Whirlwind (SAI Book 2) (21 page)

“Yeah. We have a trucking company, and I’ve been running it for the last two years. More accurately,
had
been running it. My father brought in my cousin from Chicago to run it, since…I was away.” Pulling Sara in front of her, she shoved the gun in her back. “Climb the stairs.”

Sara followed directions and slowly trudged up the stairs. There was no escape to be had, unless she could somehow get the gun away from Angelina. Not ready to give up hope, she tried to remember the many lessons that Richard had given her. There had to be something stored in her brain that would help her find a way out of this mess. Once she was inside the office, Angelina shoved her into a chair and bound her legs again with zip ties.

Sara sat quietly and watched Angelina grab a bottle of water from a cooler next to the couch. She observed Angelina and tried to figure out what she was after. Was it torturing Grady? Getting his attention? Killing her? All three?

“Why is the Outfit after you? You don’t look like someone who would have pissed them off.”

Scooting back in the chair, Sara tried to breathe slowly. How in the hell did Angelina know anything about the Chicago mafia? Was she crazy and connected? “My biological father was part of the family.”

“Who was your dad?”

“He wasn’t my dad. He was the guy who donated sperm. My father was Ken Montgomery. He was a fine and honorable man.”

“We have relatives who are part of that family. My father isn’t. He’s always run a legit trucking company down here. Maybe I should give them a call and let them know that I found what they’re looking for.”

“That might be a good idea. No offense, but I like my chances with them a lot better than with you.”

The crazy laugh escaped again, and Sara knew that whatever Angelina had in mind was going to be bad. By the end, she might be praying for a bullet through her brain. What a shitty day. Not only was she in the hands of a crazy person, but also she was going to miss the
Bachelorette
finale. Crap. “Do you have a computer or TV here?”

“I have a computer, but don’t think you’re getting near it. I’m not stupid.”

“I’m not suggesting you are. It’s just that tonight is the finale of
The Bachelorette
, and I’m dying to see it. If you’re going to kill me, first I would at least like to see who she picks.”

Thrusting her hip out, Angelina studied her closely. “I can’t believe that Grady chose you. I mean, look at you. You’re the quintessential nice girl. There’s no way he chose you over me.”

“He didn’t choose me. All he’s doing is protecting me. We’re neighbors, so he probably feels obligated to not see my guts spilled on the sidewalk in front of his house. I mean, think of how bad that would look for someone who runs a security company. The publicity alone would make him want to help out.”

Ang shook her head and took another gulp of water. “And people think
I’m
crazy.”

“I don’t think anyone believes you’re crazy. Maybe just colorful and…passionate.”

“I was carted off in a police car and committed to a psych ward. I’m pretty sure people are calling me crazy.”

“You’re probably right. It’s going to be hard to come back from that one. Though you could spin it as a whole ‘I’m really passionate’ thing.” Staring up at Ang with her wild raven curls that exploded around her head, glittering coal-black eyes, and hard smile, she figured that was going to be a tough sell. “Maybe just embrace it and call it a day.”

“You never answered my question. Why does Solly D want you?”

“Because I witnessed Sal’s murder. I met him for dinner in Chicago and as we were leaving, he was gunned down in front of the restaurant. One of his bodyguards did nothing to stop it, and I saw the shooter. So I’m a witness for the murder trial, and they also think that Sal gave me the password for the Swiss bank account that has information that could hurt the family along with around seventy million dollars.”

“Yeah, that would do it.”

“I only spent a couple of hours with Sal, and my life has been in the shit can for over a year. Talk about having crappy relatives. I win the prize.”

“You might be right there.” Ang strode over to the couch and slumped into it. “I still don’t understand why Grady was attracted to you. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“I keep telling you that it’s a protection thing, not a romantic thing.”

“Why does he spend every night with you and walk back to his house in the morning in a towel?”

“If you give me a couple of minutes, I’m sure that I can come up with a really good answer.”

Throwing her hands up, Ang snorted. “Don’t bother.”

“How do you know all of that? You can’t be hanging around, and a lot of that happened while you were at Jackson Memorial. I know everyone on the street, and you don’t have a spy. How did you manage it?”

“When Grady started to pull away, I had a friend mount some cameras on the streetlights. I’ve been watching Grady’s house for months. When I went back to my father’s house, I watched the tape.”

Adjusting her legs, Sara shrugged. “I’m impressed. That’s completely brilliant. In a creepy and demented way.”

“I have a gift. What can I say?” She lifted her hair over her shoulders and shrugged. “If only I had figured out how to make the most if it.”

“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, especially since you have a gun pointed at me, but I see flashes of sanity. You haven’t completely given in to your demons.”

“Yeah, you’re not the first person to tell me that. If I take my medication, then I can control the voices in my head and my impulses. But I feel like a dull, lifeless version of myself, and I hate it.”

“Makes sense. So, has something like this happened before, or is Grady the only one?”

“It happened years ago when I was in college. That was my first visit to a hospital. It took a year, but I finally got the right cocktail of medicine, and I could function. I had six or seven good years.”

“And, then…Grady.” For a second, Sara felt a flash of sympathy for the woman in front of her. It would probably be over soon, but in this second, she totally could understand how difficult the struggle was for her. “You think that you can find a way back?”

“No. I kidnapped you out of a parking lot at gunpoint. I want Grady to suffer the way I suffered when he ended it. The last of my medication is wearing off, and I don’t plan on taking any more. I can’t return to my father’s house and live with him and a nurse trying to control me. I would rather die than go back.”

“So there is no good end to this.”

“No. You picked the wrong man to protect you. Unfortunately, the man you chose will probably end up getting you killed.”

Sara studied Angelina and realized the truth of her words. She might have had a couple of moments of sanity but it probably wasn’t going to happen again. “Thanks for telling me. It’s better than guessing.” She settled back into the chair and waited to see what Angelina’s next move was going to be. Whatever she chose to do, it probably wouldn’t include letting her survive.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

As Grady drove down the street, he noticed that Sara’s house was dark. Checking his watch, he saw that it was past seven. Where in the hell was she?

He pulled into his driveway and quickly parked. When he’d left this morning, they had talked about eating around seven-thirty and then watching
The Bachelorette
. It was the finale, and Sara was excited to see who the girl picked. As he crossed the yard, he thought back to the night he went over to apologize and realized she had him snagged from the start. The moment she opened her door and smiled, he was hooked. It didn’t take him weeks of dates to know who he would choose to spend the rest of his life with. As he stepped up to her door, a sharp feeling of unease skittered down his back. Pressing his hand against the key pad, he waited for the locks to disengage and the alarm to turn off. Once he heard the clear signal, he opened the door slowly. The house was dark and eerily quiet. He called out, “Sara, honey, where are you?”

Nothing. All that could be heard was the water dripping off the trees in the backyard. He moved quickly through the house and turned on lights. No one had broken in, and everything was as neat as usual. A sick dread filled his lungs as he checked the alarm panel to see what time she had left. It appeared that it was around two when she set the alarm. That was five hours ago, and a lot of bad shit could happen in five hours. Slipping his phone out of his pocket, he checked the location of the tracker that he had placed in her purse. He also had her phone linked to the SAI system and could find her that way. The app opened, and he waited for the blinking light to show up. Breathing evenly, he stomped down the rising fear. Seconds passed, which felt like hours, and the damn green light finally pinpointed her phone at the Publix market. Maybe she was picking up something for dinner. He pressed her number and waited for the call to connect. Six damn rings later, the call went to voice mail. He left a short message and then checked her location again. It hadn’t moved.

Something wasn’t right, and he knew Sara was in danger. Running out of the house, his boots pounded on the wood floor. He flew out the door. He speed-dialed Lucky in the Chicago office, and when she picked up, he barked Sara’s number into the phone. “Locate and bring up all data for the last twenty-four hours. Also call Sam in the Chicago FBI office. Hank knows him. Tell him Sara is missing. Have him call me.”

“Got it. Info will be sent to your phone.”

He threw open the door of his truck and climbed in. If the Outfit had been on the move, Sam would’ve given him a heads-up. Unless they hired a local to come and snatch Sara. But there would’ve been some chatter, and Sam would know about it. He barreled out of his driveway and headed toward the market. The streets were still slick from the earlier thunderstorm, and some of the intersections were still submerged in water. Maybe she had been in an accident and she was in the hospital? No way. Her purse wouldn’t be at the grocery store. He hit the speed dial on his phone and called Dane. If something had happened to Sara, then he was going to need a fireteam. Dane’s laughing voice answered, and Grady shouted into the phone, “Sara is missing.”

Dane’s laughter died as he responded, “Sitrep,” for
situation report
.

“Left the house around two. Not answering phone. Tracker is pinging at the Publix market. Lucky is working it from her end, and I had her call Sam for an update. No sign of struggle.”

“How far out?”

“Two clicks. Streets are flooded, so it’s taking fucking forever.”

“Report when you arrive. Getting suited up.”

“Call Lance and have him pull the images from the street cams around our house and the market. Once I get intel from Lucky, we can track her movements.”

“On it.”

Grady ended the call and turned on screeching wheels into the parking lot. He spotted Sara’s silver Prius in the middle of the lot. He pulled next to it and got out. He felt the hood and it was cold. Fuck. This wasn’t some quick trip to the market.

He slid out his phone and called Lucky. Before the first ring ended, she picked up the call. “No info yet. Give me a couple more minutes.”

“Can you pop the locks on her car? You have the info in the file I sent you.”

“Working on it.”

He ran toward the market and hoped like hell that by some miracle, Sara was inside. The doors slid open and he ran through the store, his boots squeaking loudly on the floor. It took him less than three minutes to run through the store and determine that Sara wasn’t there. He ran to the front and found the manager. “Have you seen this woman?” He pulled out his phone and showed the woman his screensaver. “She’s missing, and her phone is locating her here.”

The manager gave him a wary look, then glanced at the phone. “I came on at five, and I don’t recognize her. But we have a lot of customers, and I don’t see everyone who comes through.”

“Thanks.” He would have the security footage from the store and outside fairly quickly, so haranguing the woman wasn’t going to do him any good.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he answered Lucky’s call as he jogged outside. “Sitrep,” he barked into the phone.

“Trunk is open. No calls on the phone since around twelve, and that was to FBI Sam. Texts are only to you. By the way, you two are sickeningly sweet and mushy. I had no idea that you had a squishy lovey heart beating under that stone exterior of yours.”

“Not helping, Lucky.”

“Call you when I have the security tapes up.”

“Send them to Lance. Dane is putting together a fireteam, so we can go through them.”

“You may need more than four guys. There’s going to be a lot of tape to go through.”

He opened the trunk of Sara’s car, stepped back, and almost gagged. It was full of groceries that were starting to stink. Heat and humidity did that to food. “Fuck, her groceries are in the car, and they’ve been here a while.”

“Take a breath, Grady, and grab some of that cool calm that you’re so famous for. Look around and see if you can find her purse. The signal is coming from somewhere very close to you.”