Beastly (Phoebe Reede: The Untold Story #3)

by Michelle Irwin

  “I didn’t wanna say anythin’ to ya, because I know ya care for her too, but that’s right. Phoebe was with me the night before she disappeared. She made promises to return to me. I think she planned on breakin’ up with ya. I’m sorry, I know that can’t be easy to hear, especially from me, but I ain’t gonna lie to ya neither.”

  “I don’t believe it.”

  “That don’t mean it ain’t the truth.”

  There was a crash down the line, and I had no idea what he mighta destroyed. “Why couldn’t you just leave her alone? She hated you.”

  “That mighta been true before Angel took her to Georgia, but things changed there.”

  “So it’s that immoral whore, Angel’s, fault.”

  “Angel ain’t immoral, and she ain’t no whore!” I couldn’t understand how anyone who’d met her coulda thought she was anythin’ other than sweet. “And it ain’t nobody’s fault. It’s just that Phoebe and me, we’re meant to be together.”

  “No. She’s meant to be with me. She will be with me, you’ll see.”

  I rubbed my brow. With the Racing Hub due soon, I wasn’t in the mood for Xavier’s dramatics. “If that’s her choice when she comes back, then I’ll respect it. But I ’spect you to make the same guarantee. When we find Phoebe, and we will find Phoebe ’cause I ain’t gonna rest till she’s safe, then it’ll be her choice who she wants to be with and what she wants to do.”

  “She will choose me.”

  There was somethin’ in his tone that sent a chill up my spine. Angel’s warnin’ about him bein’ possessive, and her question of whether he could be involved, ran through my head.

  “Xavier, are ya sure ya didn’t see Phoebe after the feature with the Racing Hub?”

  “What sort of question is that?”

  I decided not to push. Maybe it was nothin’, but I wasn’t puttin’ his statement outta my head either. “Forget it. I just want ya to know that if somethin’ happened, it’s better it comin’ out into the open sooner rather than later.”

  A low, menacing growl echoed down the line. “If I were you, I’d worry more about yourself.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You’ve got the press following you around everywhere. That can’t be good for your career.”

  “Don’t worry about my career, that’ll work out how it needs to and it’s got nothin’ to do with Phoebe.”

  “I’m just trying to offer you some friendly advice, that’s all.”

  I couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps he did know more than he was lettin’ on, as he hung up the phone.

  THE RACING Hub crew arrived a little over an hour before my interview. Without asking anyone for permission, I showed them the best place to set up. Unlike the interview I’d done with Phoebe after she first arrived in the States, I wasn’t tryin’ to showcase the cars. The focus needed to be on me, on my words, and not the flashy surroundin’s of Richards Racing.

  While I was gettin’ them ready, my cell vibrated in my pocket. When I saw the blocked number, I frowned and ran through the possibilities of who it could be. There weren’t too many people who had my personal number. If any of them needed to contact me though, I made myself available immediately. I had no idea why anyone would’ve blocked the number first though. Still somethin’ compelled me to answer it, worried it might be about Cass and the baby. “Hello?”

  “Beau.” My name carried to me on a sob, but it was the voice that immediately caught my attention.

  “Phoebe?” The blood drained from my face as I said her name. My body reacted instantly to the fear and sorrow in her voice, my limbs twitchin’ with need to hold her.

  Another sob carried to me, without any confirmation that it was actually her. I didn’t need it though.

  “Where are ya, darlin’? Are you all right? Why haven’t ya called before? Who hurt you?” The questions spilled from me before I could stop them and long before Phoebe could say anythin’ more. The confirmation that she was alive, that she was able to talk, shot a sensation of relief through me so overwhelming it almost drove me to my knees. It might have even been welcome if it wasn’t followed immediately by the need to help her.

  There was a flurry of action nearby as cameras were swung onto me, forcing me to parade my emotions in front of them all. That woulda been fine in order to find Phoebe, but now . . . I wanted to be alone so I didn’t miss a single second of time with her or a single clue about where she might be or who she might be with.

  The one thing that looped through my mind, overridin’ most other thoughts though, was the simple fact she was still alive.

  “You need to stop looking for me.” Her tear-soaked voice carried down the line.

  “Tell me where ya are, and I will.”

  “I-I can’t.” The fear in her voice was clear. How had I not heard it during her first call? How had I thought the barbs had been directed at me?

  “Are ya safe?”

  Another sob. “Just stop. Please.”

  It wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. “I can’t stop until I know you’re safe. Ya have to know that darlin’.”

  “I need you to stop. Just forget about me and move on.”

  For the second time, she’d refused to tell me that she was safe. Was there someone else with her right now? Someone makin’ her say those things? Had they hurt her? Were they hurtin’ her still?

  “Can ya at least say if you’ve been takin’ your medications, darlin’? And how many days you’ve got left.” My gaze lifted and I noticed the camera still trained on me, no doubt tryin’ ta get the shot. The media were like vampires sometimes: they had to be invited in but once they were, there was a risk they’d suck the place dry. I spun away so they couldn’t see my face.

  “How did you—” She cut off with a whimper.

  That sound rushed straight to the pit of my stomach because it confirmed my fear. Someone was with her, and they were hurtin’ her. The images of the wounds over her body were fresh in my head as I growled down the line. I shifted again, to scan the empty garage as though it would provide me with answers. The suspects from work on my list were all away, all in Vegas, and that meant it couldn’ta been them. Whoever had Phoebe was with her—otherwise she’d be free to speak and tell me more.

  I ran over the possibilities in my head; there was only one other I could think of: Jase. But there had been no ransom demands from anyone involved, just the handful of calls she’d made so many weeks earlier, the photos, and then silence until now.

  If it was Jase, what did he want? And why was he making her call me now?

  My stomach twisted as I considered the possibilities and the fact that she’d been gone for close to four weeks. What had she suffered in that time?

  “Do you have ’em?” It wasn’t the question I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t form the other. At least if I knew she had her medications, it was one less thing to be worried about.

  “If I say yes, will you stop looking for me?” Her tears were still evident in her voice.

  How could I answer her? Clearly she was with someone else, and they were at least censoring her side. Was the person with her listening to the call as well? If they were, would I put her in danger if I refused? But what if I said yes? Would she think I was givin’ up on her? I thought of a way to get information to her that only she’d know. The mornin’ she left the Lake Retreat with a promise to return came to mind. She’d told me then that she’d always find a way back to me. “Do ya remember what ya promised me the mornin’ before—”

  “No!” she sobbed the word. “Don’t go there, Beau. Don’t remind me of that. Just promise. Promise me you’ll leave me alone.”

  “Only if ya tell me you’re safe.”

  “I’m safe. He wants—”

  The line went dead. My panicked thoughts spun at the information I’d received. She wasn’t alone. She was being held somewhere against her will—I was sure of that. It was exactly as I’d expected. More than that, it was a man holdin’ her.
A man who was with her—not in Las Vegas. And she could have just risked her life to get me that tiny piece of information.

  I wouldn’t let it be in vain.

  I DIALED THE number to trace the call. It mightn’t be much, but it would hopefully at least get the police a new suspect to add to their list.

  Jessica came over to ask me a question, but I dismissed her with a wave of my hand. I needed to speak to someone else to first.

  Mr. Reede’s phone rang out the first time, but the second time, Angel picked it up.

  “She called me,” I said.

  “What?” The word was a breathless whisper.

  “She called. She’s alive, Angel.”

  “Mr. Reede!” she cried. There was a bangin’ and clatterin’ through the line, no doubt as she found her way to his side. “It’s Beau.” Her voice was muffled, as though she had the phone away from her face. “She called him.”

  “She called you?” His words were urgent, no longer clingin’ to the flat and lifeless sound he’d shown before. I could hear the desperation in his tone, the proof that he hadn’t completely given up, just like Angel had suggested.

  “Just now. She said she’s okay, but I couldn’t get anythin’ more. She tol’ me to stop lookin’ for her. Whoever has her, he was with her.”

  “Why didn’t she call me?”

  Uttered under his breath like it was, I didn’t think the question was directed at me, so I didn’t answer it. “I put a trace on the call, so the police might be able to find out who owns the number.”

  “I’ll pass the information along. Why would she call now?”

  It was a question I’d been asking myself too. “I can’t say, but I didn’t wanna let the opportunity pass, and I wanted to let you know.”

  “I agree. Thank you. I hope this is what they need to find the fucking bastard.”

  Now that he was talkin’ to me ag’in, I decided to let him know my plan. “I ain’t gonna stop lookin’ for her, sir. I’m doin’ everythin’ I can to keep her safe. Fact, I’m goin’ live on the Racing Hub tonight to offer a reward for her return.”

  “What?”

  “I ain’t gonna sit back and pretend she’s gonna come back on her own. Someone’s got her, and someone else might know where. ’Sides, I need to do somethin’ to clear my name, sir.”

  “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

  “If it’ll bring new information, I don’t think it can hurt.”

  “You know it’ll bring out the fucking crazies who are certain they saw her on every corner.”

  I paced around the small space in the corridor. “And one o’ those crazies might actually be right.”

  “If you’re certain about this course of action, I guess I can’t stop you.”

  He coulda if he’d had any genuine reasons why I shouldn’t do it, but the fact he wasn’t gonna try was a relief. “Thank ya. I only hope it brings her back.”

  Once I’d ended the call, I moved back to find Jessica.

  “Is everything okay? What’s happening?” She asked the question with so much innocence anyone woulda believed she hadn’t heard my side of the conversation with Phoebe.

  “Are ya ready to do this?” I asked, ignorin’ her pryin’.

  “Yeah. If you’re ready.”

  I set up, ready for the interview. Although I wanted to start up right away, I had to wait for the cross.

  “You’re okay to go,” Jessica’s voice sounded in my ear.

  Over the next ten minutes, I had a to and fro with the news anchor regarding my situation and false accusations that’d been shared about me.

  “So you’re denying that Phoebe was at your resort.”

  “No, I ain’t. Phoebe and me—” Now that things were on the table and Xavier knew where Phoebe had been the night before she disappeared, I’d decided it was best to be up-front about the relationship. “Well, as ya know, in her last interview she mentioned a new relationship . . . It was me she was talkin’ about. Me that she came from Australia to be with. We met last year, and just before her disappearance, we made it official.”

  “Were you cheating on Cassidee Taylor?”

  “No, it—”

  “So you’re saying you abandoned your pregnant fiancée for Phoebe Reede?”

  I was so ready to beg for information and reveal the truth, I hadn’t even thought about how the situation would look to an outsider. “No, it ain’t like that. Cass and Phoebe are both aware of the situation, and Cass wishes us both well. But then Phoebe was taken, and now I’m beggin’ for any information that will lead to her whereabouts. I will never stop lookin’ for her, and I’m offerin’ up a hundred-thousand-dollar reward for any information that leads me to her.”

  Shortly after the interview had gone to air, my publicist was on the phone again. I ignored the call. She woulda just been tellin’ me what I already knew—that I’d made a mistake by confirmin’ the relationship.

  It was too late to put the cat back in the bag though, and I didn’t wanna. It filled me with a new warmth havin’ the news out there. Havin’ people know I loved Phoebe. I was only surprised my lawyer hadn’t called me too.

  The rest of the evenin’ passed in no time, and by the time I headed for bed, I hoped that some good might come from spillin’ my secrets.

  MY APARTMENT BUILDIN’ was surrounded by paparazzi durin’ the night. I’d kicked the hornets’ nest with my announcement that Phoebe and I were together. ’Cause I didn’t feel like fightin’ through the pack, or havin’ them follow me to the airport, I missed seein’ Angel off. It was a shame, ’cause I woulda liked to speak to her once more, especially considerin’ Mr. Reede mightn’ta had any issues with me joinin’ him to see her off now.

  At least it seemed things were finally where they shoulda been from the day she disappeared—with Phoebe’s daddy and me workin’ together.

  Over the weekend, nothin’ happened on the search front. Mr. Reede and I communicated a little, but with nothin’ to report, neither of us had much to say. It was frustratin’, helplessly watchin’ each day tick by with no news.

  Monday saw the team return. I’d pushed my way through the paparazzi early in the mornin’ to head to work, so I was there long before anyone else. Xavier refused to look at me, but there was no loss there. It wasn’t like we were ever friends. If it hadn’t been for Phoebe, I mightn’ta even known him outside of him being a trainee technician and Dale’s nephew.

  Cash was in a mood—no doubt because he was still drivin’ a car that wasn’t officially listed as his with the sponsors.

  As arranged, I went to the meetin’ with Jackson and Dale in Dale’s office. It started as a normal post-race debrief. I tried to pay attention, but it was difficult to focus when I hadn’t been there and my mind was on a hundred other things.

  Eventually, talk turned to a new race controller.

  Dale steepled his fingers. “Maybe we can bring back Jas—”

  I shoved out of my chair before he could even finish the suggestion. “No fuckin’ way!”

  Both of the men recoiled as the curse left my lips—only the second time I’d issued it and both of them had been directed at Dale.

  “I just thought while that Reede girl isn’t here to cause him any—”

  Dale cut off as my hand crashed against his desk. “‘That Reede girl’ has a name, and it’s Phoebe. Or Miss Reede if you’re gonna show her the respect she deserves. And she deserves far more respect than you do, sir. If you bring Jase back, you won’t need to worry about runnin’ two cars, ’cause I won’t be on the track for a single race.”

  He held up his hands in surrender. “It was just a suggestion.”

  Drawin’ in a breath, I lifted my hand away from the desk. “That sort of suggestion and turnin’ a blind eye could be exactly the reason Phoebe’s missin’ in the first place. Maybe Jase even decided to get himself some revenge, had ya thought of that?”

  “I’m leaving the speculation and accusations to the police, and I
suggest you do the same, Beau,” Dale warned.

  I didn’t need him tellin’ me off like a toddler, but firin’ back was only gonna make it worse. “Fine. I don’t care what ya do, but ya ain’t gonna bring Jase back.”

  Without waitin’ for them to say anythin’ more, I left the room.

  The rest of the week passed in the same fashion. Every time my cell rang, I answered it instantly. My hope rose, and fell, with every call. Despite the reward, and the influx of possible leads that it had brought, neither the police nor the PI was any closer to a solid lead. At least I had access to that information now.

  I spoke to Cass once or twice durin’ that time, but apparently her little one was stayin’ put for the time being even though she was heading toward bein’ one week past her due date. Her doctors were talkin’ inducement the followin’ Monday if nothin’ more happened.

  On Friday afternoon, I flew to Phoenix for the next race in the season. I wanted to stick around North Carolina, just in case anythin’ came up, but I needed to be at the race too. Not only had I promised Dale and Jackson, but I’d already risked the team’s survival by missin’ two races. I couldn’t make it a third, or I risked Phoebe bein’ disappointed in me when we got her back.

  Before I got on the flight, I spoke to Cash. Despite the growin’ distance between us, he agreed to meet me at the airport to save me from gettin’ a taxi or rentin’ a car.

  The flight itself was painless apart from a delay in takeoff and some mild turbulence.

  When I landed in Phoenix, I had a missed call. Seein’ it was Mr. Reede’s number, I found a quiet spot in the airport and returned the call. I hoped it was gonna be some information about the search for Phoebe. Perhaps that they’d found a name from the trace already and were gonna check it out.

  Or maybe, just maybe, they’d found her.

  “I have some news,” he said, not even givin’ a greetin’. His voice was eerily quiet. Restrained.

  The tone was enough to wipe away any hope and send an icy hand up my spine and into my throat. The fingers closed tight around my vocal cords so that it hurt to force out any sound, but I asked the vital question. “What is it?”