by HELEN HARDT
“Leave me alone! Please!”
“Look at me,” I said. “Just look at me.”
He opened his eyes wider, his pupils dilated from the darkness.
“Turn on the light,” I said to Dave.
“He won’t like it.”
“Just do it. He needs to see my face.”
Dave flipped the overhead light on, and I squinted against the invasion to my vision. I touched Colin’s cheek once more. This time he didn’t flinch.
“Look at me. It’s me. Marj.”
His eyes widened farther. “Thank God! Get me out of here.”
“You’re not in that basement, Colin. My brother Joe rescued you. Remember?”
He tried to sit up, tugging against his bindings. “Then where am I? Why are you here?”
“I don’t know yet, but these people say they don’t want to hurt us.”
“I’m tied up.” He looked me over. “And so are you.”
“True. I don’t know exactly what’s going on yet.” I turned to Dave. “Now would be a great time to explain it.”
He nodded. “I’ll get Dom and Alex.”
Chapter Five
Bryce
“So what?”
“We’ve been through this, Bryce,” Joe said. “I can’t tell you.”
“Do you think I give a damn if our governor or anyone else is into bondage? Not to mention some former G-man. I care only about Marjorie, and so should you.”
“You’re right,” he said. “Which is why I’m getting in touch with him. If he can help, I’ll keep his cover. If not, all bets are off.”
“And you still won’t tell me who it is?” I paced around. “I can’t believe you, Joe. Where’s your famous hot head? What if Melanie were missing?”
Yeah, I’d gone a step too far. Joe grabbed my collar. “You think I’m any less worried about my sister and my mother—”
I broke his hold easily. “Save the tough guy act. I call bullshit. There’s something else going on here. Who is this guy? Who is he? If he’s no longer with the government, his career isn’t in danger, right?”
“You think government officials are the only people whose careers are in danger if the public finds out they’re part of the leather community?”
“I don’t fucking know, Joe. I’m not a part of that community!”
“He’s a lawyer in Grand Junction. In fact…” Joe stopped. “Oh, shit.”
“What now?”
“He helped me find the facility in the city for my mother. After we brought her home from the place in California where my father had put her. Oh, shit.”
“You think he has something to do with your mom’s disappearance?”
“No.” Joe was adamant. “This guy’s legit, but there’s a paper trail with his office. Those records are confidential. They’re medical records.”
“It was probably pretty easy for someone to figure out where your mother was,” I said. “You, Talon, and Marj all went to visit her regularly.”
“Yeah. But something still smells rotten.”
Almost instinctively, I sniffed. Yeah, something did smell rotten, metaphorically speaking.
“If you can’t tell me who this dude is, that’s one thing. But you should be having a conversation with him right now.”
He nodded. “That’s why I’ve contacted him.”
“The Joe I know would be hightailing it to his office right about now. And when you do, I’m coming along.”
Joe sighed. “You’re right. Let’s go.”
Apparently, when Jonah Steel showed up unannounced, the red carpet came out. Kyle and Shenkman, Attorneys at Law, couldn’t have been more accommodating. But I wasn’t interested in their Rocky Mountain spring water and freshly baked cookies. I wanted information.
Apparently we were here to see Cade Booker, an “of counsel” with the firm.
Damn.
Joe was right. Who knew who might be into the leather lifestyle? It wouldn’t bother me, but apparently lifestylers preferred to keep their association private.
“Mr. Booker isn’t in the office,” the receptionist said to us. “We expect him back any minute. I’m sure he’ll want to see you.”
Had Joe been here before? Right, he had. The paperwork for Daphne Steel’s commitment to the facility.
So why the big secret? Why hadn’t he simply told me that Cade Booker had gotten him the name of the hacker? He could have left out the whole BDSM thing.
The receptionist led us to a separate waiting area, obviously for VIPs. Marble coffee tables held trays of French pastries, and a brass espresso urn graced a buffet. Books by renowned photographers sat in an array around the room, interspersed with complimentary charging stations for all types of devices.
I sat, my nerves skipping. Marjorie never left my mind. What if someone was hurting her? Violating her? I clasped my hands together, my knuckles white.
I should have never started a relationship when I couldn’t protect her. Oh, she’d told me she didn’t need protection, but she did.
I’d failed her.
Another young woman entered the room. “Mr. Steel?”
“Yes?”
“Mr. Booker has returned. He’s waiting for you in his office.”
We both rose.
“He wants to see only Mr. Steel,” the woman said to me.
“No way,” I said. “I’m coming along.”
“Maybe you should wait here, Bryce,” Joe said.
“Yeah. And maybe not. We came here together, and we’re going to get to the truth together.”
“Mr. Steel—”
Joe whisked past the employee. “It’ll be okay. I’ll explain everything to Cade.”
“But—”
I followed Joe, whisking past the flabbergasted woman. Should I be sorry? Hell, no. I got that she was only doing her job, but Marjorie was everything to me. I had to get to the bottom of this, and if Cade Booker knew anything, I was going to find out.
Joe seemed to know exactly where he was going in this huge office. I followed him down the halls, people gasping when they saw us and edging out of our way quickly. Finally we came to a corner office. Joe knocked loudly.
“Come on in, Joe,” a voice, presumably Cade Booker, said from inside.
Joe opened the door, and I followed him in.
“Have a sea—” Booker eyed me. “Who’s this?”
“Bryce Simpson, a good friend of mine.”
Booker eyed me. I recognized the look—the look that said, “You’re Tom Simpson’s son.”
“Yeah,” I said. “He was my father. But I’m not him. Got it?”
Cade Booker stood. He was tall, though not quite as tall as Joe and I were, and clearly in great shape. He wore his dark hair shaved at the sides and slightly longer on top—the kind of cut that didn’t require any effort to maintain, except monthly haircuts. His suit was obviously tailored, and he wore two gold rings, one on each hand. All normal, except… He had a dark quality about him that went beyond his nearly black hair and tan skin. Something sinister seemed to exude from his pores. It was almost palpable in the room.
How had Joe not seen it? Or was it just my imagination?
I didn’t trust him. But I did trust Joe.
“Have a seat, both of you. What’s going on, Joe?”
“My mother has disappeared from Newhaven, and now Marj is missing as well.”
“Your sister?”
“Yeah. May I speak freely?”
“Of course. This place is swept every evening for surveillance devices.”
I stopped myself from widening my eyes. Why the hell would any place be swept every evening?
“The Spider hasn’t answered us in days,” Joe said.
Booker lifted one eyebrow, which gave him a sinister look. “Oh?”
“Bryce knows about the Spider. He’s in this with me. He and I are the only ones who remember the kid. By the way, we remembered his last name. Valente. Justin Valente.”
Booker’s eyes fluttered slightly
. A nervous habit?
“What was the last contact you had with the Spider?” he asked.
“He said he had information, and that he’d send it in a separate email. The email never came, and he hasn’t responded to anything since. Plus, he seemed to be communicating with someone else on our encrypted account.”
“I’ll see if I can find him.”
“He’s the least of our worries,” I said. “Marjorie and her mother come first.”
“Of course.”
“I understand you got Daphne into the facility,” I said.
“I handled the paperwork for her commitment,” Booker said. “My involvement doesn’t go any further than that.”
I looked to Joe, raising my brow. He didn’t respond. He trusted this guy, clearly.
“Look,” Joe said finally. “I know you need to keep your hands clean, and I respect that, but—”
“I can’t help you,” Booker said. “I’m pretty sure the Spider can’t be involved in the disappearances. That’s not how he works.”
I shook my head. “Seriously? You like to keep your hands clean? What kind of person who keeps his hands clean has to have his office swept for bugs every night?”
“Bryce—”
“Come on, Joe. This guy isn’t who you think he is.”
“Look—” Booker began.
“Easy, Cade,” Joe said. “Bryce’s nerves are on edge.”
“Yours should be as well,” I said angrily. “I’ll say it again. This guy isn’t who you think he is.”
Booker stood. “You’re right. I’m not. And you need to leave. I’m armed.”
“So am I,” I said. “And I’d be willing to bet everything I own that Joe is too.”
“Cade knows I don’t go anywhere without Rosie,” Joe said, eyeing his ankle.
“Tell us who the Spider is,” I gritted out.
“That’s not how I work,” Booker said with equal grit. “I can’t work with this hothead.”
I was a hothead? Hardly. I’d spent half my life calming Joe down and keeping him from going off half-cocked.
“Cade,” Joe said, “is there any other way to contact the Spider?”
“Not that I know of. Now you two are going to have to get the hell out of my office.”
“Not until we get what we came for,” I said.
“If he doesn’t have any other way to contact—”
What would your clients think if they knew how you spent your free time? Oh, the words were on the tip of my tongue. But I had nothing against BDSM, and I appreciated his—and Joe’s—need for privacy.
But I was pissed. Fucking pissed.
How could Joe not see right through this guy? Cade Booker was not on our side. Not at all.
Chapter Six
Marjorie
“Your mother has been moved to a safe house,” Dominic said.
My stomach dropped. “You said you didn’t know anything about my mother.”
“No. I said your mother wasn’t here.”
“Why does she need to be at a safe house?”
“The same reason you need to be. This is also a safe house.”
“Where are we?”
“Outside the city limits. A mobile home park.”
“Mobile homes are the most unsafe places ever,” I said. “You’d better hope no tornadoes come rolling through.”
“This is an abandoned mobile home park. These homes have been condemned.”
“Great. Should I expect the roof to fall in on me at any moment?”
“Of course not. This place is completely safe. We’ve made sure of it. The rest of the places here, with a few exceptions, are unsafe. Because the park as a whole is condemned, no one comes here.”
“I see.” Though I didn’t see at all. “Colin, are you following all of this?”
“Sort of,” he said, still agitated. “Could you untie me, please?”
“Are you going to run?” Dave asked.
“Where would he go?” I said. “Clearly we’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“We’re closer to things than you think,” Dominic said.
“Who the hell are you? Was it simple coincidence that we met at the gym?”
“Of course not.”
“It was you, wasn’t it? You took the towel with my locker key pinned on it that day.”
“Guilty.”
“But you didn’t steal anything.”
“I needed to know everything I could about where I might be able to find you. Plus, I’m not a thief.”
I scoffed. “Of course not. You only steal people.”
“I’ve been paid very well to get you and Colin to safety.”
“Yeah? The only people with the money to ‘pay very well’ are my brothers, and I know they aren’t behind this.”
“No, they’re not.”
“Who, then? Who would do—”
A cell phone buzzed. Dominic pulled a phone out of his pocket and spoke into it. “Yeah?”
Seconds seemed to stretch into hours as Dominic presumably listened to whoever was on the other end of the line.
“Could you untie my ankles now?” I asked Dave, adding a slight eye-batting for effect. “Please?”
He looked to Alex. She shook her head.
Obviously flirting wasn’t going to work on her.
“Hanging in there, Colin?” I asked.
He nodded, though not convincingly. “My father is behind this. He has to be.”
“If what Dominic says is true, that they’re trying to keep us safe, it’s probably not your father. Unless you’re wrong about him.”
“I’m not wrong about him. I’m just not sure these people are telling us the truth.”
The thought had crossed my mind as well. But Dominic and the others hadn’t hurt us. Other than knocking us out, tying us up, and abducting us, that was.
I had a lot more questions for Colin about his father, but I didn’t want to say anything with Alex and Dave hovering over us.
Dominic finally ended his phone call. “That was CJ. Food’s on its way.”
“Thank God,” Dave said. “I’m starved.”
“How you eat the way you do and stay looking like a scarecrow is beyond me,” Dominic said.
Dave did indeed resemble the scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz, right down to his straw-colored hair.
“All right,” I said. “Someone paid you to take us. Who?”
“I’m not at liberty to say,” Dominic said.
“Of course you’re not,” I said. “That would make this whole thing too easy. Whatever they’re paying you, I can pay more. I’m Marjorie Steel, remember?”
“Not in this for the money,” Alex said.
“Well, maybe a little,” Dave offered.
“What my sister means is that we don’t need the money. We’re very well off.”
“Why aren’t you sitting on a beach in the Caribbean, then?” I said. “Kidnapping has its drawbacks. Number one, it’s against the freaking law.”
“We have talents others don’t have.”
“You kicked my ass as a trainer, so there’s that. I suppose you’re pretty good at kidnapping. Did I get all your talents?”
Alex stalked toward me. “Dom, I swear—”
“Let it go, Alex. She just doesn’t understand yet.”
“Yeah? Then make me understand. Why are you doing this? By whose orders were Colin, my mother, and I taken against our will?”
Dominic sighed, his dark eyes taking on a kindness I hadn’t seen before. “Your father’s.”
Chapter Seven
Bryce
“You two need to leave,” Booker said. “I don’t know anything else.”
“You know how to get in touch with the Spider.”
“I already told you. He’s not answering me either. I only have the one contact avenue, and it seems to be blocked.”
“Blocked my ass,” I said through clenched teeth.
“I’m sorry about your mom and your sister,” he sa
id to Joe, effectively ignoring me. “But I can’t help you.”
Joe nodded. “Let’s go, Bryce.”
“I don’t believe him,” I said.
“Doesn’t really matter,” Joe said. “He’s not going to tell us anything. He’s made that clear.”
My father might have been a psycho, but I’d learned a lot from him, not the least of which was how to draw my weapon from a hidden holster in a flash.
Like lightning, I was on Cade Booker. “Start talking,” I said in a low voice.
“Bryce…” Joe began.
“You may trust this guy, but I sure as hell don’t. You know something, Booker—something you’re not telling us. I’m not leaving this office until you’ve come clean.”
“Bryce,” Joe said again, “don’t ruin your life here. He’ll have you arrested.”
“No, he won’t,” I said. “Because I can make his lifestyle world news. Right, Booker?”
“You bastard,” Booker said to Joe.
“Damn, Bryce,” Joe said.
“Sorry, Joe. I believe in being trustworthy, and you of all people can vouch for that. But Marjorie’s life is at stake here, and I’ll do anything I have to in order to make sure she gets home safely. If that means telling the world that Cade Booker likes to dabble in bondage, so be it.”
“There’s nothing more I can tell you.” Booker held his hands in front of him. “I’d help if I could. Joe, you know me.”
“He’s not lying to you, Bryce,” Joe said.
“I don’t believe him. If he has the Spider’s information, then he knows who the guy is. And I want to know. Now.”
The phone on Booker’s desk buzzed.
“Don’t fucking move,” I said.
“If I don’t answer, my secretary will get suspicious.”
“Bullshit. If you don’t answer, she’ll think you’re in the middle of an important meeting, which you are.”
The phone buzzed twice more, and then sure enough, it stopped.
“Ready to talk?” I asked.
“Kill me if you want to,” Booker said. “I’ll go down fighting. I’ve been fighting my whole life.”
Yeah, this guy was so not what he purported to be.
