by Zoey Parker
“Why’s that?” I asked, trying to think of a good way to segue into talking about Abby’s stalker.
She lifted a single, delicate shoulder. “You just didn’t seem all that interested. Most guys would have tried to get into my panties right then and there. But not you.”
I shrugged. “Maybe I wanted to take things slow.”
She laughed at me then, shaking her head a little so that her hair fanned about her shoulders and breasts. I had a feeling the tits were fake, though they looked lovely on her. “Slow? You don’t really look like you take things slow.” She lowered her eyes at me, letting her gaze drag across my body deliberately so that I knew she was checking me out.
I did my best not to sigh. “Alright. Then maybe I was worried that you weren’t going to be in town very long. After all, you were staying at a hotel.”
She thought about that for a moment before nodding her head. “That’s very true. But I was only staying there while they fumigated my apartment,” she explained.
“I see. Just long enough to meet a crazy stranger?” I prompted.
She laughed again. “You mean you?”
I smiled lazily at her. “No, not me. I’m not crazy, am I? I was talking about that man who hit on you at the hotel restaurant. You know, the redhead?”
For a moment, she just blinked, and I had this impression that she wasn’t very smart. That maybe she’d spent her entire life getting by on only her looks. Then she said, “Oh, him. Yeah, he was definitely creepy.”
“Have you seen him since?” I inquired. “I mean, has he given you any trouble since then?”
She thought about it, twirling a strand of blonde hair around her index finger as she did so. It made me wonder if her hair was naturally blonde like Abby’s or if she dyed it to look that way. Given my assumption about her breasts, I was willing to bet it was the latter.
Not that it matters, I thought to myself, waiting for her to figure out whether or not she’d seen Abby’s stalker. I’m not looking for a replacement.
Though that would be the smart thing. Thanks to my harsh words to Abby, there was little chance for the two of us. In fact, there was no chance, because even if I could convince her that I’d said those things only for her own good, there was no reason to even try.
Caleb’s words still lingered with me, their weight crushing.
Abby deserved better. I would never be good enough for someone like her and I knew it. Moving on would be the best thing I could do and maybe a fake facsimile like this big-titted, would-be starlet was exactly what I should be aiming for.
Except that I didn’t want a facsimile. I wanted the real deal and I was worried now that nothing else would do.
I refocused my attentions to Julie, though I decided quickly that there would never be something real between us. She smiled as she answered me, tilting her head to the side so that her hair revealed one side and her cleavage. “No, I really haven’t seen him again. He was so weird the first time around that I’m grateful, but not surprised.”
“No? Why not.”
She shrugged. “Well, we probably don’t show up in the same circles, you know? After all, my career’s about to take off any day now—I’ve got this great part in this TV miniseries, it’s going to put me on the map.” She beamed at me and I hummed appreciatively, encouraging, but trying to keep her on track.
“He doesn’t seem the type to hang out with up and coming starlets?”
She giggled at the compliment, smiling broadly at me. “No, not really. He was an accountant or something. I mean, what am I going to do with an accountant? Definitely dodged a bullet there.”
I agreed, then excused myself. An accountant named James Austin. I was about to dial Caleb to tell him about the new lead I’d just gotten, but after being told that I was forbidden from seeing Abby and that I was no longer a Cruel Angel, it seemed like a mistake. Instead, I tried Jon, who I knew would talk to me regardless of what Caleb thought of me.
“’Lo?”
“Jon, it’s me, Kade.”
“Kade, you’re a hot topic these days! Sleeping with the boss’s daughter, not really your finest moment.”
I gritted my teeth, then took a steadying breath to calm myself. I wasn’t about to get into a fight with one of the few guys who might actually be able to help me. “Yeah, well, there’s plenty of other trouble going on, so don’t worry your pretty little head about me.”
The man laughed. “Yeah, yeah, alright. Whatcha need?”
“I need info on a guy—”
Before I could even finish, Jon sighed and said, “Let me guess. James Austin.”
Of course he would know what was going on, I admonished myself. Caleb would have called him first.
“Yes. He’s an accountant in Orange County.”
“Wait, I didn’t know he was an accountant. How come nobody ever gives me the whole story?” he whined, but I could hear typing in the background, telling me that he was already adding this new tidbit to his stockpile of information.
“That’s because no one else knows. I only just found out.”
“Hm,” was all Jon said for a while. “Look, this’ll take a while. There are a lot of accounting firms here. This is California after all. Let me call you back when I’ve got something solid.”
I agreed, then hung up the phone. I went back to our table, my date looking a little peeved that I’d popped out on her so abruptly. If she’s peeved about that, she’s going to love this, I thought as I stood beside her.
“Sorry to say this, Julie, but I’ve got to cut our date short. Emergency.”
“What?” she demanded, blinking in surprise. “But I thought things were going really well.”
I sighed and decided that the wisest decision was to be honest with her. No point in leading the poor thing on when it was pretty clear that I had no intention of meeting with her ever again. “You seem like a really good girl, Julie, but I’m not feeling it. I don’t think we’re the right kind of match. You understand.”
Standing quickly, she looked at me indignantly, like I’d just shot her dog. “You’re an asshole,” she said, and slapped me across the face.
I wasn’t having much luck in that particular department lately and my cheek was sore as hell, but I didn’t care. This date had served its purpose; I was one step closer to James Austin.
***
I went home to wait for a call and do some research of my own. I wanted to figure out where this James guy was so that I could wring his neck, or at the very least call the cops on him. Right, because that’s definitely what I’m going to do.
Regardless of what would happen afterwards, figuring out where he lived was one giant step toward getting him away from Abby, and that was my main goal, regardless of Caleb’s orders or how much Abby hated me.
I searched the internet for the better part of an hour, going over what little information I had. I started with the name James Austin, doing a basic search for the name. Of course there was an ungodly number of hits, but I managed to narrow it down by location and then by job. I found a professional profile that showed a picture of a smiling redheaded man with freckles and otherwise pale skin. He looked…normal. Like someone you would just pass on the street without giving a second glance, and I almost thought it couldn’t be him.
But the more I stared at him, the more I decided it was. Because stalkers were the sort of people who could blend in easily. The ones who got lost in crowds and were so forgettable that you didn’t even realize they were there.
And this guy definitely fit the description.
I was going to call Jon and let him know what I was looking at, but figured it was more a waste of time than anything. Jon was better at this crap than I would ever be, so if I found this after only a little bit of searching online, I could be sure that Jon was way ahead of me. Still, in case he wasn’t, I reached for my phone.
A second later it rang in my hand.
I glanced down to see that the caller ID read that it wa
s Brody. I answered it immediately, demanding, “Brody? What happened, what’s wrong? Is Abby alright?”
Brody sounded groggy on the other end, almost drunk as he slurred his words in an attempt to explain. “Abby’s…she’s gone. Like…I don’t know. Gone, gone. And…and I think someone put something in my drink…”
I cursed. If Abby was gone, then there was only one place she could be. With James. I couldn’t say exactly how I knew other than gut instinct, but that was enough. Because Brody was drugged and Abby was missing. That was too big of a coincidence to assume anything other than that she’d been taken by him.
I had to get to her.
“Get ahold of Caleb. Now. Tell him what happened.” I hung up the phone before Brody got a chance to respond, but I knew he’d do as he was told, no matter how much trouble it was going to get him in.
I’d worry about that later. Right now, Abby was the only thing I was worried about.
I called Jon and demanded an update.
“Alright, alright, don’t get your panties in a twist,” he said irritably, a little frazzled. “I’ve got two addresses for the bastard, but I’ll tell you right now, they’re in opposite directions. There’s an office, too, so I don’t know which one you want.”
“Give me all three addresses,” I told him without preamble. He listed them off and I copied them down quickly, then told him to rally the other Destroyers. I told him very briefly what was going on because we didn’t have time to waste. We had to save Abby before it was too late.
Grabbing my jacket, I slipped it on as I contemplated the three addresses listed on my notepad. One was for his office, and I decided that was the least likely place to take her given the circumstances. There would be too many people there, though as I glanced down at my watch I quickly decided that the office was likely closed already, which would make it empty. Still, an office building would have some sort of security. Maybe only cameras as opposed to security guards, but either would be effective in detouring someone, wouldn’t it? Even if they recognized him, they would see Abby, too. And they’d realize who she was and that she definitely didn’t belong with some boring accountant like James Austin.
That’s what the other woman thought, too, I remembered.
Looking at the list, I glanced over the other two addresses. They were residences. One was a condo or apartment. Frowning, I debated the two.
If I went crazy and kidnapped someone, where would I take them?
“A house,” I muttered to the empty room. An apartment would have too many neighbors and likely the walls were thin enough that taking someone and holding them against their will would be a dangerous gamble. But a house…there were a lot more rooms in a house and they were all likely to have walls a lot thicker than an apartment.
Yes, it was a gamble and there was a chance that I was wrong, but I couldn’t do nothing, and this was all we had to work with.
I only prayed that I was right and that Abby was being held in that house.
Chapter Twenty-One
Abby
I could drive. Although I usually had drivers who handled all of that for me, I could, in fact, drive. Uncle Caleb had taught me when I was only fourteen, saying that it was important to learn early so that when the actual test came around, I already had the basics down. Besides, he had told me, in case of an emergency, I needed to be able to get the fuck out of Dodge.
There was a pretty good chance that he had thought the emergency was going to be him dying. Probably at the hands of those bad people he worked with sometimes.
As a kid, the thought had given me bad dreams. Nightmares that were so realistic I’d woken up crying, positive that my uncle was dead as a doornail. I’d walk down the hall and peek in on him just to make sure he was fine. And if it was one of those nights where he was out late, I would wait up for him and listen for the roar of his motorcycle as it pulled into the driveway.
It wasn’t the best way to live as a kid, but I was grateful. At least I had someone who loved me. Family who would take care of me. I knew more than a few kids at school who weren’t so lucky.
Now, I was grateful that Caleb had taught me to drive as young as I did, because it made me incredibly comfortable with it. Even with the crazy traffic and the hot summer storm that had come out of nowhere. The windshield wipers were going furiously, trying to keep my windshield clear enough to see through, and everyone was driving like an ass.
Half because it was California, half because of the rain.
“Come on!” I shouted at the car in front of me as it hesitated between getting over and staying in this lane and then maybe exiting to boot. But of course he couldn’t hear me. I was just about to swerve around him, probably endangering the guy to my left, when the asshole finally got over and opened up some space. I sped behind the car in front of me and began the whole thing all over again.
I let out a growl of frustration.
The address I’d been given was two exits away, traffic was a special slice of hell, and if I didn’t get there soon, god knew what would happen to April.
I have to save her, I reminded myself grimly.
Telling myself that again and again helped ease some of my guilt about drugging Brody. He would be fine, of course, but there was a chance that he’d get in trouble with Caleb over the whole thing.
I’d explain what happened when I got back.
If I got back.
The thought sent a shiver down my spine, though I tried to stay positive. Once I got there, I could save April. I could get her out of there and hopefully I could get myself out of there, too, though I realized what a long shot that was.
I was going in alone. I didn’t know where exactly I was going—it was a place in the valley, maybe residential, maybe not—and I didn’t know what I would find when I got there. My stalker, of course. There was no way that he wouldn’t be there waiting for me. That was the point of all of this, wasn’t it? To finally get me and him together.
I shuddered at the thought. I tried to push it away, to tell myself that maybe this was all just about teaching me a lesson.
Last time I’d found April alone. It was a warning to play by his rules, so maybe this was more of the same. Maybe she was fine and he wasn’t there and this was all just about showing me the kind of control he had over my life.
And there was no pretending anymore that he didn’t have control.
It took me another forty five minutes to get to the address he’d provided. It was a little two-story house, quaint and probably in the middle class range, with peeling yellow exterior paint with faded blue trim that went all around. One of the gutters was falling off, only hanging by a thread. The shutters were faded, half rotted away, and the lawn in front was overgrown with weeds choking out half-dead bushes and flowers. Top it off with a summer downpour and the place looked downright sagging.
I wondered if it wasn’t abandoned, if it wasn’t some condemned old house picked because the last resident had died of old age.
Pushing the thought away, mostly because I didn’t want to think about death right then, I got out of the car. The rain was pouring down and I was soaked almost instantly. I pulled my jacket closer to me in an attempt to stay somewhat dry, though of course it was pointless.
Just go. Stop stalling.
Sucking in a deep breath for courage, I headed up the flooded walkway toward the dingy old house. When I reached the door, I paused. Was I supposed to knock? Just go inside? Announce my presence?
Just as I was debating what to do, I noticed that the door was cracked open. It was so small that it had looked closed from the car, but now that I was standing in front of it, I could tell that it was definitely open.
Swallowing harshly, I pushed the door until it opened with a resounding creak, like I was the heroine in some horror movie.
I knew there was a reason I avoided the horror genre, I thought grimly as the door opened to reveal a dark foyer with a little table and an old-fashioned phone right in front of me past the
ancient rug that was tossed across the hardwood floors. To the left was a narrow staircase with what looked like at least one broken stair on it and a railing that was going to go any minute.
I really didn’t want to step inside. Every instinct I had was screaming for me to run away, to get out of there while I still could, but just the thought of April trapped in there, tied up somewhere and scared, a gun pointed at her face or a knife at her throat, kept me from bolting. I couldn’t leave her in there, not even if it meant I was in danger.
With courage I didn’t really have, I stepped across the threshold.
The floors creaked beneath me, the sound loud and echoing in my ears, mostly because everything else was so quiet.
