Witness Pursuit (10 page)

“Don't start.”

“You guys do make a cute couple.”

“How is that possible? He's intense and brooding, and I'm chatterbox Sally.”

“It's perfect. He never has to talk and you don't have to compete for attention like you always had to do with us growing up.”

Cassie picked up Dasher and held him in her lap. “Don't get me wrong, Nate's a nice guy, but we want completely different things out of life.”

“Like?” Bree leaned back and nibbled a brownie.

“He's got a good job in town as chief, versus me wanting to travel.”

“Police chiefs get vacation.”

“Not for months at a time.” She shook her head. “What am I talking about? We've never even been on a date.”

“Maybe because you haven't been quiet long enough for him to ask?” She winked.

“Or he's not interested.”

“Trust me.” Bree started packing up the plates. “He's interested. Are you?”

Cassie considered the burn in her stomach. She'd just eaten, so it wasn't hunger. She was deeply worried about Nate. On some level she knew she liked him a lot more than as a friend.

“You're taking a long time to answer,” Bree said.

“I can't be interested. It makes no logical sense.”

Bree chuckled. “And when did you become Miss Pragmatic? Love isn't logical, little sister. Look at me and Scott. There is no way I should have fallen in love with a wounded stranger in the mountains. But I did.” Bree reached out and touched Cassie's arm. “Love is surprising and wonderful and glorious. You need to trust it.” She stood. “I'm going to the lobby to get a cup of tea. You want one?”

“Sure.”

Bree went to the door. “Do you have a preference?”

“Anything will be fine,” Cassie said, gently stroking the dog's fur.

“Hey, Cassie?”

Cassie glanced at her sister.

“I'm sure Nate will call soon.”

Just then the nightstand phone rang.

“See,” Bree said with a smile and shut the door.

Still holding Dasher, Cassie went to answer the phone, wondering why Nate hadn't called her cell.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Your friend is dead,” a deep male voice said. “You're next, unless you—”

Cassie slammed down the phone and stepped back. It rang again. And kept ringing. What should she do? Nate ordered her not to go anywhere alone, so she shouldn't leave the room. But now a threatening man was calling. Did he know her room number? No, the front desk wouldn't give out that information.

She couldn't stand the ringing phone, so she unplugged it from the wall. She was safe. No one could get to her in this room.

Her cell rang and she hesitated before answering. Now she was being paranoid. She pulled it out of her pocket and eyed the screen. It was Nate. Relief washed over her.

“Nate, they keep calling so I unplugged—”

Pounding on the sliding glass door made her shriek.

TEN

T
he dog burst into a round of high-pitched barks.

“Cassie, what's wrong?” Nate said.

“The slider, someone's trying to get in.”

“Cassie, it's Tony!” a muffled voice called from the other side of the glass. “Open the door! I need to talk to you!”

“Cassie!” Nate said through the line.

“It's Tony, Becca's boyfriend. Maybe he knows what happened to her.”

Cassie whipped open the curtain. A wild-eyed Tony motioned to the door. Sliding it open, Cassie said, “What are you doing here?”

He eyed the phone. “Who are you talking to?”

“Chief Walsh, he's—”

Tony snatched the phone out of her hand and turned it off.

“Hey, I was talking.”

“Listen to—”

“You owe me an explanation. Becca disappeared from her tour group and they sent out a search team and—”

“Enough!” he said.

Cassie bit her tongue, wanting to give him a piece of her mind for raising his voice. Instead, Dasher protested for her, barking his displeasure.

“Shut that thing up,” Tony said. “I've gotta talk to you.”

“Don't speak to us that way.”

He reached for the dog, but Cassie turned away in a protective posture. “I'll put him in the bathroom.” She marched across the room and kissed the dog on the head. “Just for a few minutes, Dasher.”

She shut the door and turned to Tony. “Give me my phone.”

“After we talk.” He slipped her phone into his pocket.

Trusting her instincts, Cassie kept her position a good ten feet away from Tony. His wild black hair practically stood straight up, and his skin was unusually pale, almost white, accentuating dark circles under his eyes.

“What happened to Becca?” she demanded.

“It's a long story.”

“Give me the quick version.”

He paced the small room. “It was supposed to be easy. No one would notice.”

“Tony, I have no idea what you're talking about.”

He stopped right in front of her. “You need to come with me.”

“I don't think so.”

“You have to, Cassie. Becca needs you.”

“Why, is she hurt?”

“Just come, please?”

Three soft knocks echoed from the resort room door. “Hey, I've got tea, open up,” Bree said.

“Yes, let us in,” her mother added.

As Cassie started for the door, Tony grabbed her arm. “If you want to keep your family safe, you won't involve them in this.”

“In what? Let me go.” Cassie tried to wrench free.

Tony whipped out a gun. “I didn't want to use this, but you're not listening to me.” His eyes flared with panic.

“If you're in trouble, Nate can help,” she offered.

“No one can help, especially not the police.”

“Cassie!” Bree pounded.

Tony flung out his arm and pointed the gun at the door. Panic flooded Cassie's chest.

“Don't you dare fire that thing.”

“Then come with me.”

Cassie grabbed her purple bag as Tony pulled her toward the sliding door. Bree's insistent pounding and the dog's echoed barking filled the room with chaos.

Going with him was her best choice. She didn't think Tony was a violent guy, but right now he seemed irrational beyond words. She wouldn't risk him discharging the weapon out of frustration and hurting her family.

Tony led her outside into the dark night, his fingers pinching her arm. He picked up his pace, half jogging toward a beat-up car. Cassie kept her head down and her eyes averted, not wanting to draw attention from innocent bystanders. She didn't know what Tony might do.

“Cassie!” Aiden shouted from the south entrance.

She was simultaneously relieved and terrified. Aiden would jump into a burning fire for someone he cared about, which meant he'd charge Tony and get a bullet in the gut for his trouble.

“I'm fine!” she shouted back. “Going to see a friend!”

“You're not supposed to leave!”

Tony rushed to his car and shoved her into the passenger side. “Move over. You're driving.”

She did as ordered, glancing once in the rearview mirror. Both Aiden and the resort's security manager, Scott, Bree's boyfriend, were racing toward them.

“Go!” Tony shouted.

Her trembling hands put the car in Drive. Pressing down on the accelerator, she felt a tear warm her cheek.

I can't die yet.
I haven't been to Australia or France.

I haven't been on a date with Nate Walsh.

Oh, what ridiculous thoughts flooded her brain when her life was being threatened.

“Faster!” he shouted.

She applied more pressure and they sped off. Her fear dissolved into anger. Once again, she was at the mercy of someone else's control, just like the disease that had dominated her childhood.

“If you're going to kill me you should at least tell me what's going on,” she snapped.

He sighed, and it seemed like all the air was sucked out of him. “I'm not going to kill you,” he said, and lowered the weapon.

“Then what's with the gun?”

“I need your help and I can't involve the police.”

“Because you broke the law?”

“No...maybe... I don't know.”

He sounded so defeated that she started to feel sorry for him, but caught herself.

“Don't you ever threaten my family again, you hear me?” she said.

“Yeah.”

“I want my phone back.”

He tossed it onto the dashboard.

“Is Becca okay?” she said, pocketing her phone.

“I don't know.”

“You mean you're not taking me to see her?”

“No, sorry. I had to do something to get you to come with me.”

Cassie raised an eyebrow at the gun in his lap. “Like that wasn't enough?”

“You're more stubborn than I thought. You have to help. I'm freaking out here.”

“Tell me what happened.”

“Becca was supposed to meet me at three this afternoon, but she didn't show up. No call, no text, nothing.”

Cassie couldn't bring herself to tell him about the mystery phone call from a man claiming Becca was dead. It could send him into a downward spiral, and besides, the call might have been a manipulation to rattle Cassie's nerves.

“I went by her apartment and cop cars were everywhere,” he continued.

“That's because someone broke in. They slashed cushions and tossed furniture. Do you know what they were looking for?”

He leaned back against the headrest. “Maybe.”

“Clue me in.”

“Money.”

“Becca works two jobs to make rent. What money?”

He shook his head. “I can't.”

“You'd better.”

“I messed up, okay? There was so much of it and I didn't think they'd notice.”

“Notice what?”

“Stop asking so many questions!”

“Hey, bub, you've taken me hostage so I'm allowed to ask as many questions as I like. Where are we going, by the way?”

“Somebody wants to meet you.” He glanced at her, then away. “He'll help us get Becca back if you meet with him.”

“Because he thinks I have something he wants? I don't have anything, Tony. You're dragging me into—”

“Just shut up!” he shouted.

Cassie pursed her lips, wanting to give him a lecture of a lifetime. Instead, she strategized ways to get help without being accidentally shot by Becca's crazy boyfriend.

“What's that?” Tony said, staring out the front windshield.

A car straddled the two-lane road up ahead, blocking traffic.

A patrol car.

“Go around it! Go around it!”

“But there's a drop off!”

Tony pressed his foot on top of hers, gunning the engine. To avoid a collision, she jerked the wheel right. They clipped the cruiser and slid off the road, barreling into the forest.

Heading straight for a tree.

“No!” she cried.

She jerked the wheel.

The car spun.

The back end slammed into a tree. The engine sputtered and died. She pinched her eyes shut, her heart pounding in her throat.

Breathe
, she coached herself.
You're okay.

“Cassie!”

Hearing Nate's voice made her feel better than okay.

She pried her eyes open and tried to focus on the man running toward her in the distance.

Then she remembered: Tony had a gun. She wanted to call out to Nate, to warn him, but struggled to get her voice back.

* * *

Backup was on the way. Nate couldn't wait. He sprinted toward the car Aiden had described as the kidnapper's.

Whoever had taken Cassie was in for a long night's interrogation. As he got closer, Nate could tell Cassie's eyes were open and she looked fairly coherent. He reached for his firearm, but was hesitant to use it. Opening fire on an assailant with Cassie in the middle was not an option.

“No!” she shouted at Nate just as...

A gunshot pierced the crisp night air.

Nate ducked, but not quick enough. A slow burn seared across his upper arm. Nothing, not even a gunshot wound, would stop him from getting to her. He'd have to be smart about it. Dropping to the ground, he crawled toward the car, clenching his teeth against the pain.

A young man in a black hoodie and jeans took off into the forest. Nate was about to pursue him when the perp turned and fired off multiple shots in Nate's direction.

With the car still between them.

Nate could only hope Cassie had the presence of mind to duck.

Staying low, Nate continued toward the car, assuming the perp's goal was to get away quickly and he couldn't do that with a hostage. Nate peered above the surrounding brush. The guy had disappeared into the forest. It made no sense for Nate to pursue him. The perp had the advantage of camouflage, and Nate would be an easy target.

He reached the car and cracked open the driver's side door. The old car didn't have an air bag. Nate searched Cassie's face for cuts and bruises.

“You okay?” he asked.

She glanced at his jacket and her eyes widened. “You've been shot.” She started to unbuckle her seat belt.

“Don't move until the ambulance comes.”

“I'm not hurt, but...” Her voice trailed off. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then another.

He suspected the full impact of what just happened—kidnapping and gunfire—must have finally hit her.

“Cassie?”

“I'm okay,” she said. “Just scared.”

He stroked her golden-blond hair. “There's nothing ‘just' about being scared. Did the guy threaten you with a gun?”

She nodded. “It was Tony, Becca's boyfriend.”

“Why did he take you hostage?”

“To meet someone who would help Tony find Becca, I think, I don't know for sure. But before that, at the resort, a man called my room. He had a deep, scratchy voice and said my friend was dead and I'd be next unless, but I hung up. Tony banged on the door. I let him in, I shouldn't have, because Bree and Mom wanted to come in and Tony pulled a gun and aimed it at the door and—”

“Shh, it's okay. Breathe.” He continued to stroke her soft hair, hoping it would ease her anxiety.

She glanced at him. “I should be helping you. Let me out so I can put pressure on your wound.”

“It's a flesh wound, no big deal. Relax until the EMTs check you out.”

The wail of a siren echoed down the two-lane highway.

“What happened in the mountains?” she asked.

He hesitated, not wanting to upset her further.

“Nate, what is it?”

“We'll talk about it later.” He took her hand. “I'm glad I got to you in time.”

“Me, too.” She brought his hand to her cheek and smiled.

An ache exploded in his chest. She could have been hurt or even killed. He slipped his hand from hers. “I'll flag down emergency. Stay put.”

“Yes, Chief.”

Nate stood, waving down the ambulance and squad car. Maddie, Cassie's cousin and a local EMT, came bounding toward them.

“Cassie?”

“She's okay.”

She noticed Nate's wound. “Whoa, what about you?”

“I'm fine. Take care of your cousin.”

Detective Vaughn screeched to a stop and flung open her car door. She marched toward Nate.

“Tony Miller took Cassie at gunpoint,” he said.

“Where was he taking her?”

“Not sure, something about meeting a guy that would help find Becca.”

“You want me to question her?”

“No, I'll take care of Cassie. I need you to figure out what they want from her. She received a threatening call at the resort.”

Nate's phone vibrated, but he didn't recognize the number. “Chief Walsh.”

“It's Agent Nance. I have some information to discuss with you.”

“I'll send Detective Vaughn.”

“I'd rather speak with you.”

Nate wanted Detective Vaughn to take the lead so Nate could protect Cassie. But he was police chief and couldn't shirk his duties.

“Meet me at Healthy Eats in an hour,” Nate said.

“Will do.”

Nate ended the call and studied his phone.

“Who was that?” Vaughn asked.

“FBI agent wants to meet.” He glanced back at Tony's car. Maddie was checking Cassie's vitals. Cassie smiled at Nate.

“Want me to meet with the Fed?” Detective Vaughn said.

“Actually, we're all going.”

* * *

An hour later Nate and Detective Vaughn were seated across a booth from Agent Nance, while Cassie hid in the kitchen. That was the best way to keep her safe: make her invisible.

Nate's sister, Catherine, owner of Healthy Eats, was happy to brew them a pot of coffee after closing. Not that they'd stay long. Nate wanted the meeting with Nance to be quick so he could take Cassie someplace safe.