Whiskey Undone

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  The assholes had taken a sledgehammer to every piece of equipment in his place, and broken doors off their hinges to each of his private rooms except for his office. They’d shattered the floor-to-ceiling mirrors, torn down a few of the overhead lights, and had even damaged a few walls by using the sledgehammer on the drywall. They’d busted a pipe so water was everywhere, not to mention other fluids like oil and even gasoline. It was all far too deliberate and rage-filled.

  So much anger, so much destruction. And for what? To piss Loch off? To try and scare him into giving Riker the company? It didn’t make any sense to Loch, but it wasn’t like he thought like the sociopath Riker likely was. Between Dennis—if the two were connected—attacking Ainsley when she was visiting her sister at the cemetery, breaking into Loch’s place and trying to search for something, the note, the phone call, and now…this, Riker had clearly lost it, and Loch didn’t think he would back down anytime soon.

  But things still didn’t click for Loch. The last time they’d spoken, it sounded like the police thought Riker had something to do with Dennis’s death, but they weren’t telling Loch either way. While he wanted to know everything, he didn’t have the right to ask them about every detail. But still, his family was in danger, and he needed to know the facts. Only he wasn’t sure the authorities had them all. At least not yet. Danger was piling up in Whiskey, something that didn’t happen often, if ever, and Loch knew everybody was on edge, wanting to figure out how to stop it. The fact that Loch’s past was the reason for all of it didn’t sit well with him, but there was nothing he could do except tell the authorities everything he knew as well as try to help them find Riker.

  Because, in Loch’s mind, there was no doubt that the other man was connected to it all, even if he couldn’t follow his former teammate’s line of thought. Loch had feelers out with his old contacts to see if they knew where Riker was staying, but so far, they’d come up as emptyhanded as Loch had.

  He’d keep looking, but right then, all he wanted to do was see if Ainsley was on her way home yet and go see his girls. He couldn’t believe how quickly things had changed and yet, at the same time, it felt like nothing had. He and Ainsley had always been on this path despite ignoring the connection they had. They just hadn’t seen what they could be to one another.

  Or maybe Ainsley had always known, and he’d been the one to ignore it.

  He hadn’t been as dense as the rest of his family thought when it came to their curious glances over the years. He’d noticed when they were confused about Ainsley and him, looking between them as if they were missing something. Most of their friends thought they’d already slept together, but then again, Loch had done his best not to think about Ainsley that way until she’d been right in front of him, all angry and sexy as hell. Then, he’d gotten jealous. And now, well, the rest was history.

  His phone rang then, pulling him out of his thoughts. Since he hadn’t turned on the engine yet, it didn’t go to his Bluetooth, so he picked up his phone to read the screen, frowning when it said Unknown.

  Chills raced down his spine, and he answered, his voice gruff. “Yeah?”

  “You should have just given me the company, Loch. You want nothing to do with it, we both know that. You left, remember? You abandoned the company and all we stand for and now you’re living your perfect little life with your little brat and that bitch of yours. You should have given it to me, Loch. All you had to do was sign it over and no one would have gotten hurt. Now, you’re a murderer, or at least the cops think that. Now you know your house isn’t as safe as you thought. Now you know your work isn’t the safe place you wanted it to be. Now you know you’re never safe, Loch. You should have given it to me…but you still have time. Say the word, and all of this will be over. Just say the fucking word, Loch.”

  Then Riker hung up before Loch could say anything, and he blinked down at the phone, trying to remember and decipher everything the other man had said. If he had been smart, he would have recorded the conversation somehow, but he hadn’t thought about it, and frankly, there hadn’t been enough time, especially not knowing for sure who was on the other end of the line. Riker had talked without stopping like some villain from a damn movie with his diatribe and hadn’t let Loch get a word in as Loch tried to make sense of the other man’s words.

  Riker had all but admitted that he’d murdered Dennis and tried to make it look like it was Loch, even though there hadn’t been any real evidence or motive. And all of this for contacts and intel from a company with a good enough reputation that Riker could have probably gotten in with some major donors and bigwigs, making money and crossing lines for years before anyone even caught on that Jason’s company wasn’t the kind of place it had been before. With what Jason had left him, Loch knew that they were talking millions of dollars.

  He shook his head, worried about what else Riker would do to get all that money and power. He’d already done so much, had pushed his men to break the law as he had with Chris, and from what Loch could see, he hadn’t contacted the other man at all afterwards, probably cutting ties as soon as Chris got caught. It was insane.

  Loch quickly called Detective Shannon, letting him know about the call since it was all he could do and, thankfully, the two detectives didn’t want to talk to him again just then. They said they’d see what they could do with the number, but they weren’t a high-tech station, and Loch bet Riker knew how to deal with disposable phones and other shit that would guarantee that no one would be able to trace the call. But they had to at least try because, at some point, Riker would make a mistake that would mean they could catch him. Because they had to, damn it. Loch’s family wouldn’t be safe otherwise.

  Thinking of those he loved, he quickly called Ainsley, getting more nervous as the rings kept going and it went to voicemail. He tried again in case she was driving or dealing with Misty and couldn’t talk, but it went to voicemail another two times. He put his phone in the drink holder and started his truck, practically peeling out of the parking lot of his gym as he went the back way to his place. If Ainsley had gone to the grocery store, this would be the way she’d go; it was the quickest. And except for one small part, it was completely lined with homes and businesses. It should be safe. Whiskey was supposed to be safe.

  Loch called Fox, then Dare, asking if they’d heard from Ainsley, both saying they hadn’t but would ask the rest of the family for him and would get back to him before they started looking, as well. That was his family, always on his side, protecting what was there even if they were all scared as fuck about what was happening.

  He took the curve toward his place, then slammed on his brakes as he saw a very familiar little girl with wide eyes and tears streaming down her face, standing between two strangers on the side of the road, a sedan he didn’t recognize pulled over near them.

  He pulled in behind them, then threw his door open, running toward the couple and his daughter.

  “Misty!”

  “Daddy!”

  She ran past the couple, who didn’t stop her. Staying on the side of the road rather than on it, he ran to her as well, picking her up as she jumped toward him and crushing her to his chest.

  “Baby, what’s wrong? Why are you out here? What’s going on?” He was rambling, asking too many questions for a four-year-old to answer at once, but he was goddamn shaking. Where was Ainsley? He didn’t ask that, too scared to even voice it.

  “They took Ainsley, Daddy!” Misty was screaming now, her little body shaking so much in his hold he was afraid she was going into shock. He patted her back, rocking her back and forth as he tried to calm both of them down. His heart was beating so fast, he almost forgot all of his training over the years. He could barely think straight.

  “What?”

  “Sir?” the woman asked, her voice shaking, as well. She had to be a tourist or just driving through since he didn’t recognize her. “We saw her running on the side of the road, and we pulled over. She started crying and screaming and wouldn’t co
me close, and we understood that she was scared of us, too. So, we called the police. They should be here soon. She didn’t say a word to us, so we don’t know who she’s talking about or who Ainsley is or even what happened, but you have a smart little girl there. She knew what to do with strangers. And we’re sorry if we scared her, but we didn’t want her to be alone, even if she was just standing near us and not coming close.”

  Loch soothed his little girl, who had quieted down to a whimper now as sirens filled the air, getting closer. He was damn tired of that noise, especially since it always seemed to do with him lately, but he wanted them to check out Misty. And fuck, he needed to find Ainsley.

  “Thank you,” Loch said, his voice a growl. He knew he was a bit big and scary, but he had his daughter in his arms, and the love of his life was out there somewhere. “Thank you for doing all you did.”

  He didn’t know what else to say while the other couple introduced themselves and started talking to fill the silence as they waited for the cops and the ambulance to come. He was pretty sure they were the same paramedics from the graveyard and that just reminded Loch of Ainsley.

  Where was she?

  And how the fuck was he going to find her?

  Because he knew Riker had her. After that phone call, it made the most sense. He needed to find her. Needed to save her. Because if he lost Ainsley after just finding her, he’d never forgive himself. Riker would regret even coming near what was Loch’s.

  But he might only regret it for a little while because if Loch had his way, the other man wouldn’t be breathing for long.

  Loch needed to find Ainsley.

  No matter what.

  Chapter 19

  Ainsley coughed up water as Riker removed the towel from her face. He’d introduced himself to her, along with another man named Jeff when they’d first gotten to the empty farmhouse. She’d only known it was abandoned because the place looked ready to fall down around them, and the amount of dust on every surface was enough to make her eyes water.

  Of course, since Riker and his man had been pouring water over her face through a towel, her eyes were watering now for a whole different reason.

  Riker slapped her then, her eyes stinging, and her face red and battered. She knew she’d be a mess when she got out of here, bruised and maybe even broken.

  But she would get out of here.

  She wouldn’t let Riker win.

  Loch wouldn’t let Riker win.

  And she would do her damnedest to get out of here, somehow, so Loch wouldn’t have to blame himself for any of this. Ainsley didn’t know why they were torturing her. She had nothing to do with Loch’s past or with the company. She might be Loch’s best friend, but she only knew the basics of what he’d told her over the years and just recently.

  Riker and Jeff seemed to want to hurt her to make Loch hurt when he found her. She hated Riker even more for what he was doing to her, not only because it hurt—because it did—but because it was a cruel and roundabout way of hurting Loch. They wanted to hurt him from the inside, to use guilt and recrimination to make the man she loved hate himself. And all she wanted to do was get out of these ropes and find a way to scratch Riker’s eyes out.

  Unfortunately, she wasn’t strong enough for that, but she could at least keep trying to escape.

  She was afraid they were telling her too much about their plans to keep her alive at this point, and she was doing her best to swallow down the bile in her throat that rose just thinking about it. They weren’t going to keep her alive. They were going to make her hurt, then they were going to kill her. Either they’d leave her body where Loch could find it, or they’d find a way to make the police think it was him.

  Or…they’d wait to kill her in front of him.

  Because these men were not sane. That was clear. They were the evilest of the evil, and she hated them.

  She just hoped to God that Misty had gotten somewhere safe.

  Tears once again filled her eyes as she thought of that little girl. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t been strong enough to see her to safety. She’d done everything she could, but she didn’t know if it had been enough.

  “Had enough?” Riker growled. She lay still, her hands fisting behind her back in their rope bonds. He leaned over her, his face no longer in its mask. Jeff and Riker had both stripped them off when they reached the house, not caring that she saw their faces. They hadn’t cared that they talked about their plans for Loch in front of her either.

  She was certain she would die today if she didn’t save herself, if she didn’t stay alive long enough for Loch to find her. That much she knew, and though she was scared beyond measure, she knew if she didn’t make a plan, they’d take away any hope she still had.

  And all she’d had before this was hope.

  She couldn’t stop now.

  When she didn’t answer, Riker slapped her again, and she closed her eyes, tears falling down her cheeks at the sting. Her jaw ached, and she was afraid she’d bitten her tongue. She didn’t want to bleed, didn’t want to give this man the satisfaction.

  “Loch should have done the right thing in the first place. But he didn’t listen.” Riker started pacing around the small room as Jeff left the building. She didn’t know what he was doing, but she figured it wasn’t something that would help her escape. As Riker talked, she tried to work on her ropes behind her body, aware that as long as he faced the wall like he currently did, he’d be able to see her face, as ragged and beaten as it was, but wouldn’t be able to see her hands. “

  Riker growled and continued. “The courts took everything from me. They took the company because Jason was a fucking idiot and either didn’t update his will enough or didn’t want to let go of his dreams for his prize boy. What the hell did Loch ever do for him, huh? He was nothing. Jason saw what he wanted to see, but he didn’t see the real man. He didn’t see that Loch didn’t have any balls. Loch left us, didn’t take the risks that were needed to make the company work. But I did. I still do. But when Loch sees what I can take from him, he’ll give me the company, and I’ll do what Jason and Loch never could. I’ll make it great again. I’ll make us the best.”

  He had lost his damn mind, but it didn’t matter what Ainsley thought of him. Because he had the upper hand. And unless she found a way out of this, he was going to kill her. But she knew she wasn’t strong enough unless she ran or snuck away.

  No number of weapons or self-defense classes were going to keep her alive then—just luck and determination.

  Ainsley didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to, not when the man liked to hear himself talk rather than listen to anything sane.

  “We need the contacts the company has, the ones that Jason kept to himself. We need the confidential data, the stuff the bastards never allowed me to see. Loch will have all of it now. Once we have it, Loch can go on his merry way. We won’t bother him.”

  A lie.

  They both knew it, but Riker kept going, the vein on his temple bulging.

  “The company should have been mine. Even as Jason started to pull back, his age getting the best of him, you see, I was the one making decisions. We killed who we needed to, never held back because we were too scared to make the choices that needed to be made. Holding back because you think you should have a set of morals wastes time. People get killed, money gets lost. But I don’t make those bad choices. I never did. And when Jason didn’t see that…” Riker shrugged. “Well, Jason didn’t need to be around anymore. But the asshole didn’t give me the company. He gave it to his favorite.”

  Riker spat the word, and Ainsley swallowed hard. This man, with his petulant complaints as if he were a child not given the toy he wanted, had killed Loch’s mentor, too? Loch had wondered if Jason died from natural causes, but the way Riker had just casually thrown that fact out there just cemented the idea that she wasn’t getting out of this farmhouse alive unless she forced her way out.

  Ainsley didn’t want to die today.

  Sh
e wanted her happily ever after, the one she’d never thought possible. She wanted to keep teaching, wanted to watch those children grow into amazing, capable adults. She wanted to finish cooking classes with Fox. She wanted to learn to dance with Melody. She wanted to see Kenzie bloom into the mother she was meant to be. She wanted Dare to expand his business and be an amazing father twice over. She wanted to see Tabby have her twins and meet those babies. She wanted Tabby’s husband to come to Whiskey and be enveloped by the family. She wanted to see her mother again and tell her that she loved her. She wanted to see Katie’s grave again. She wanted to hold Misty and watch her grow up. She wanted to be with the man she loved and become his wife when the time came.

  She wanted it all.

  But she wasn’t going to get any of it if she didn’t find a way to get out of her ropes and get away from Riker and Jeff.

  Riker left her for a moment, pacing along the wall on the other side of the room as Jeff walked in. The two started talking to one another, ignoring her. Though Ainsley knew if she moved too much in any direction, they would notice. They were as alert as Loch was, and Loch noticed everything, even if he thought himself distracted at times.

  With her eyes on them, Ainsley slowly worked the rope behind her back. They’d tied her up tightly, but Loch had also taught her how to get out of a few kinds of knots. He’d tied her up a few times during their self-defense lessons, and though she’d been having inappropriate thoughts the entire time, she’d learned a few tricks. Never once, however, did she think she’d have to actually use them.

  She’d have to kiss that man over and over again in thanks when she got out of this. Not if, because she wasn’t going to stop fighting, no matter what.