“If you didn’t kill Hailey, where is she?”
“She’s in another country.”
Keeley pulled in several shallow breaths to center herself. Grateful for the first time to know someone like her mother-in-law, she opened her eyes and, in her best Elizabeth Fairchild imitation, demanded, “Let me go right now or you’ll spend the rest of your days in jail.”
Delight brightened his face, scaring Keeley more than his dark looks. “Damn, girl. I like that bitchy attitude. Shit like that can make for some good rough loving.” He rubbed her arm almost gently. “It don’t have to hurt bad, Keeley, if you just cooperate a little. Let’s just have a little fun, and when I’m through, I’ll let you go. Scout’s honor. That cheating husband of yours has been dead a long time, and I’ll bet that Mathison guy can’t give it to you as good as I can.”
Keeley shrank as far away from him as she could get. Since she was still tied to the bed, she knew it would do no good. Pulling in the last of her reserves, she swallowed the bile of revulsion and said, “And you promise to tell me where Hailey is?”
The way his eyes lit up told Keeley he honestly believed she was going to let him rape her without a fight. She added delusional to his list of evil traits.
Nodding eagerly, he said, “Course I will. Give me a few good screws and I’ll tell you everything. I know you’re worried sick about her. You give me what I want … I’ll give you what you want.”
The slimy bastard was lying. Well, so could she.
Since she was close to throwing up, there was no way in hell she could act like she wanted him. But if she could hold herself together long enough to get him to believe she’d let him do whatever he wanted, then she could take him off guard. “If you keep your promise to tell me where my daughter is, I’ll do whatever you want.”
He eased down beside her on the bed. “Oh yeah … now, that’s the kind of talk I like.”
She tugged at the bindings on her wrists. “Do you want me to touch you?”
A hand covered her left breast. Keeley closed her eyes and swallowed a sob. She could do this … she had to do this. If Wesley knew where her child was, she would do whatever it took to get him to talk. Though she was able to control the scream building up inside her, she couldn’t control the tears that seeped from her eyes.
“Aw, baby, don’t cry. I can make it good for you.” His voice had turned crooning and raspy.
She tugged at her hands again. “Do you want me to touch you?”
He untied one wrist and placed her hand on his crotch. Keeley swallowed thickly and forced her hand to cup him firmly. Once both hands were free, the bastard would know what real pain meant.
“Oh yeah … feels good,” he muttered.
Teeth clenched with fury and revulsion, she caressed the hard bulge at his crotch. Her heart almost jumped from her throat as Wesley moved forward and touched her other hand. He was going to untie her!
A cellphone rang. Not hers. Someone was calling him.
With a curse, he rolled away from her and got to his feet. Stomping over to a table, his back to her, he grabbed the phone and snapped, “What do you want?”
Keeley quickly untied her other hand and eased off the bed.
Listening to his remarks, she surmised he was having an argument about some kind of agreement that had gone wrong. She couldn’t pay too much attention to it, since her focus was to find a weapon and disable him. Her eyes roamed the filthy, dank room, and her heart jumped when she spotted a flashlight three feet from her on a small table. She reached for it.
A hand pulled at her hair. “Dammit, come back here!”
She screamed and, stretching with all her might, managed to grab hold of the hook hanging from the end of the flashlight with one finger. It wasn’t enough to get a good hold on the handle, but she had no choice. Agony ripped through her head as he pulled her backward by her hair. Keeley whirled around and flung the flashlight toward Wesley. Triumph flooded her when she watched it smash into the side of his face.
Blood spurted from his mouth. A feral inhuman growl emerged from his throat and he let go of her hair.
Keeley took a running step toward the door. Wesley leaped onto her back and they both fell. She slammed onto the hard planks of the floor; breath whooshed from her.
“Fucking bitch! You’re all alike. I knew I shouldn’t’ve trusted you.”
Stunned, unable to move, Keeley heard a rip … felt cool air wash over her back. His knee ground between her shoulder blades.
“You want it rough? Then, baby, that’s what you’re going to get.”
Hands closed around her neck. Keeley raised her head and searched for something else. The flashlight … it was only inches from her. She could reach it … she had to! She stretched out her arm; her finger snagged the hook at the end of the handle. She inched it toward her. The hands around her neck tightened; the knee pressed deeper into her spine. One chance only … that’s all she would have. Vision dimming, Keeley closed her hand around the long narrow cylinder.
On the edge of unconsciousness, his naked skin touched her bottom. Superhuman desperation giving her impetus, she tightened her hand around the flashlight and swung it hard behind her. A vibrating thud—a direct hit to something hard. She dimly heard a yowling sound and then his body collapsed on top of her.
Keeley jerked his hands from her neck; gasping, she tried to get air back into her tortured lungs. His body, a dead weight, pinned her down. She lifted up to dislodge him. Wesley moved slightly. She lifted again; he slid off.
Sobbing, she crawled toward the door. Hang on. Get out of here. Don’t lose consciousness. She had to find help. Her mind muddled, she inched closer and closer to the door. Daylight wavered in front of her … just hang on …
A sharp, agonizing pain speared her head and she knew nothing more.
Disgust filled her as she looked down at Wesley’s unconscious body. His pants were unzipped and the head of his penis stuck out. It took every bit of self-control she had not to take a butcher knife and cut off that pathetic appendage he was so damned proud of. Stupid bastard couldn’t even rape a woman.
She kicked Wesley in the ribs. He groaned but didn’t wake. She kicked harder. “Get up, idiot. They’ll be here for her soon.”
He blinked. “Uh? Wha …?”
“Those bodyguards of hers will be here any minute. Why didn’t you throw her cellphone away? If you don’t want to get caught, you’d better damn well get out of here.”
He got to his feet and weaved like a sloppy drunk. “The bitch hit me.”
“Yeah, she did. And you’re going to get your ass kicked for good if you don’t get out of here. I’m betting those guys have a GPS on her cellphone. They’ll be able to pinpoint her exact location.”
“Shit,” he mumbled. “Let me get her and let’s go.”
She almost laughed in his face. That would come later. Right now she had to act as if she had his best interest at heart. “We don’t have time for that. They’ll be here any minute. If you want to save your ass, you’d better get up and get out of here now.”
Blood dripped from Wesley’s mouth as he stumbled toward the door. He looked like something from a slasher horror movie, and it was all she could do not to pop the idiot right here, right now.
A soft moan brought her attention to Keeley. Cursing under her breath at the screwup Wesley had once again made, she pulled Keeley’s cellphone from the purse she’d taken from Wesley’s car and pressed the key to turn it back on. No doubt Mathison had some sort of tracking device. By the time he pinpointed this location, she and Wes would be long gone.
When Keeley realized there was someone close by who knew where her baby girl was, she’d be crazy frantic with the need to find him. How would she react when they found Wesley dead?
A burst of happiness swept through her.
twenty-four
Cole slammed on the brakes in front of a dilapidated, ancient cabin. SIG Sauer in hand, he opened the car door. Ethan exited fro
m the passenger side, his gun at the ready.
Both men went in low, running. Ethan headed toward the back of the cabin; Cole approached the front. There were no sounds coming from inside. As hard as it was, Cole resisted the urge to slam through the door. Him getting his head blown off wouldn’t help Keeley. He peered in a front window; his heart dropped. Keeley lay facedown on the floor.
Jumping up on the small porch, Cole shoved the front door open. His eyes searched for a threat as he ran to Keeley. Seeing no one, he dropped to his knees and felt for a pulse. Slow and steady.
Turning her over gently, he brushed the hair from her face and lightly tapped her check. “Keeley?”
Her eyes fluttered open and Cole felt as if the entire world had just gotten brighter.
“Cole?” she mumbled.
“Stay still, sweetheart. Let me check and see where you’re hurt.”
“That man … where’s that man?”
“There’s no one else here,” Ethan said from the doorway.
His hands running down her body in search of anything broken, he asked, “Where do you hurt?”
She grabbed his arm. “Stop … listen to me.” Tears glazed her eyes. “We have to find him … Wesley Tuttle … he’s the one who took the girls. He knows where Hailey is … we have to find him.”
“We will, sweetheart. I promise. Tell me where you’re hurt.”
“Just my head, I think.”
Cole examined the lump on her head, then noted the dark bruises already forming around her neck.
“Let’s get you to the car.”
Her eyes glazed with pain, she shook her head. “But we have to—”
“And we will, Keeley, but you’re in no shape to do anything right now. Let me get you to the hospital and then we’ll—”
“No hospital.” She swallowed and grabbed his arm. “Take me home. I need to think … we need to find him.”
Lifting her in his arms, he turned to Ethan. “Call Honor and let her know we found her. See if she’ll give you an address on a Wesley Tuttle.” He glanced around at the dump of a cabin. “See if you can get any intel from this place; call when you’re through. We’re going after the bastard.”
Ethan nodded.
Holding her as close as he dared, afraid he’d hurt her if he touched the wrong spot, Cole stalked out of the cabin and put Keeley in the backseat.
“I can sit up front.”
Close to explosion from the churning emotions inside him, Cole cupped her face in his hands. “Let me take care of you for now. You can argue about how well you feel later.”
Apparently seeing the need and fear in his eyes, she pressed her palm against his face. “I’m okay, Cole.” Her hand caressed his jaw. “Thank you for finding me.”
Cole gave her a soft kiss and pulled away. Jumping into the driver’s side, he started up the engine. First order of business was taking care of Keeley. Then he would hunt down Wesley Tuttle and beat him within an inch of death.
Shea met them at the door, her eyes swimming with tears. If there was anyone who knew how Keeley felt, it would be Shea.
“How is she?”
Cole carried Keeley through the doorway. She’d started shivering in shock halfway home. He had pulled over and covered her with a blanket he found in the trunk.
“Bruised, exhausted, terrified.” He swallowed hard and added, “Alive.”
Shea stroked Keeley’s hair. “Ethan called and told me you were coming. I went ahead and ran a bath for her, but …” She swallowed hard and said, “Keeley, I know this is hard to face, but you need to go to the hospital. They need to examine you … to be able to press charges. Then, you can get clean.”
Keeley raised her head, her eyes searching. “Where’s Hannah? I don’t want her to see me like this.”
“She’s in her playroom watching a movie. But you really need to go to a hospital for an exam, Keeley.”
“No … I’m fine … he didn’t rape me.” Keeley raised her head and took in both Shea’s and Cole’s gazes. “I just want to clean up and then we need to talk.”
If her teeth weren’t chattering so hard it was difficult to understand her, Cole would have been more convinced. He headed up the stairway.
Shea called out, “Do you need help?”
Keeley shook her head and tightened her arm around Cole’s neck. “Thanks, but Cole can help.”
Cole took the stairs two at a time. Keeley’s shivering was tearing him apart. He needed to get her into some warm water and then warm clothes. He pushed open the door to her bedroom and went straight to her bathroom. The tub was steaming and a floral scent filled the air.
After sitting her down on the chair beside the tub, he dropped to his knees and started to untie her shoes. He looked up to see that she was just staring into space, in a daze. Should he have taken her to the hospital after all?
“Keeley?”
Her eyes refocused as she turned to him. “I’m fine, really. Just so exhausted.” She shuddered. “And cold.”
“I know, sweetheart. We’re going to get you warm soon.” He lifted her slightly and pulled her pants off. Scooping her into his arms, he lowered her into the hot water.
She leaned her head against the back of the tub. “He knows where Hailey is. He’s the one who took the girls.”
Smoothing the hair away from her face, Cole checked the lump on her forehead, examined her eyes. No signs of a concussion but they’d need to keep an eye on her. Wake her every hour or so … check vital signs. He’d get Shea to watch her. Make her some tea, maybe some toast.
“Cole, did you hear me? He knows where Hailey is.”
He took the sponge from the side of the tub and proceeded to bathe her.
“Cole? Talk to me.”
“Keeley, I’m doing everything I can do to not lose control. Ethan’s getting an address, gathering evidence. As soon as you get out of the tub, we’ll talk. But for right now, just for five minutes, take care of yourself. Then we’ll talk.”
“Okay,” she whispered. Tears seeped from her closed eyes as Cole tenderly bathed her; he muttered soothing little sounds when he reached a particular painful spot and she whimpered.
A few minutes later, he was through and Keeley looked more peaceful. And Cole had to admit, the bubbling rage inside him had lowered to a slow simmer. Once they talked and he put Keeley to bed, then he’d go back into explosion mode.
“Okay, sweetheart. You ready to get out?”
She nodded and stood. Cole wrapped a towel around her and lifted her from the tub. He dried her gently, trying to ignore not only the bruises now forming all over her body, but also how her body always made his react.
Turning away, Cole grabbed her robe hanging from the door. “Let’s get you settled in bed, then Shea’s going to come in and you’re going to give us a full description. Okay?”
Relief flickered on her face. She allowed him to help her put the robe on, and then he picked her up, carried her into the bedroom, and settled her on the bed.
“Where’s Hannah?” Keeley asked.
Cole turned to find an anxious Shea holding her sketchpad and pencil, along with a steaming cup of liquid. “She’s having a snack in the kitchen with Mrs. Thompkins. She’s fine, doesn’t suspect a thing.” Handing the cup to Keeley, she said, “Hot tea with loads of sugar; it’ll help with the shock.”
Flashing her a grateful look, Keeley took the tea and sipped.
Shea sat on the chair beside the bed, flipped open the pad, and said, “Describe him.”
As Keeley gave a full and vivid description of Wesley Tuttle, Cole took his phone out and called Ethan. “You finished?”
“Yeah. Honor’s got a team headed this way. She gave me his address but I had to promise her he’d be alive when they got there.”
Cole didn’t argue. He wouldn’t kill the bastard, but he’d damn well do enough damage to make him pray for death.
“You get any evidence from the cabin?”
“Nothing helpful. Don
’t think the guy lives here. There’re only a few clothes, a couple of cans of food … nothing else. Found plenty of blood leading out the door to the front of the cabin. Keeley managed to do some damage.”
“Yeah, but why’d he leave?”
“Guess we can ask him when we find him. You ready to go get him?”
“I’m headed to pick you up right now.” Cole hung up the phone and listened as Keeley finished giving a description. He stood over Shea as she finished the sketch. The man didn’t look familiar. The guy who’d tried to kill him had long, black stringy hair … but that could’ve been a wig.
As Shea added final strokes, he sat on the edge of the bed beside Keeley. “What else do you know about him other than his name?”
“I went to school with him. Didn’t know him very well. He only attended occasionally. He used to come into the diner I worked at during college. He asked me out a couple of times. I said no and that was that. I haven’t seen him in years. Not since Stephen and I were married.”
“And he said he took the girls?”
“Yes.”
“You believe him?”
“He knew where we found Hannah … said he sold her for fifteen thousand dollars. Remember, that’s the amount Robert Oates said they paid? The FBI didn’t release the amount to the press. He laughed when I asked him about the cameras in the house … told me I put on a good show when I’m alone. He also admitted that he tried to kill you. And he has a scar on his hand, like Hannah said … and he has blond hair … the way she described him.” She paused and added, “He said that Hailey was alive … and was in another country. He wouldn’t tell me which one. I’m not even sure he knows.”
“Did he say why he did it?”
“For money … I told him I would have paid him, but he said that money was only one of the reasons.” Tears filled her eyes. “He said if I had cooperated and gone with him that day, he would have let the girls go.”
Last Chance 05 - Second Chance Page 26
