Forever Alexa (Book Four In The Bodyguards Of L.A. County Series)

by Beauman, Cate

  Seconds later she gasped as they pulled a bluefish free from the water.

  “Look! Look! A fishy! I caught a fishy!”

  Jackson’s heart filled to bursting at the excited pride in his little girl’s voice. This was their moment, their memory. He’d missed so much, but this would always be theirs. “Yes, you did. You caught your very first fish, Liv.”

  They reeled the fish in further and he made a grab for it. The elongated body, the length of his hand, flapped back and forth, sprinkling them with small drops of water. “Stay right here, Liv. Let me get him off the hook.”

  “He moves a lot.” She shrunk back against his chest.

  He grabbed hold of the cool, wet body and removed the hook as gently as he could. “Do you want to touch him?”

  Livy hesitated, then slid a finger over the fish’s side. “Slimy.”

  “A little bit.”

  She moved to touch again.

  “Stay away from his mouth, honey. He has pretty sharp teeth.”

  Livy yanked her hand back.

  “You don’t have to be afraid. Touch him once more then we’ll let him go. He can’t breathe unless he’s in the water.”

  “But I want to keep him.”

  “He’s too little. His mom will be looking for him.”

  “Like Nemo. But Nemo’s daddy was looking for him.”

  He’d never seen Finding Nemo, but he agreed. “Yeah, like that.”

  Livy touched the blue-grayish scales once more. “Bye, Nemo. Go find your mommy.”

  Jackson threw the fish back. He looked down at Olivia as she glanced up. “Nice job.”

  “I’m a great fisher.”

  “You sure are.” He winked at her as he set the fishing pole on the dock.

  Livy turned in his lap and wrapped her arms around him. “I love you, daddy.”

  He pulled her close and held her tight as he rested his cheek against her hair. His throat tightened as a wave of emotions flooded him while he held his daughter in the warm summer air. “I love you too, Liv. So much.”

  She gave him a kiss. “Will you read to me about the princesses?”

  He stared at his little mirror image, filled to the brim with adoration. “Yeah, let’s go read about your princesses. Then it’s time for bed.”

  “Will you snuggle with me? Grammy and Grampy’s house is very scary at night.”

  “I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather to be.” He picked up the fishing pole in one hand and held Livy in his other arm as they walked back to the house.

  Chapter 13

  Tucker opened the door for Alexa, and they entered Lady Pink. The smoke choking the space was just as bad as last night, and the bright neon lights highlighting the stage no less tacky. She hated being here knowing that Abby was stuck in this hell hole, but that was going to change tomorrow.

  Alexa scanned the area, keeping an eye out for her sister. Abby wasn’t on stage dancing—thank God. As much as she wanted to see Abby, she wasn’t sure she would be able to sit idly by while her sister was forced to exploit herself. There were only a handful of customers, unlike the last time, but her stomach still shuddered with disgust as two pretty young women—barely dressed—swung themselves around the poles while men sat by the stage, staring. “She must be back in one of those rooms,” she said close to Tucker’s ear, afraid her voice might carry even though loud pop music blared through the speakers.

  “Let’s find a seat.” Tucker led them to a table with a decent view of the bar, stage, darkened hallway, and the two visible exits. Tucker plunked himself in a chair and slung his muscled arm over the back, appearing relaxed, as if this was just another ordinary night at a strip club. He almost blended well in his jeans, Baltimore Orioles t-shirt, and matching ball cap worn backwards, but his looks made it impossible for him to go unnoticed. Tucker Campbell was magnificent, maybe even beautiful, with his long eyelashes; slow, arresting grin; and buff, chiseled body. In the hour and a half they’d been together, Alexa noticed that people looked twice at Tucker Campbell—men and women alike.

  All business, Alexa pulled her chair close to his. “So what should we be looking for?”

  “We need a count—”

  “What can I get you two?” A topless waitress dressed in a bold, yellow g-string stopped at their table. Alexa forced herself to look at the once pretty face gone hard, caked in makeup, instead of stare at the floor like she so desperately wanted to—not that the waitress was paying her any attention.

  “Two Buds,” Tucker answered with a friendly, inviting smile.

  “You know, I give a hell of a private dance, baby.” The waitress winked and skimmed a finger down his well-toned arm. “You say the word and I’ll be sure to add in a little something extra. Just tell Tony you want Blondie to show you a good time.” She gestured to the bartender, who was pouring a scotch and water.

  “If I wasn’t here with my lady, I’d be game, honey.” He looked Blondie up and down, devouring her with his appreciative, hungry gaze.

  Blondie spared Alexa a glance, then strutted away.

  Alexa stared at Jack’s friend as Tucker transformed from ‘sleaze’ back in to the respectable former detective she’d walked in with. “Very smooth.”

  He shrugged. “Gotta play the game.”

  “You play it well.”

  “The criminal element can spot a cop a mile away. I’ve only been off the force nine months. I imagine I’m still wearing a few layers. Figured I should bring my A-game.”

  “Mmm.” Alexa studied the man who would help Jack bring her sister home, still trying to figure him out. He was sweet to Livy, fun with Jack, and kind to her, but he always seemed… a step removed. Even when he smiled, his dark hazel eyes remained guarded.

  Blondie came back with two beers. “Here you go, hot stuff.” She smiled another invitation as she set his bottle down.

  “Thanks.” Tucker traced the pad of his finger over Blondie’s knuckles. “You dancing tonight?”

  “Later.”

  He nodded while he continued to seduce Blondie with his gaze. “My buddy was here the other night.”

  “Oh?” She purred. “Is he as good looking as you?”

  He shrugged. “The ladies certainly don’t run away. He’s got a thing for long, black hair.”

  “What about you?”

  He glanced at Alexa and dismissed her, then gave his full attention back to their waitress. “Red heads are okay, but I prefer blondes.”

  Blondie touched her tongue to her top lip. “Well, aren’t you in luck.”

  “My buddy’s getting himself hitched.” He shook his head mournfully. “Who the fuck knows why, but I wanted to do it up right for him. He couldn’t stop talking about Fawn. Is she dancing too?”

  Blondie’s flirty smile vanished. “I don’t worry ‘bout nobody but myself.” She tried to tug her hand free.

  Tucker kept hold of her fingers even as one of the enormous bouncers started making his way to their table. “That’s too bad. Cause I was thinking about you and me and my buddy and Fawn.”

  Alexa struggled not to squirm as the bouncer came closer. They were going to get kicked out. They couldn’t help Abby if they had to leave.

  “Fawn’s not here.”

  Alexa no longer focused on the bald man with the ring in his nose when Blondie’s words sunk in. “What—”

  “When is she working again?” Tucker interrupted smoothly.

  Blondie gave a jerky shrug. “Like I said, I don’t worry ‘bout nobody but me.”

  The hulking man stopped at the table. “Don’t touch the lady,” he said to Tucker.

  Tucker let go of Blondie’s hand. “We’re just talking.”

  “You don’t talk with your hands. Get back to work,” the bouncer said to
Blondie.

  Abby isn’t here? She has to be. I saw her just hours ago. Alexa stared at her bottle of beer as her eyes filled. She struggled to keep her breathing steady as wave after wave of despair threatened to drown her.

  “You keep your hands to yourself, pal, or you’re outta here.” The bouncer walked back to his post by the bar.

  Alexa clenched her hands in her lap, trying to ward off the trembling. “What are we—what are we going to do?”

  “Wait here for a while.”

  Alexa met Tucker’s unreadable eyes. “But Abby’s gone.”

  “I don’t believe everything I hear.” He touched her arm. “Hang in there, Alexa. We know she was here. Right now we need an idea of how many bouncers they keep on the floor and how many disappear down the hall. How long do the dancers dance before they switch off? Even if she’s gone now doesn’t mean she won’t be back tomorrow night or the next. It’s not uncommon for the rings to rotate the women—keeps the cops off their tail. Tonight’s a perfect example. Jackson tipped off the taskforce about Abby, less than twenty-four hours later and she’s gone. It’s hard to raid a place if a suspected victim isn’t in the same spot night after night, right?”

  Alexa nodded despite her hopelessness. Tucker made complete sense, but how many times had she heard something like this? They should’ve taken her last night. They should’ve called the cops immediately instead of waiting for a positive ID. Someone could’ve come to help before the men took Abby away. What if Abby didn’t come back tomorrow or the night after? Sighing, Alexa stared down the darkened hallway, willing her sister to appear as she had only hours before.

  One hour ticked into three, and Alexa sat in her spot, methodically counting bouncers and dancers and keeping track of the women coming and going from the hallway—none of whom were Abby. Blondie had been telling the truth; her sister wasn’t here.

  “I’m pretty confident I have their pattern. It hasn’t varied. Ten bouncers—including the two that stay in the hall, three dancers, six waitresses, and two girls that handle the rooms,” Tucker said before he took a sip from his second bottle of Bud. “We should go.”

  “But what if she shows up? It’s still early.”

  “That’s highly unlikely, and we can’t stay ‘til last call, especially if we have to keep coming back. The last thing we want is to start drawing attention. Despite your outfit, you don’t blend in here. Jackson and I will come back tomorrow.”

  Everything Tucker said was right; in her heart she knew that, but it was a struggle for Alexa to push her chair away from the table and stand. Even though Abby wasn’t here, Alexa felt as if she was abandoning her sister again.

  Tucker slung a supportive arm around her shoulders, and they headed for the door. Her gaze darted about the room as she desperately hoped Abby would appear like she did before. She and Tucker moved by the bouncer they’d passed to enter, and her heart broke as she was forced to turn and step through the exit. Where was Abby? Her breath caught in her throat as she struggled to keep the helplessness at bay.

  “Excuse me,” she murmured as she bumped into a man among the crowd hanging out around Lady Pink’s entrance.

  “We’ll come back tomorrow, Alexa.”

  “I know.” But that didn’t help Abby tonight.

  “We’re making progress.”

  She couldn’t stand to hear another empty line of consolation. “Please, let’s just go.” Each step to the car was a struggle. The headlights flashed twice when Tucker hit the button on the key fob. Alexa reached for the door handle and sighed out an unsteady breath as she looked around, staring into the shadows wearily, remembering Jack pulling his gun on three men. She’d never heard Jack’s voice low and dangerous like it had been in that moment.

  “Yo, Renzo,” the outside bouncer called.

  Alexa whipped her head around as a tall man gave the bouncer a knuckle bump. “Renzo,” she whispered as she studied him, cast in the neon pink lights of the sign.

  “What is it?” Tucker stepped closer.

  “That man talking to the bouncer. His name is Renzo. My sister went out on a few dates with someone named Renzo.”

  “The photographer, right?” Tucker shut his door, hit a button on the key fob, and the lights blinked again. “Take off your earring.”

  She tore her gaze from the entrance as Renzo disappeared inside. “What?”

  “Take off your earring. We just realized you lost it. We should go in and look around.”

  Catching on, Alexa took off her jewelry and shoved it in her pocket as they hurried back to the door.

  “My lady lost her earring.”

  The bouncer eyed them both. “So?”

  “So, we want to go in and find it.”

  “It’s one of my favorites.” Alexa gave the bouncer a tease of smile as she looked up from under her long, sooty lashes.

  “Fine.” He moved out of the way.

  Tucker grabbed Alexa’s hand as she bolted inside.

  “Take it easy,” he warned as he reined her back to him.

  “I want to see him. This is too much of a coincidence.”

  “I agree, but we need to play it cool.”

  It was hard to remain calm when every instinct told her that the man laughing and joking with the bartender had something to do with Abby’s disappearance.

  “Look for your earring, Alexa.”

  She tore her gaze from the well-built man in his designer jeans and navy short-sleeve polo shirt as she pretended to look under their table. She snuck another peek at Renzo while she moved the chair she’d been sitting in. He was definitely Abby’s type. His charming grin and dark Italian features certainly would’ve caught her sister’s eye.

  Could he really be the guy Abby had gone to dinner with a handful of times? Was he the one Abby felt she had a lot in common with? Renzo didn’t seem to fit in here in his expensive clothes and appealing smile any more than she and Tucker did.

  As Alexa pushed the chair in, Blondie sidled up to the bar for the drinks the bartender poured. She placed a beer bottle and vodka tonic on a tray as Renzo moved to her side and said something close to her ear. Blondie’s fingers tightened on the glass and she turned to leave. Renzo grabbed her wrist and yanked her back around. Blondie flinched when he tugged her forward, causing the beer bottle to topple on the tray. His eyes changed and the features of his handsome face contorted into something mean.

  Alexa clutched the back of the chair as her heart pounded. That man had the answers to Abby’s kidnapping. She turned to Tucker. “He did it. He took Abby.”

  “Okay.”

  How could Tucker be so calm? “He knows where my sister is,” she tried again, wanting Tucker to feel the same urgency she did.

  “Let’s get out of here and go back to the house.”

  She looked at Renzo one last time as he took a seat on an empty stool, memorizing every feature of his face. Another waitress came to the bar, eyeing Renzo wearily. When she turned with her tray full of beverages, he pinched her naked butt cheek. The tray crashed to the floor, and Alexa whirled while Renzo’s laughter mixed with the bartenders. “I’m ready.” There was nothing more they could do for Abby tonight, but she knew in her heart that Renzo was the key to bringing her sister home.

  Tucker pulled up to the curb in front of the Matthew’s house forty-five minutes later. The drive back had passed in a blur of Tucker’s non-stop questions. She’d racked her brain, trying desperately to remember the few details Abby had shared about her dates with Renzo. In the end, she simply hadn’t paid enough attention. Abby’s mention of her nights out with the photographer hadn’t thrown up any red flags, nor did they make Alexa think that the handful of encounters were anything more than casual dinners.

  Were there clues in Abby’s e-mails or planner? Certainly there had to be so
mething. The authorities took Abby’s laptop and cellphone, but Alexa still had Abby’s day planner. Surely there was some mention of Renzo she had missed. She’d read each page a thousand times with no luck, but now that she knew what she was looking for, she would try again.

  Tucker yanked on the parking break as Alexa whipped off her seatbelt and opened the door. She pulled off the ugly red wig she’d forgotten about and hurried up the front steps, using the key Carol had given her. On a mission for answers, she rushed up the stairs and down the hall. As she reached for the doorknob to her room, Tucker took a right and shut himself in George’s home office. She opened her door and came to a stop three steps inside. Jack slept in her bed with Livy snuggled in the crook of his arm. So many emotions swamped her: love, longing, despair. How many times had she hoped for this? How many nights had she lain awake, dreaming of her daughter knowing her father?

  Everything about Jack and Livy was as it should be. There was already a strong bond between Jack and their little girl, despite the years apart. So why did she want to cry?

  Because she needed Abby. Nothing would be exactly right until Abby came home. She couldn’t move forward without her sister. Her heart was torn in so many pieces; she couldn’t begin to put it back together until Abby was safe.

  Alexa stared a moment longer, then tiptoed around the half-wall to the small sitting area with the view of the water. She rifled through her carry-on until she found the black leather book chock-full of Abby’s past and future plans. She plopped herself on the edge of the plush couch as the refreshing breeze blew off the bay and through the open windows. Alexa painstakingly read each phone number in the contact list, placing a small red dot next to any name she didn’t recognize. First thing tomorrow morning, she would start calling to find out who was whom.

  Several minutes later, she started the tedious process of reading each hour of Abby’s day, staring in December of last year. By the time she made it through late March, she teemed with frustration. Although the details of Abby’s dates with Renzo had been sketchy, she was positive Abby had gone on at least two by that point. So why wasn’t his phone number or the name of the restaurant they visited together scribbled down? There was nothing. Abby was so meticulous with her schedule—she was too busy not to be—but other than dinner written in a rectangular box blocking off the hour between sevenn thirty and eight thirty on March 15 and March 28, there was zilch to work with. Dinner where? Dinner with whom? She had an idea, but she needed solid facts.