Forever Alexa (Book Four In The Bodyguards Of L.A. County Series)
Page 28
He followed and pulled her around. “Alex.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just tired, frustrated, and very, very sad for Margret and her family. They have no idea what they’re in for.”
He skimmed her jaw with the pad of his thumb, knowing this was eating her up. “Why don’t you lie down for a few minutes before Olivia gets home?”
A spark of heat snapped into her eyes but quickly died away. “That’s a good idea.”
Puzzled, he held her gaze.
“I’ll catch a nap, Jack. Go ahead and talk to Tucker.” She walked up the steps, and he stared after her. What the hell was that? Seconds later, he headed upstairs, glanced at Alex’s closed door, and went into the office as Tucker hung up the phone.
“Ethan’s on it.”
“Good.” Jackson leaned against the desk and rubbed his fingers over the sudden throbbing in his temple. With a sigh, he dropped his hand. “Fucking-A, man.”
Tucker leaned back in the chair and crossed his feet. “He said he’ll call us back in an hour. He was scanning Margret’s photo into his computer.”
“Hopefully he’ll find something. The club is officially one of their avenues for luring these girls in, so is the website, but does one have anything to do with the other?”
“Good question. Maybe we’ll have a better idea when Ethan gets back to us.” Tucker eased back further until the chair squeaked. “So, what does Alexa think about all this?”
Something in Tucker’s tone had Jackson on alert. “She thinks it sucks. Why?”
He shrugged.
Jackson’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “What’s up?”
Tucker shrugged again. “I met with Miranda’s old partner today—lead sex crimes detective down in DC. Seemed to know a lot about Abby’s case and the ring. I toyed around with a few theories. Brought up the other victims and our thoughts on Baltimore Dates. He was intrigued.”
“Okay.”
“He and I spent a good hour doing some perusing of our own, trying to get things moving again. We found something.” Tucker sat up in front of his laptop and started typing. “Does JennyLove ring any bells?”
“Jenny Love? No. Who the hell’s Jenny Love?”
Tucker turned the screen. “Take a look for yourself.”
Jackson stared at the gorgeous blonde with Alex’s face. “What the fuck?” He spaced out each word, unable to believe what he was looking at. “I told her no.”
“Yeah, well, apparently she didn’t listen.”
His pulse throbbed as he read Jennifer’s profile—just turned 18 and graduated high school. Wants to model or be a fashion photographer. Loves to party and hang out with friends. “I can’t fucking believe this.” He shot off the desk and whirled to face Tucker again. If he’d ever been angrier, he couldn’t think of a time. “I can’t believe this. She went behind my back. When did she…” He trailed off, trying to get a grip on his breathing. “Does she have any idea how dangerous this is?”
“I had a feeling this was going to be a shocker. I called Ethan while I was still in DC and had him get started on this.” Tucker pulled a short stack of papers from his laptop case. “She’s gotten a hell of a lot of hits. Two of them are definitely promising.”
“Give me those.” Jackson yanked the sheets out of Tucker’s hand and scanned the numerous correspondences she’d made over the past three days—well over fifty hits, and she was stringing them all along.
“She just went online.”
He tore his gaze from her flirty replies. “Huh?”
“She’s online right now.”
Jackson glanced at the small, green dot by her picture, alerting potential daters that she was available to chat. So much for Alex’s nap. He tossed the papers to the desk and started for the door.
“Where you going, man?”
“Where do you think?” He rubbed at the slow burn of anger scorching his stomach.
“She’s made more contacts than Melinda. Ethan’s running two of the profiles as we speak.”
He stopped and faced Tucker. “What’s your point?”
“My point is I think you should take a couple of deep breaths before you go storming in that room.”
“She lied to me. For three fucking days she’s looked me in the eye and lied.”
Alexa closed herself in her room and hurried to the couch, replaying the last of her conversation with Jack. “Go take a nap?” she seethed as she sat and pulled her laptop on her legs. Did he have any idea how insulting that was? “I’ll go sleep while Abby suffers and another girl disappears.” She glared. “I don’t think so.”
Fuming, she stared out at the restless waters, attempting to gather herself, thankful that Livy wasn’t home just yet. Her little girl would be bursting with excitement over her aquarium adventures, and Alexa wasn’t in a place to enjoy her baby’s lively stories. She couldn’t get Margret Stowers’ pretty young face out of her mind or the echoing screams of her sister when the two men pulled her into the back of the van, just the way they had their latest victim.
Determined to do what she could, Alexa settled the laptop more truly on her legs and typed in the address for Baltimore Dates. She tapped her finger against the mouse in a rapid, restless rhythm, waiting, while the small circular rainbow spun in the center of her screen. “Come on.” The connection was taking forever. Finally the site popped up, and she logged in and immediately scanned her messages for a return correspondence from either of the two profile names that made the hair stand up on the back of her neck every time she interacted with them. “Yes.” She clicked on Steve-O and read:
Hey beautiful,
I’m sitting here staring at your picture. When are you going to say yes and have dinner with me? I’ll bring my camera. We can go to the park after and snap some pictures. I’ll pass them on to my friend at the modeling agency.
— S
Alexa’s pulse kicked into high gear as she shot to standing. This was their lure. This was Crazy80. She could feel it. She rushed to the door and opened it, ready to confess all to Jack, but stopped. How was he going to react? Not well. Not well at all. What if he didn’t want her to answer? What if he put a stop to the whole thing? She chewed her bottom lip as she stared at George’s office down the hall, listening to the deep murmurs of Jack and Tucker’s voices through the partially open door.
Not yet. She couldn’t tell him yet. Alexa closed herself back in the room and pressed her forehead to the wood. This was another giant leap down a road that could ruin her and Jack, but she had to think of Abby. Her sister was depending on her. She would make Jack understand.
With her mind made up, Alexa took a deep breath and hurried back to the computer. If she secured a date with Steve-O first, then went to Jack and Tucker, they would be more likely to let her meet the guy, especially after she showed them the chats she’d been printing and hiding in her suitcase for the past two days. They were so similar to the conversations between Crazy80 and Kristen Moore. Alexa wiggled her butt more firmly in the seat and placed her hands on the keyboard. “Okay.” She wiggled again. “Here goes nothing.”
Steve,
This must be fate. I’ve been thinking of you all day. I would love to have dinner.
— Jenny
She read the three lines several times, scrutinizing every word. Was her message too much, or too little? Did she sound young enough, or perhaps too old? She was wasting time. If Steve-O was part of the trafficking ring—and he almost certainly was—he wasn’t interested in anything but an agreement to meet. Her hand hovered over ‘send’ as her heart thundered. This was it. She crossed her fingers and clicked the button.
She moved the arrow to the corner of the screen, intending to ex out, but stopped when the computer alerted her to a new message. “Holy Cow.” Steve-O had responded already. She clicked
on the latest reply as the bedroom door crashed open. Alexa’s hand flew to her chest as she gasped and looked at Jack. “You scared me half to death.”
He walked to where she sat, looming over her, staring down, his eyes unreadable.
She quickly closed her laptop. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
He didn’t move, didn’t speak.
Why was he looking at her like that? Swallowing, she got to her feet. “You’re scaring me. Is Livy okay?”
“Quick nap.” His voice was dangerously quiet.
“I wasn’t—I wasn’t tired.” She curled her fingers around the charm on her necklace, and her gaze darted to the laptop, following his steady stare. Did he know? How could he? “I—”
“You lied to me.”
She closed her eyes, absorbing the venomous slap of his words.
“I said you lied to me.”
“Yes.” She nodded and tried to remain calm, hoping she could find a way to make him understand. Her stomach sank as she opened her eyes and met his. “I lied to you.”
“I’ve been honest with you from the start, and you went behind my back.”
What would they have left after they finished here? “Yes. I didn’t feel like I had any other option.”
He let loose a humorless laugh. “Give me a fucking break.”
“I’m sorry.” She brushed a hand over his arm, and he stepped back. “I never wanted to hurt you.”
“You’re sorry?”
“Yes, very. I didn’t want to do this. I tried to think of another way, but you tied my hands.”
His brow shot up. “I tied your hands?”
“You wouldn’t hear me out when I suggested you use me as a decoy.”
He rocked back on his heels. “I wouldn’t hear you out?”
“Stop that,” she snapped and turned away from his ruthless gaze. “Stop repeating everything I say.”
He whirled her back around. “I didn’t hear you out because there was no reason to continue with the conversation. This is dangerous, Alex.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “Goddamn, I’m so fucking pissed I don’t even know what to do with myself. Of all the stupid things…”
Her shoulders snapped straight. “I’m not stupid.”
“No, you’re not. That’s why I can’t figure this out.”
“Why is this so hard to comprehend? Why can’t you see that I have to do this for Abby? Of all people—”
“I do understand, Alex. No one gets you better than I do, but I get them too.”
With her own temper straining, she began to pace. “You act as if I’ve walked into this blindly. I’ve done my research. I’ve done nothing but research.”
“Yeah, well so have they. They know who you are.”
“No.” He was trying to scare her.
“Yes.” He pulled her back in front of him and held her shoulders. “They know your face. You’ve been on the news. You were their ransom target, for Christ’s sake. If they make that connection and realize you’re trying to bring them down… I don’t even want to think about what they’ll do to you.”
She yanked away from him. “That’s what the wig is for. I look nothing like the Alexa Harris they know—nothing like Abby.”
“You’re counting on a wig to save your life?” He pressed a hand to his forehead. “You were safe here. You and Olivia were safe.”
The words ‘were safe’ made her instantly ill. “We still are, right?”
“Hell if I know.” He threw his hand out to the sides. “Why couldn’t you leave it alone?”
“They can’t find me,” she said frantically, reassuring herself, since Jack wouldn’t. “I’ve used a fake name. I set up a dummy e-mail account on Yahoo. I’ve covered my tracks.”
“And how long do you think it took Ethan to figure you out? Tucker recognized you immediately.”
She was starting to see. “But—”
“You better start praying they don’t have someone even half as brilliant as Ethan checking in to you. Fucking-A.” He seethed as he started toward her computer. “We need to close your accounts. Now.”
“No.” She rushed up to block his way. “We can’t. I have a date.”
“What?” He stopped dead and stared at her. “You what?”
“One of the men contacted me. I’m positive he’s a trafficker—Steve-O. He asked me to dinner.”
“Did you hear what I just said?”
“Yes.” Even after everything, she couldn’t let this go. “How can you ask me to walk away? You and I both know this could be the beginning of the end. There has to be a way to make this work. ”
“Forget it. We’re finished with this.” He skirted around her, and she clung to his arm, terrified he would erase her only chance at getting Abby back.
Tucker knocked on the doorframe. “Sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to you both.”
“What?” Jack snarled.
“Ethan just called.”
“Give me a minute. I’m busy.” He yanked up the laptop.
“Clear your schedule. This is important.”
Jackson dropped the laptop to his side, and Alexa struggled not to give in to her need to grab hold and play tug of war over the computer.
“Ethan linked an account to Margret.”
“Good. We can talk about that in a minute. Let me take care of this first.” He held the computer up again.
“Jack. Don’t you dare.” She made a grab for it, and he pivoted. “Jack,” she warned.
“The person who reeled Margret in has been talking to Alexa too.”
Alexa’s gaze flew to Tucker’s. “Steve-O. Is it Steve-O?”
“Yes.”
“I knew it. I knew it. He and I have a date.”
“When?” Tucker stepped further into the room.
“I don’t know. I haven’t gotten that far. I was just about to read his reply when Jack barged in.”
“What does it say?” Tucker asked Jack.
Jackson held Tucker’s stare for a moment, then looked at the screen. “It says ‘How about Bayside Café—Friday night, seven o’ clock? We can walk to the park after and take those pictures.’”
“I have to do this.” She glanced from Jack to Tucker with a growing sense of urgency while the two men looked at each other. “We have to make this happen. He’s the lure.”
Tucker nodded but said nothing.
“He knows where Abby is. He knows where my sister is. What do I need to do?”
“Agree to meet him,” Tucker said, and Jack swore.
That was the green light she’d been waiting for. She reached for the computer. “Give me my laptop.”
“No.” He held it out of reach.
She swallowed as she looked into distant, angry eyes—so much like the night he dumped her. “I’m sorry it has to be this way, Jack. I wish there was another way, but I’ll do this with or without your support. I need to help Abby.” Grabbing hold of her laptop, she yanked it free of his grip. She held his gaze a moment, then turned to Tucker and sat. “What—what should I say?”
“Give him the okay, then I’ll call Canon.”
She glanced at Jack once more, but he was no longer facing her and Tucker. He had moved to the window, staring out at the water. “I’m sorry, Jack,” she said again. Then she turned to her screen and typed.
Sounds great. How will I find you?
— Jenny
“How’s that?” she asked Tucker.
“Good.”
She pressed ‘send’ and glanced at Jack’s rigid stance. Had they fought their way back only to lose again?
Her laptop beeped with a new message.
I’ll find you, Beautiful.
— S
“I need to call Canon and set up a meeting with the taskforce. Forty-eight hours is cutting it close.”
“Yes, of course. Whatever it takes. My sister’s life is depending on this.”
“What about your life?” Jack exploded, making Alexa jump. “The cops are going to wire you, Alex. Do you have half a clue what will happen if they figure out you’re tapped? We’re calling this off.”
“No. That isn’t an option. I won’t get caught and I won’t let them hurt me.”
“Like you didn’t let them hurt Abby?”
She flinched from the verbal blow, and tears instantly flooded her eyes. Was this what was left between them—harsh words and resentment? “I know I let my sister down. I’m doing what I can to fix that now. Tucker, if you can, let me know how we should proceed. I’m going down to make dinner.” She stood and swiped at the tears trailing down her cheeks despite her best efforts to keep them at bay.
“Alex, wait a minute.”
Ignoring Jack, she closed the door behind her.
Chapter 18
“Damn it!” Jackson pushed past Tucker to follow Alex. If he could’ve screwed this up any worse, he wasn’t sure how.
“Pretty smooth there, man. Way to keep a level head.”
Out of patience, Jackson whirled and yanked Tucker forward by the collar of his polo. “Fuck off, Campbell,” he said between clenched teeth.
“There are no free punches. FYI.”
Jackson stared into Tucker’s calm Hazel eyes, sighed, and stepped back. “Goddamn.” He jammed his fingers through his hair and turned, overwhelmed by torrents of emotion. The anger and gut-clenching fear alone… “What the hell happened here? Not even an hour ago I was having the time of my life on a boat, now we’re dealing with this. I can’t keep up.”