d fight for her life with every breath in her body.

“You’re right. Given some time to think about your death, I decided killing you was too easy. Wouldn’t satisfy me. I came up with something more appropriate.” His tone was as gleeful as a kid’s on Christmas morning.
 

“More appropriate?”

“Yes. You were so interested in the business, I think you should learn about it firsthand. You’re older than my usual stock, but you’ll still fetch a decent price. The two bidders will teach you everything you ever wanted to know.” His tongue slid out, snaked across his lips as he ran his fingers down her cheek. “Too bad I won’t be there to witness.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Her voice cracked, belying her bravado. Frissons of tiny quakes zipped through her body.

“Oh, I would. You’re a bit old for their liking, so I’m reducing the price for a quick sale. They get off inflicting excruciating pain, so I’m betting they will keep you alive for a long time. They each have an underground room chock full of fun devices. Death will be a blessing by the time they’re finished.” He pointed at two computer screens.