Unexpected Consequences (25 page)

“Back off, Faith!” he shouted and walked back towards his hedge. He grabbed the rake and began gathering the trimmings into a pile, completely ignoring her presence.

“I don’t get it. What happened to you?”

He propped up the rake and leaned against it as he looked into her eyes. “Look, for right now I’m going to have to ask you to trust me, okay? I know that’s not easy, but that’s all I can say.”

She was stunned by his sudden request. “What?” she whispered softly. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Go home, Faith. Okay? Just go home.” His voice had softened, his irritation gone.

She wasn’t sure if she was more shocked or confused, but for an unexplained reason, she decided to back off. It wasn’t like her to trust blindly, but this was Ronald. He loved his family more than he was able to express, and Faith knew he would never give up until his family was safe. If he was telling her to trust him, it was for a good reason.

She nodded and stepped back, unsure what to do. “You’ll call me when you know?”

He gave her a small smile of relief. “You’ll be the first one I call, okay?”

Faith walked to the sliding door, hoping she was making the right decision by letting this go. She stopped and looked over her shoulder to where he still stood. “You’ll let me know if I can help, right?”

“You bet.”

* * * *

Another long and eventless day had passed, leaving Kelsey to wonder if she was going to go insane. She’d managed to kill a little time by attempting to rearrange the room, but as soon as she'd discovered the treadmill was too heavy for her to move, she’d given up on the idea and had returned the few pieces of furniture back to their respective places.

The books she’d once been anxious to dive into now taunted her from the corner. Given a choice between the books and nothing, she was grateful to at least have the option of reading to kill the lonely hours, but it sucked that books and hot baths were her only options in fighting the boredom. What she wouldn’t give to see a friendly face. Thoughts of her family and friends were never far from her mind, and only seemed to intensify the longer she was forced to be away from them.
Do they think I’m dead? Are they looking for me? That’s silly. Of course they’re looking for me. My family would never give up on me. Ever.

As much as she tried to deny them, her thoughts frequently drifted to Nick. In her head, she realised everything she’d thought he was, must have been a lie, but in her heart, she just couldn’t get past the feelings he’d brought out in her. There was something special in the way he touched her, the way he kissed her, and the incredible connection they shared. They’d known each other only a few days, but she felt closer to him than anyone she had ever met. Even after discovering and having time to process the truth, she still couldn’t completely accept that what had happened between them was a lie. She just wished she would be given an opportunity to speak with him again.

The guilt she felt from having thrown him out of her hospital room was wearing on her.
He could work for bad people, but still not be a bad guy, right? Would it have been so hard to have allowed him to explain? What would have been a few minutes? I could’ve at least given him that. No, I reacted impulsively and threw him out. Maybe if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been alone at the loft that night. Maybe he could have protected me. What if I don’t make it out of this room? What if I’m rescued only to learn he took off in the dead of night?

Even with their damaged relationship, the thought of never seeing him again scared her more than the thugs who were holding her captive. “Oh, please don’t leave,” she whispered to herself. “You have to be there when I get out of here. I need to see you again. I need to talk to you.”

The familiar beeping caused her to back away from the door. He never approached her, but each time he entered, she wanted to crawl as far away from him as possible.

As he’d done every mealtime since she’d arrived, he entered the room without a sound. He brought the tray full of food to the table, setting it down before removing the contents, one by one. In addition to the food, he left a white container, not much larger than a shoe box. After stacking the empty dishes from her previous meal on the tray, he turned and walked out of the door, much quicker than normal.

This was out of the ordinary. There was something different about him. Something she couldn’t quite place.

He entered once again, this time carrying a large shopping bag in each hand. He walked to the bed, setting each down, and stood motionless for a moment. The stillness unnerved her, so she watched him, wondering what he was about to do.

He stood tall and inexplicably looked her way. She wasn’t sure what he wanted, but the way he silently stared from just a few feet away sent chills down her spine. This was the most contact they’d had since she’d been in this room and, for whatever reason, she wasn’t displeased. It was somehow comforting.

It couldn’t have been more than a minute, but that minute offered a connection to another human being, and she was grateful for it. Once again, without a word, he turned and left, locking the door tightly behind him.

Curiosity driving her, she rushed to the bed, anxious to see what was in the large bags. Like a kid at Christmas, she hopped up to the middle of the mattress, bouncing on her knees as she slid one closer. She pulled a wide array of clothing items out of the bag, one by one, piling them beside her. There were a couple of pairs of jeans, several tops, sweaters, socks, and, to her embarrassment, a selection of underwear and bras, each item sized perfectly. She then dived into the other bag and was equally pleased to find three pairs of shoes, two casual and one jogging, and a selection of exercise gear, including jog bras, shorts and T-shirts, all the perfect size.

She was thrilled to finally have a new variety of clothing to wear, but the items made her wonder how long she was going to be kept here. It was a cause of concern, but for now she wanted to enjoy her gifts.

Only the combination of the growling of her stomach and the tantalising smells coming from the table could lure her from her quasi Christmas, but she finally ventured to the food he’d laid out and remembered the other box that had been left there.

She scooped a bite of the rice into her mouth with a moan before sitting on the seat with the box in her lap. “Oh, that’s good.” She opened the lid and saw the red plastic treadmill key resting on top. “Well, at least now I won’t gain twenty pounds from the food I’m eating,” she said, stealing another bite before investigating further.

Under the key was another white envelope, similar to the one she’d got when she’d first been brought there. She opened it and pulled out the neatly typed note.

Since you have cooperated, I have decided to grant your requests. Continue to behave and more may be allowed. Cross me and things will change.

She set the letter down and looked in the bottom of the box. There was a package of pens lying neatly above what looked like a book. She pulled it out with a smile, thumbing through page after page, all blank and waiting for her to fill.

Much happier now than she’d been fifteen minutes earlier, she set the book down and dug into her meal. As she eagerly ate, her thoughts inevitably went back to Nick. She thought about the night they’d met, the way they’d eaten their meal in her living room before heading up to her bedroom to make love.
Make love? Was that what it was? When did I start seeing it as lovemaking?
But that’s what it felt like now.
Oh, for just one more chance to talk with him.

She set down her fork and pushed her plate away, no longer able to eat as the guilt consumed her. Needing the release, she grabbed the book and pens and headed to her bed, ready to pour her heart out on paper. After folding and stacking the clothes off to the side, she situated herself against the headboard. She gave another thought to Nick as she flipped open the cover of the book, gasping at what she found.

Embossed on the first page was a picture of a perfect, blooming pink rose.

* * * *

“Mr Gianelli, sir,” TJ huffed as he ran into the boss’s office.

“TJ. Nice of you to show up.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I was…detained.”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, sir. I’m sorry, but I was rushing to get here to report in and I got… I got pulled over by the cops.”

Gianelli rolled his eyes. He shouldn’t expect much more from this man. He was a loyal worker, but certainly not the brightest of the bunch. “Any luck on finding the Braden woman?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but nothing. There don't seem to be any leads anywhere.” Gianelli sighed heavily and leant back in his chair, quietly contemplating his alternatives.

“Shall I keep looking, sir?”

He knew TJ had done all he could, but he needed someone better on the case. He needed one of his best, and since Jensen was out, he was left with only one choice. “No, TJ. That’s fine. Have we seen Anthony?”

“I’m afraid I haven’t seen him, sir.”

“Did I hear someone call my name?” Anthony said cheerfully as he entered the room.

“That will be all, TJ,” Gianelli said angrily, without taking his eyes off his returning henchman. TJ dutifully left, shutting the doors behind him.

“Do you mind telling me where the
hell
you have been the last few days?” Gianelli shouted, standing from his chair and bracing his hands against the desk.

“I’m sorry, Mr Gianelli. I had some pressing business.”

“Pressing? This’d better be good, Anthony.”

“It is, sir. I know where the Braden girl is.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve spent the last few days fucking Jensen’s slut instead of checking in with me!”

“Actually, I don’t have her. Someone else got there first.”

“Who?”

“I’m not sure. But I’ve got someone checking into it.”

Chapter Thirty

Faith was in the midst of putting away the dinner dishes when the doorbell rang. She hadn’t seen anyone for several days and had carefully screened her calls, not interested in anything other than news about Bart or Kelsey. Looking through the peephole, she spotted her busybody sister-in-law who really meant well, but had a knack for getting on people’s nerves. With a loud groan, she opened the front door, knowing there was no way she’d go away.

“Hi, Krissy.”

“Hi, Faith. I’m…uh…sorry to barge in. I tried calling, but…”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry. I haven’t been available. Uh… Come on in.”

Krissy walked to the couch, obviously surveying the condition of the house. “Wow. Looks like you’ve really gotten things together here since moving in, huh?”

“Yeah, well… When I get anxious, I clean. I guess I’ve been doing that a lot lately.”

“I suppose you have. That’s why I’m here, actually. I was worried about you. We all are.”

“All?”

Krissy nodded sadly. “The whole family, but especially Mom and Pop. With Bart locked up and Kels… Well, we’ve just been worried since we haven’t heard from you. How are you holding up?”

“I’m doing as well as you could expect from someone whose husband is being accused of something horrible, and whose best friend has disappeared without a trace.”

“There’s no word on Kelsey?” Krissy asked disappointedly. “I was sure they’d have something by now.”

“That’s what I thought, too. But it seems as if she just disappeared.”

“What about Bart? They’re still keeping him in jail?”

“That’s what the DA says,” Faith said sharply. She’d stayed out of things, she’d trusted Ronald enough to back off, but this sitting around doing nothing was starting to drive her crazy. She had to do something, and do it now.

Faith stood from the couch and grabbed her purse. “It was nice seeing you, Krissy, but I have to go.”

“Where are you going?”

“I think I’ll start with the DA. Maybe I can convince her to release Bart into my custody. I’m a police officer after all.”

“I thought Ronald already tried that.”

“Yeah, well, I have to do something before I start cleaning the grout lines in the bathroom with a toothbrush. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Let us know if we can help!” Krissy shouted as Faith rushed out. “Nice seeing you!”

* * * *

“Kapman here,” Ronald answered. He’d been sitting on his patio, but he was hardly enjoying the beautiful weather. For a man who’d been married to his work for the bulk of his adult life, sitting around waiting for a phone call was nothing short of torture. When the phone had barely begun to chime, he’d hit the button and had it held to his ear.

“Captain, it’s Timothy Fota. Is it okay to talk?”

“Yeah. What’d you come up with?”

“More than I’d hoped for, actually. Looks like my instincts were right. We’ve accumulated some rather strong evidence against Vincent Gianelli.”

“And Romano?”

Tim sighed. “Well, I’m afraid I haven’t had as much luck there. Still no sign of the missing evidence at the station, huh?”

“I haven’t asked Bart directly about it, but my gut says it’s gone. I can’t imagine Bart would have destroyed it, but if Nick took it…”

“Yes, well, we can’t lose hope. If the evidence against Romano doesn’t turn up, maybe you can get one of his lapdogs to testify against Romano after we take down Gianelli. If you’re forced to release him, there’ll be other opportunities.”

“Sure, there’ll be another chance. But my sister happens to work in the middle of all that gang activity Romano has stirred up with his drug trafficking. I’d like to take all these thugs out at the same time.”

“Taking down Gianelli is a huge first step. You know what they say about cutting off the head of the snake, right?”

“I hope you’re right about that. Kelsey’s been through enough already. When this mess is over, I don’t want her to have to worry about going to work.”

“I take it there’s no way she’d switch jobs then, huh?”

“Not a chance, partner,” Ronald said with a laugh. Obviously this man didn’t know his sister. “She’s worked her ass off to get that emergency clinic up and running. There’s no way she’d give up on it now. In fact, if all goes as we expect, I hope she’s back home in time for the grand opening.”