This could be her only chance.
She kicked a leg out and he tripped, going down hard on the blacktop with a grunt. He didn’t release her hair, forcing her to tumble to the ground beside him.
Jade ignored the sharp bite of gravel digging into her palms and knees as the gun skidded away. She tried to scramble to reach it but he tackled her. She screamed as his weight crushed her painfully to the concrete. Rocks dug into her cheek. She couldn’t breathe. He was going to crush her to death.
She felt a sharp pinch in her neck and then she felt nothing.
“I didn’t want to do this, darling, but you have left me no choice. Now Juliet, you must die.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Logan popped off a shot and managed to hit the back tire as the car peeled away. It didn’t slow as shredded pieces of rubber sailed through the air and littered the street. He didn't want it to crash. Jade wouldn't have had time to fasten a seat belt.
He whipped out his cell phone and got Luke on the line. He quickly explained what happened and then hung up to wait. Dammit, why couldn’t Jade have listened to him? He turned his back for one minute to talk to Detective Hurley and she slipped away. He knew exactly where she went—the nursery. She'd been bugging him to take a trip up there all night. While he did want to see the newest Dianetti, he just couldn’t leave until Lauren was out of surgery. She risked her life for his daughter and he owed her his for her sacrifice.
He'd raced upstairs to the maternity ward and when he didn’t find Jade there, he panicked. She was in trouble. He felt it in his bones.
Somehow the stalker managed to infiltrate the hospital without anyone knowing. Michael Kint. They knew his name now. He was a stuntman who had worked on several slasher-type films, but never on a project with Jade, or rather, Juliet LaRue.
Once they discovered his identity, the police in California made a visit to his apartment. Inside they found a shrine to Jade, his walls covered with movie posters and pictures cut from magazines. He even had snapshots of her taken when she wasn’t aware. And most disturbing, he'd mounted a life-size picture of her in a bikini on cardboard.
Detective Hurley relayed all of this to him as Jade stole away to peek at the babies.
Re-holstering his gun, he turned just as Luke screeched to a stop. Logan dove inside and Luke shot away from the curb before he even shut the door. He righted himself in the seat and jerked the belt into place as Luke rounded the corner.
There wasn’t a car in sight.
“Damn,” Luke spat, his palm connecting with the steering wheel.
“I planted a GPS chip in all Jade’s shoes but my tracker is in my car.” Logan had been so upset when Bella disappeared, he hadn’t even thought to grab the device. Too distraught to drive, he rode with Luke to the hospital and now his car sat at an odd angle in front of Mrs. Harper’s house.
Pulling out his phone, Luke told him, “I sent Dan to get some supplies we might need. I’ll have him meet us at your car.”
“We're losing valuable time,” Logan complained as they navigated the streets. He was mad at himself for neglecting his duties and not keeping the tracker with him at all times. He'd made too many mistakes with this case, let his personal feelings cloud his ability to do the job correctly.
After what seemed like forever, Luke pulled up in front of Mrs. Harper’s house. Dan was waiting with a large backpack of supplies slung over his shoulder, the tracking device in hand. He yanked open the back door and jumped inside.
“He’s taken her to the marina.”
#
Michael was confused. Why did Juliet put up a fight? Why wasn’t she excited about their wedding? He thought every woman looked forward to the day they married the person they were destined to walk hand in hand with through eternity.
Was it because of his involvement with Vanessa Van Gogh? That must be it. She thought he seriously cared for her slutty friend. She was jealous.
Well, when she came to, he would set her straight, tell her that nothing happened between him and Vanessa. How could it? He loved Juliet. Only Juliet. Always Juliet. Forever.
Once she realized that, she would forgive him, just as he'd forgiven her for marrying that loser Kyle Ashton. He still felt the satisfaction of killing him the most of any of the people who had mistreated his beloved Juliet.
He reached in the passenger seat and withdrew his latest gift for his love. He couldn’t wait to give it to her. Would she put it with the other souvenirs he sent to her? The tokens of his undying love and devotion.
Excitement raced through Michael’s veins. The day had finally come—his wedding day.
Chapter Forty-Five
Jade jolted awake when the van hit a pothole and she was thrown violently to the side. She remained completely still, trying to gather her bearings. Every inch of her body hurt.
It was pitch black, but the vehicle was still moving. The stench of gasoline filled the space and the loud rumble of a muffler with a hole assaulted her ears. She was in some kind of van with no windows, but it was a different one from before. The stalker must have switched vehicles again while she was unconsicous.
She tried to sit upright but her head pounded and her arm refused to budge. She tugged and realized she was handcuffed to the truck.
She needed to call Logan, make sure he was okay, tell him what happened. She fumbled in her pockets with her free hand and felt nothing. She groped the area around her. Her cell phone was gone. He must have taken it away. Michael Kint. Her stalker.
Her fingers gingerly touched her cheek and encountered wetness. One particularly sharp rock had left a deep cut when he tackled her to the pavement. She had a feeling her knees and elbows were also covered with blood. Her scalp hurt from having her hair pulled so many times.
She fumbled around for a flashlight, anything that could be used as a weapon. The van jerked sideways, twisting her cuffed wrist painfully. She slammed violently against the side and then flew backwards when they screeched to a stop.
Dazed and disoriented, she tried to blink her eyes into focus when the back doors were thrown wide open, revealing a dark, moonless night. Water lapped gently in the distance and a light fishy scent filtered inside the van.
“Ah, good, Juliet, darling. You are awake. I have something for you, my love. A wedding gift.”
He handed her what looked to be a bundle of yarn. She accepted it with her free hand, trying to hold it in the dim glow of a street light for a better look. It felt silky and smelled like lavender, just like…she dropped the item. Oh, please, no…
“What is this?” Her voice came out in a croak.
“Don’t be jealous, darling. You know I love only you. She meant nothing to me.”
“Vanessa?”
“Of course. That gift is to prove my devotion to you. It’s all that's left of Vanessa Van Gogh.” He chuckled deviously. "I doubt they ever find her body."
Juliet screamed and tossed the hunk of Vanessa's red-gold hair out the open door. She scooted backwards, fighting to get away from the madman.
His head followed the flight of hair and then he faced her again, his brows dipped in confusion. “Don’t you like my gift?”
“You killed her, you killed Vanessa.”
“For you, Juliet. I did it for you. She betrayed you.”
“So you killed her, just like you killed Kyle and Sid and Nora.”
“And Charlotte and Frank Talcott,” he said, sounding bemused. “They betrayed you, each and every one. No one hurts you and gets away with it, darling. I won’t allow it.”
This man was completely insane. She had to get away. Her life depended on it.
“If you love me like you say you do, you will let me go right now.”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry, Juliet, everyone gets cold feet on their wedding day. Once we are bound together for eternity, you will feel much better.”
He punched a button on his watch. “It’s getting late and we don’t want to be tardy. Mother is waiting for us. Ev
erything is set to go off as planned.
“Now I know it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the ceremony but that’s okay, Juliet. We will be together for eternity, no matter what.”
His words sent ice cold tendrils of fear crawling down her spine. She wasn’t about to ask him what he meant. She was afraid of the answer.
“Juliet, why are you resisting?” He tried to tug her forward but she fought him. His voice hardened. “Are you going to come along nicely or do we do this the hard way?”
She wanted to say no, she wouldn’t go anywhere with him, but this man was nuts. She needed to lure him in, make him believe she wanted him as much as he wanted her. If she could convince him that she loved him too, maybe he would release her and she could make a run for it. It could be the only way she would stay alive.
“The cold feet have disappeared. I’m excited about our wedding, Michael.”
He beamed when she used his name, so she did it again. “Michael, why don’t you un-cuff me so we can walk hand and hand down the aisle, like a,” she'd to swallow to continue, “man and wife should?” She wiggled her free hand at him so he could grasp it and gifted him with a mega-watt smile.
“My funny Juliet. You always make me laugh. You know there's no aisle on a boat.”
He tugged her forward and reached in his pocket. “I want the ceremony to be a surprise, Juliet. I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to make everything special, make it an event you won’t forget. Mother was very worried that I wasted too much time and money, and you wouldn’t appreciate it. She’s always yelling at me for one thing or another. She thinks you aren't good enough for me. But I told her you would love the wedding I’ve planned, Juliet. I know you will. I’m just sorry I have to do this, darling.”
Before she realized what he was doing, he stuffed a rag in her mouth and bound her hands together with some kind of plastic tie. Then he blindfolded her.
He'd stuffed the rag too deep. Her head spun. She couldn’t breathe. She was going to pass out.
What would happen to her now?
Chapter Forty-Six
Dan tossed two black turtlenecks and two bullet-proof vests like the ones he'd donned into the front seat, along with the backpack he removed from Logan’s SUV.
Logan stripped off his white oxford and jerked on the protective vest. He pulled on the black neoprene turtleneck and twisted it into place.
“When we get there Dan, I want you to call Detective Hurley and tell him not to use sirens. This guy is crazy, and my guess is that he has some kind of wedding ceremony in the works. He won’t harm Jade as long as everything goes according to his plans. I don’t want him hearing sirens, getting nervous and doing something rash like shooting her.”
Logan punched in a number on his cell phone and spoke to Louis Dianetti, Matt's father. He disconnected, dialed Aunt Trudy, spoke briefly and stashed the phone in the backpack.
“Lauren's out of surgery but in ICU. They removed the bullet and drained most of the blood, but said the next twenty-four hours are critical.” He rubbed a hand across his forehead and said a prayer for Lauren’s recovery, knowing Luke and Dan were doing the exact same thing.
“Jac delivered a healthy baby boy, a miniature version of Matt with black hair. Both mother and son are resting comfortably…or as comfortable as they can worrying about Lauren.”
“Bella?” Dan asked.
“Is fine.” Logan’s mouth quirked with a slight grin. “Aunt Trudy said she's fascinated with the idea of a baby boy and keeps begging her to take her back to the hospital so she can hold him.”
They all smiled, using any excuse to relieve a little tension from Lauren’s struggle and Jade’s abduction.
Luke steered through the marina parking lot, mostly deserted this time of night. Dan guided him using the GPS and they approached a beat-up black van, the back doors open wide, the doors swinging slightly with the breeze. "This is it," Dan announced. "She should be right here."
“Stop,” Logan ordered, jumping out of the car. He approached the van in a crouch and peered inside. “Clear," he said after determining the van was empty.
“I've got something," Dan said, picking an object off the ground. He held up a tennis shoe.
“It's Jade’s.”
“He must have taken her on a boat," Dan said.
Luke ripped off his shirt and slipped on the vest and turtleneck. Dan handed Logan the monitor and grabbed his cell phone to call the police.
Logan and Luke padded single file down a wooden ramp leading to a long row of boats moored to the floating dock. A dog barked on a nearby houseboat, setting off another one somewhere in the distance. Dan caught up with them and they followed Logan’s lead. A motor kicked on at the far end of the pier. Water gently lapped against the wharf as the engine revved and a forty foot houseboat eased away from the dock.
The three men took off at a dead run but they were too late. The boat puttered past the restricted speed pylons and picked up momentum.
“I’ll see if I can find someone to lend us a boat.” Over his shoulder, Dan added, “If not, I’ll borrow one.”
Logan was already stripping off his vest and clothes.
“What do you think you are doing?”
“I’m going in after them.”
“Are you nuts?”
Logan hopped on one foot, pulling off his socks. Jerking his head towards the water, he said, “Listen.” The only sounds were crickets chirping and the soft lapping of water against hulls. “He stopped.”
Rummaging through the backpack of supplies that Dan brought, he withdrew a pair of swim trunks and stripped naked. He tugged the trunks, also made of neoprene, over his hips. He strapped on a shoulder holster and loaded a gun with military issue ammo. As with most of their high tech gear, it was waterproof.
“I don’t suppose I can talk you out of this.”
He didn't bother answering. They both knew he was going after Jade. He attached a knife to the shoulder holster, donned a pair of night vision goggles and pulled out a breathing tube.
Luke handed him a small communication device. Logan affixed the ear piece and positioned the black wire close to his mouth.
“Keep in radio contact once you're out of the water,” Luke warned, “or we'll come in with motors gunning and get you out."
Logan slapped his partner on the back and then took a running dive off the end of the pier, disappearing deep below the black depths. He easily stroked beneath the surface, as comfortable in the water as on land. Part of SEAL training had been endless hours of swimming in the frigid ocean, usually with hundreds of pounds of weight strapped to his back. This was a walk in the park compared to some of the things he'd done during his demanding Navy career.
He tried to recall different missions he'd been on to keep his mind off Jade, but it didn’t work. All he could think about was her scared and alone, in the deadly clutches of a madman.
Logan knew he'd treated her badly the last few weeks. Yes, she'd lied to him, but once he let the anger fade, he understood her reasons. He didn’t totally agree with them, especially when she could have told him before he made love to her. But in all fairness, he could let her off the hook. It wasn’t as if they planned on having sex that afternoon. It just happened, like someone pouring lighter fluid on a match. Whenever they got together, sparks flew. Sooner or later an inferno was bound to ignite.
Now he failed her by allowing some crazed fan to snatch her right out from under his nose. If he got her out safely…no, not if—when—when he got her out safely, he'd drop to his knees and beg forgiveness for the way he'd treated her.
He didn’t know if she still loved him, wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t, but he had no doubt about the way he felt.
And it scared the hell out of him.
He'd loved Celeste once, enough that he thought he could spend the rest of his life with her and be a faithful and devoted husband. But he got burned.
Now Jade came waltzing into his life and what he felt
for Celeste paled in comparison. Jade was his life, his future. Bella adored her. He didn’t know if he could put himself through it again but he knew if he let Jade go, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
It would be hard, but they could make a long-distance relationship work. No way would he move to California, and he wouldn’t ask Jade to give up a successful career she loved. He would die a little every time she left to shoot a movie, but hopefully their love would be strong enough that she would return home to him and Bella.
That thought made him queasy. Would she come back? Would she want to return to Indiana? No woman had ever chosen him over Hollywood. Celeste certainly didn’t, even withholding his child from him in her selfish quest for fame. His own mother accepted cash from Aunt Trudy to abandon her two sons and seek the spotlight.
Aunt Trudy didn’t know he found out about the payoff, but his mother called one day and told him everything. Then she asked him to coax more money from his aunt for her. She was barely making ends meet, finding bit parts in low-budget adult films. When he declined, she threatened to take Dan from them and sell him to the highest bidder.
Eleven years old and he icily informed the woman who gave birth to him that if she tried to steal his brother, he would kill her. And he would have.
She never called again.
Would the lure of a more glamorous life steal Jade away, too?
He reached the boat easily and circled it looking for signs of life. Seeing none, he pulled himself up on the back swim deck. He removed the goggles and stashed them with the breathing tube under a chair.
“I’m here.” His lips barely moved, his voice a mere whisper.
“We’ve got a boat and we’re on our way. We’ll cut the motor before we get close,” Luke reported just as softly.
Dim lighting shone from inside but Logan detected no movement. He tried the sliding glass door. Locked. He took a small pick from his knife sheath and made quick work of the deadbolt. He slowly pushed the door open and winced at the squeak that sounded loud to his ears. Hopefully the water slapping against the side of the boat would disguise any noise.
The Fan Page 24
