by Unknown
She shook her head no. “I was upstairs in the casting office. I heard a commotion, but I didn’t see anything. I heard tires squeal out back—”
Blake ran for the back parking lot. Nothing. Then he bolted through the hallway to the street side of the building. Nothing again. His heart pounded and his stomach rolled with nausea. He ran back into the building where the redhead waited by the stairway.
“Maybe you should sit down. You look a little pale.” She motioned to her cheek. “You’re bleeding.”
Wiping at the throbbing knot under his eye, Blake came away with blood on his knuckles. “You must have seen something,” he pressed.
“I’m sorry. I wish I could help. I called 911. Police are on the way.”
A sick bubbling of apprehension made Blake’s pulse beat faster. “Maybe someone else in your office saw something.”
“There’s no one left. We finished all the auditions over an hour ago. I was wrapping up.”
“But you called my friend back for another audition. Abbey Washington. I was with her when she got the call.”
“Oh, Abbey. I remember her. We saw her last today. The guys loved her.”
Blake swallowed back his panic. “So you didn’t call her back for a second interview after the original one today?”
She shook her head. “No. Sorry. The guys still need to look at everyone’s tapes and make decisions.”
He needed reinforcements besides the police. “Can you hang on one second?” Blake pulled out his cell phone and called Troy.
“Hey, everythi—”
“She’s gone! She’s fucking gone!” He ran a hand through his hair as every muscle tensed. “She jumped out of the fucking truck before I parked. She couldn’t wait for me.” Blake quickly told him what he saw and what happened. “It was a setup! She’s fucking gone right under my nose!”
“Blake,” Troy said sharply. “Pull it together. Call the police. Find people in the building. Ask questions. You’re no help to her if you can’t think straight. The fact that they took her instead of leaving her body is a good sign.” The idea that he might’ve walked in to see her dead body made his stomach clench and Blake took a deep breath. “She installed that cell phone tracker app on her phone, right? We’ll find her. I’ll get working on that while you talk to the police.” Troy paused. “We’ll get her back. We’ll get her back.”
Blake disconnected the call, shut his eyes and exhaled hard. Get your shit straight, St. John. Desperation made his chest ache as he went back to the redhead. He had a few minutes to ask questions before the cops arrived. “You said she was the last interview you saw for the day.”
She nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”
“But her agent called and told her to come back. She said they wanted to see her again.”
“Nope.” She started up the stairs and Blake followed. “I’m the one who would’ve called the agent and I didn’t. Who’s her agent? I can’t imagine how this happened.”
“I don’t know.” He’d have to find out though.
She went into the far studio and started rifling through headshots on the table. “Here she is. Her agent’s name is at the bottom if you want to call.” She checked her watch. “Although they’re probably gone for the day by now.”
Maybe Troy could find her.
Blake took the headshot. A label at the bottom gave her agent’s name, agency, address and telephone number. Something like this could very easily be on the Internet. What if the guy had somehow got her audition information from her agent? All he had to do was pick up a phone in the building and the caller ID would give the building location. He could pretend to be the casting agency and her agent would send Abbey back to the place in hopes of bagging the job. Then they pull off the snatch and grab. “Fuck,” Blake muttered again. “Look, if there’s anything you can remember that might help us find her, it would be great.”
She shrugged. “I’m sorry I didn’t see anything.”
Blake paced the front of the building, his nausea growing worse as time ticked by. Every second that passed was another second Abbey got farther away from him. He should’ve walked in with her. Should’ve been by her side every second. How could he let this happen?
His cell phone rang and Troy’s name blazed across the screen. “Find anything through the tracker?” he asked by way of a greeting.
“Yes.”
Relief sent a rush of air from Blake’s lungs.
“She’s moving north on the 101 freeway. CHP is putting three units in pursuit.”
“I’m headed in that direction,” Blake said, moving through the building and toward the back parking lot.
“Stay and talk to the cops. Tell them anything and everything you can about what happened. They need descriptions, times and anything else you can think of.”
Blake wanted to roar.
“The cops will get her back. They’re closing in as we speak. As soon as I know anything I’ll get back to you.”
Twenty of the longest minutes of his life passed by in a blur. The police arrived and he told them everything he knew, which wasn’t much. Though he got a good look at the guy holding Abbey, he hadn’t seen the man who’d knocked his lights out.
A pounding headache continued to remind him of the blow.
When his cell rang and Troy’s name appeared, he snapped it up, his pulse hammering hard. “Did they get her?”
The brief silence nearly crushed him.
“No,” Troy said. “She wasn’t there. They found her phone in a minivan belonging to a family of four. They’d stopped for gas in Los Angeles and opened the hatch to get something from the back. Abbey’s kidnappers must have tossed her phone back there to buy some time. No one in the family noticed it.”
“Jesus, Jesus,” Blake whispered. His gut swirled with fresh nausea as he stepped outside. “She could be anywhere.”
“This isn’t over. Check her apartment. See if you can find anything. I’ll be in touch.”
Blake ended the call. Leaning his head back, he shut his eyes before staring at the darkening sky. He’d only felt this helpless one other time in his life and he hated the crippling feeling. Hated the turmoil in his stomach that made him want to puke.
Ten seconds later, he cranked the engine of his Explorer and peeled out of the parking lot.
Chapter Thirteen
Abbey woke to a steady hum beneath her body. The instant awareness of dry mouth coincided with the sick taste of a gag and made her stiffen. Restraints burned her wrists and ankles, and fire shot to her brain along with the ache of sore muscles. The odor of smelly old sneakers assaulted her senses. She opened her eyes to complete darkness.
Her heart nearly shot into her throat and her lungs seized in a familiar tightening. She closed her eyes. Breathe. Through your nose. Breathe. She imagined Blake with her just like the first time they met in that crazy elevator ride from hell.
Oh, God, Blake. Did he even know what happened? Was he okay?
Trembling with paralyzing fear, Abbey felt the thump of each rapid heartbeat in her head. She could easily die right here, right now. A full body flop sweat broke across every inch of her skin.
Breathe with me. In and out. C’mon now. Breathe with me. Slow and easy. You’re okay. You’re going to be okay. Big breath. Exhale slow. Do it again. Blake’s blue eyes had locked onto hers. She concentrated on his words and the way he’d held her hand against his chest as he’d breathed with her.
Get a grip, Abbey. It’s all on you this time.
Tamping down the urge to vomit, she willed her body to stop shaking. Get tough. Get tough. Julie would expect it. Blake would want it. She owed it to herself. She’d let fear dictate her actions nine years ago and she wouldn’t do it again.
The guy that grabbed her…the one from the Sports Center. His words rang in her head.
I’m not supposed to damage the merchandise. What did that mean? God, did they plan to sell her? Was that the reason he’d kept her alive? Fresh chills streaked across h
er damp skin. She’d die before she let that happen.
Okay, time to think, to breathe evenly and find a way out. She felt behind her, tried to find something sharp, but came up with nothing. She moved her legs and shifted, attempted to cover more space in the cramped quarters. There had to be something here. A crowbar? A tool of some type. Something she could stow in her jeans or up the sleeve of her shirt.
Some type of blanket had been tossed in behind her and she searched under it.
Wait. What was that? Long, slim, plastic…a pen? Yes. She’d take it. At this point, she’d take just about anything she could get her hands on.
The car went over a bump and the movement sent a shockwave of pain through her ankles and wrists. God, she was so sore and her mouth was so dry. She needed water. Needed to get this filthy rag out of her mouth.
Breathe, breathe. She couldn’t work herself into another fit.
How long had she been out? Where were they? The air was hot and stuffy and it had been late afternoon verging on evening when he’d snatched her. She might have a better idea once they let her out. Which brought to mind another problem.
What did she do when the trunk door opened? Did she play possum? Did she acknowledge her abductor? Did she pretend she wasn’t scared spitless and stare daggers at him or anyone else she might see?
Or maybe she should play the weakling. Maybe she should convince them she wasn’t a threat. Make them think she’d comply as long as they didn’t hurt her. But how long would that go over before they did try to hurt her? Not very long she suspected. Still, she had to buy time. Had to make them think she wouldn’t try to escape.
All of her self-defense lessons came back at her. What could she have done to the big guy before he’d dropped her with a kidney punch? She’d clawed, kicked and tried to scream. The fact was he was too fast and too big. Next time, she had to be smarter. Had to think faster.
The car slowed and took a right turn. A minute later, it stopped and her pulse picked up as two car doors opened and closed. More sweat popped out on her skin and she felt clammy and sick. Right before the trunk opened, she shut her eyes and willed her breathing to even out.
The lock snicked, the door lifted and fresh warm air invaded her nostrils. The relief was temporary as someone covered her with the blanket that had been behind her and roughly scooped her out and over his shoulder before he started walking. As she bobbed over his shoulder, she tried to see something, anything that might give her a clue, but the blanket was in her way. She caught sight of a neatly manicured lawn against a cement walkway, but that didn’t help her much.
He finally stopped at a door, unlocked it and strode in. He tossed her on a bed, yanked the blanket off her and walked out. A lock snapped into place.
Abbey waited a few minutes before opening her eyes. She peeked through her lashes first to see if someone was there, but the tiny room was blissfully empty. How much time before that changed? No windows meant no escape. The deadbolt locked from the outside. Not fire safe of course, but these people weren’t interested in that. She craned her head and spotted a small bathroom to the right. Maybe a window in there led out of this place.
Easing her legs off the bed, Abbey sat up. The room swam in front of her and she closed her eyes to get her bearings. Shit, she wasn’t going anywhere with her ankles bound. And if she didn’t get this gag off, she was going to throw up. Her stomach rumbled in a warning.
Male voices got louder outside and a new surge of panic whistled through her. The men stopped at the door, a key wrestled in the lock and Abbey froze, twisted toward the door as it opened.
“See, told ya she was up.” The big guy who had snatched her said over his shoulder. One side of his face was bloody and bruised along with her scratches.
“When you’re right, you’re right. I should know not to doubt you,” the second man replied. He came in then, and a fresh round of panic whistled through Abbey. It was him, the big black guy who’d been the guard at the Sports Center, the man who’d hurt Blake’s brother and had helped kidnap his family.
The first guy had a bottle of water in his hand and Abbey nearly wept at the thought of a taste. He waved it as he moved toward her. “You want some of this?”
She nodded and realized a whimper had come from her own throat.
“And you’re not going to scream or make a sound, are you?” His tone threatened a punishment otherwise.
Abbey shook her head. Please, please, take this vile thing out of my mouth.
He grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked her head up as he watched her with a cold grin. “This is probably gonna sting.” He ripped the tape off her mouth and the instant screaming burn forced a yelp from her throat and made her eyes sting. She choked out the gag with a couple of dry heaves as he released her and she bent forward. A couple seconds later, he grabbed her hair again and yanked her head back. He must have opened the bottle because now he poured it over her mouth, letting it run over her cheeks, across her face, down her shirt. She swallowed as much as she could catch as the men laughed. He emptied the bottle, but not before dousing the front of her shirt, plastering the silky fabric to her breasts.
“Yo man, you just wasted a perfectly good bottle of water. California’s in a drought, you know.”
“She asked for it? Didn’t you see her nod?” He pulled her head up and down, enjoying the whole thing as his friend looked on stone-faced. He bent his head next to her ear and took a long sniff of her. “I might have to give you a taste,” he murmured. “Especially since you caused me nothing but grief. Besides, you’re all wet for me.”
Revulsion ran through her, thick and hot, but Abbey held back a shudder. She refused to look at him, refused to acknowledge her fear. He was a sick, miserable man. They both were. But she was going to make sure they knew they picked the wrong woman to fuck with. She’d been a victim already in her life. She wasn’t going to be one again.
Blake paced Abbey’s apartment in West Hollywood, nearly out of his mind with worry. Abbey had been gone for hours. She could be anywhere by now. She could be dead by now. Running both hands over his head, Blake banished the thought. He couldn’t even go there. She was too young, too sweet, too damn beautiful to be dealing with this kind of shit. Her life had been tough enough, dealing with whatever ghosts she had in her past to have to face this.
Blake had tried calling Abbey’s agent, but only got voice mail. No way to find out what she knew until Troy worked his magic or the police contacted her.
His phone rang from the kitchen table and he pounced on it. Brendan. Fuck. Not who he needed to hear from. “Hey, what’s up?”
Brendan was out of town with his boss, Seger Hughes. Although he loved his twin, Blake would’ve given just about anything for Brendan to have a different boss. Had Bren not offered the Seger Hughes tickets in the first place, none of this would be happening right now. They never would’ve been at the concert and Abbey would’ve never been a witness to an assault and potential murder.
“Are you by any chance at the apartment? It’s not important, but Seger asked me which cruise line Mom and Dad took and I don’t remember. Mom wrote the information down and I put it on the desk.”
“No. I’m at Abbey’s.”
“No shit?” The grin on Brendan’s face came through loud and clear. “She finally cave?”
“She’s missing.”
“Missing?” Brendan’s playful tone disappeared. “As in playing hooky or—”
“As in kidnapped,” Blake clarified.
“Oh, fuck.” Brendan swore softly. “How long ago?”
“It’s been a couple of hours now.”
“You’ve got no clues? What’s your boss doing about this?”
“He’s at his office making phone calls doing what he can from there. The cops are on it. I came here to see if I could come up anything from this end.”
“You need me to come back?” Brendan asked.
The last thing Blake wanted was to tell Brendan about Kwami. He’d
probably not only quit his job to come find the bastard, but he’d do something illegal and get himself thrown into prison. “I’ll let you know if it comes to that. Thanks. I’d better go. I’m waiting for Troy to call with any news.”
“Got it. Hang tight and call if you need me.”
Blake disconnected. What he needed was to find Abbey alive and safe.
“We should just get rid of her.” The black guy looked aggravated as he spoke to his friend, who still had Abbey’s hair in his meaty fist. “The boss doesn’t know about her yet. He can’t get mad at losing stock he doesn’t know about.”
“C’mon. We’ve never seen a piece of ass this fine run through these doors. I’m taking advantage of this, you better believe it.” He stroked the side of her cheek with his thumb, and cold chills streaked along her neck and back. “When we finish with her, we present her to Michael and bam! We get a bonus. He’s always looking for fresh meat.”
“We’re not supposed to fuck ’em. We just deliver ’em.”
The Neanderthal let go of her hair with a jerk and she lurched forward. “Who’s gonna know? You gonna say anything?”
“No, man. No. But if she’s bruised, he’s going to tell.”
“Fuck that. How’s he going to know it was us?” He looked down at Abbey and grabbed hold of her hair again. “You’re not going to tell, are you, pretty? Because then you’d have to have a little talk with my knife.” He gave his buddy a cold stare. “Look, you can either participate or take a hike for fifteen minutes. The choice is yours.”
“Hey, it’s one thing to mess with her a little, but we should just shut her up permanently now. If she starts saying the wrong thing to the wrong person, it’s going to come back on us and, he’s going to cut off our fucking balls.”
“Not if she’s too doped up to know what’s happening.” He gave his friend a slow nod, suggesting something that made her skin crawl even more. “You know where Michael keeps his shit. Go get some. Let’s get this going on.” He pulled his dirty, blue T-shirt out of his pants. “She’s going to bring in a shitload of money. I’m telling you, once she’s flying on Michael’s shit, she’s going to be like all the others.” His fist tightened in her hair.
