He marched toward the door, his suit jacket flapping as he walked. A man on a mission. “Do it. I don’t want to know about it. Nothing.”
Yes. “Thank you. I’ll keep you out of it.”
* * *
BY THE TIME Russ reentered the apartment, he had two technical agents in tow. Technical agents set up the phone intercepts to monitor all calls into the residence. Penny stood in the corner of the room, her back to the wall, arms folded, fingers gouging into her arms as she watched the men unload equipment.
“Gentlemen,” Russ said, “this is Penny Hennings. Penny, this is Ron Turner and Josh Gayner. They’ll be assisting.”
Hellos were exchanged, hands were shaken and the men got to doing what they did best while Penny attempted not to look spooked.
And damn if he didn’t want to wrap her in his arms and tell her he’d take care of it. That she had nothing to worry about. Egotistical? Sure. But he wanted to be the man who made things right in Killer Cupcake’s world.
Bum luck that Penny and the most important case of his career were solidly intertwined.
He focused on Penny leaning against the wall, taking it all in with eyes that lacked her normal fire. Dead eyes. Not something he ever wanted to see.
Heath had ripped this woman’s life apart, and so far all Russ had been able to do was watch. He breathed in. Time to stop watching.
“Guys,” he said, “we don’t have an exact time on the next call. Could be soon.”
“We’ll be ready,” Ron said. “No problem there.” He glanced at Penny and held up a cordless phone. “We’re replacing your phone with this one.”
Penny nodded, but by her drawn, pale face and spacey eyes, Russ’s guess was she didn’t have a clue what she was agreeing to. Didn’t matter.
A shrill bling filled the room, followed by a rattle on the coffee table. Penny’s cell phone. She leaped for it, fumbling it with shaking hands.
Russ held his arms out. “Relax. He said he’d call on the other line.”
Penny checked the screen. “Blocked number. He always calls on a blocked number.”
Hell. They’d already gone to a judge for emergency authority to track the calls into Penny’s cell phone; Russ just wasn’t sure if the judge had signed off yet. If not, they were set up on the wrong phone. “Answer it. Put it on speaker.”
Penny pressed the button. “Hello?”
“It’s me.”
Male voice. Sounded like Zac.
“Zac?” Penny shrieked.
“I’m fine,” he said, his voice firm, maybe more hoarse than usual.
Fatigue.
Or they beat the hell out of him.
“Oh, Zac. I’m so sorry. So sorry.”
Crashing sounds erupted from the other end. Phone falling?
“I’m sure.” This from another male voice.
Heath.
“That’s your proof of life,” he said. “I will contact you tomorrow morning. Be ready to hand over Elizabeth or your brother dies.”
“Wait. Where will you call me?”
“I’ll find you.”
The line went dead.
Russ spun to the surveillance guys. Kidnappings were their specialty. “What the hell is he doing?”
“Buying time,” Ron said. “Any idea for what?”
“No. If anything, he’d want to speed it up. The longer he gives us, the more time we have to find him. And pump information out of our witness.”
* * *
A FEW MINUTES shy of 7:00 p.m., Penny rode the elevator to her office with Brent by her side. Needing to distract herself until Heath’s next call, she decided work might be a welcome relief. Uselessly sitting in her apartment while the FBI swarmed the city in search of her brother would drive her insane, and Russ had no intention of letting her help. Too dangerous, he’d said.
Aggravating man.
Still, there’d been progress. As expected, Randy Jones had, in almost record time, given up his brother as the courthouse shooter. So much for family loyalty. The only problem was the brother had disappeared right along with Heath.
And since Russ wouldn’t accept Penny’s help, she’d done the only thing she could and scheduled a meeting with one of the firm’s full-time investigators.
She glanced at Brent, who leaned against the side wall staring up at the blinking numbers as the elevator climbed. With nothing to say, Penny went back to her distorted image in the metal doors. Or maybe that stretched mess resembling her body being pulled in both directions was really her. Russ on one side and her family on the other. All wanted the case to be over, but for very different reasons.
If only they could all have their wishes. Catching Colin Heath would do that. Only, the man was making it difficult. And one thing Penny didn’t like was difficult people.
The elevator dinged and Brent held his arm out. “I know,” Penny said. “You first.”
Thankfully, their ride over had been quiet. No inquiries from him regarding this late visit to her office after her brother had been violently snatched off the street. Even if Brent had asked, she wouldn’t provide any information.
Not about this meeting.
This meeting would hopefully bring her closer to Zac.
Penny handed her key card to Brent, who swiped it at the entrance to Hennings & Solomon. After six, the place went on lockdown. Something that, in the past, irritated her because she’d always forgotten her key card. Now? No complaints.
Inside, Brent cleared the first office, then the others in the corridor. Penny waited, only slightly agitated that her life had become a series of starts and stops that left her no further than she’d been the day—two days even—before.
“You’re good,” Brent called.
She stepped into the hall, where he stood just outside her office door. “Thank you. I have a meeting with Jenna Hayward. She’s an employee. She’ll have a key.”
Any further details regarding Jenna’s employment would remain untold. For all Brent knew, Jenna might be another attorney rather than the firm’s drop-dead-gorgeous private investigator. A former Miss Illinois, Jenna knew how to use her physical assets to get the Hennings & Solomon crew whatever they needed.
Penny hoped that trend would continue with this assignment.
Leaving Brent in the hallway, she slipped off her suit jacket, ditched the stilettos and folded up the sleeves of her blouse. She rolled her neck, let her head hang for a second, hoping the stretch might relieve the blinding throb slamming into her skull. No good. Exhaustion did that to her.
She collapsed into her desk chair and inhaled. Focus on Zac. Pushing through the fatigue would be the only way to get her brother back. To restore her family. Give her parents the gift of their middle child.
As of thirty minutes ago, her mother had been medicated. The heartache had been too fierce, and fearing a total breakdown, Mom’s doctor had made the rare house call and administered a sedative.
Got any to share, Doc?
Someone knocked and Penny swiped at the tears threatening to tumble. She glanced up to see Jenna at the door in a black leather dress that looked more dominatrix than investigator. Her long sable hair hung loose and her lips curved into a smile as she nodded toward Brent. Brent didn’t seem to mind the view of Jenna’s backside.
“Big boy,” she said.
“He is indeed. Close the door.”
As she closed the door, Jenna offered Brent a finger wave. “Bye, sweetheart.”
Penny let out a long breath. Then again, this was why they’d hired Jenna. She had power and a fearlessness that Penny admired and, at this moment, craved.
“You look awful,” Jenna said.
“I know.”
“I’m sorry about Zac.” She sat in one of the guest chairs and dug her
battered calfskin notebook from her purse. “Tell me what I can do.”
“Colin Heath.” Penny pulled a folder from her desk drawer and handed it to Jenna. “This is everything I have on him. Please photocopy that file and give it back to me. I need you to help us find him. I don’t care what it costs. Dad is giving us carte blanche.”
Jenna lips puckered. “This is the guy who has Zac?”
To keep her hands busy, Penny folded them on the desk. “Yes. We find him and my guess is we find my brother. He wants me to swap one of my clients for Zac.”
“Ouch.”
“That’s putting it mildly. He says he’ll contact me again in the morning, but I don’t know when or by what means. He said he’d find me.”
“Will the feds share their info?”
She thought back to Russ and his insistence that he not know any details regarding her investigator. “No. This is just us.”
Jenna nodded. “Sure. I love cleaning up fed messes.”
For a brief second, Penny considered that statement. “The lead on this is Russ Voight. He’s an excellent agent. One I trust.” And just made love to. “If Zac’s safety weren’t involved, I’d let the FBI—with Russ as the lead—handle it. Zac’s a deal breaker for me.”
“Understood.” Jenna rose. “I’ll get on this now. See what I can dig up. I have some friends in the finance world.” She grinned. “A few owe me favors and they may know Heath.”
“Which is why I adore you.”
Jenna leaned over the desk, squeezed Penny’s hand. “You know I’ll do whatever I can. Whatever deal needs to be made, I’ll make it and get you information.”
Penny stared up at the beautiful Jenna and didn’t doubt any of what she’d said. Still, the words bounced around in a hollow place in Penny’s chest. Only Zac coming home would fill that space.
“Thank you,” she said.
Jenna marched out of the office and, sensing Penny needed alone time, closed the door behind her.
Whatever deal needs to be made, I’ll make it. Coming from Jenna, it sounded so confident. So righteous. Maybe it was. Maybe Penny was too deep into this to know.
So much trust had been put into the FBI, into Russ. Penny believed in his abilities, but he had to play by the rules. As an attorney, she understood the boundaries of the law. In Heath’s criminal mind, boundaries were meant to be tested. In Russ’s mind, and Penny’s, they were forced to work within them.
Whatever deal needs to be made, I’ll make it.
Penny rocked back in her chair, rolled her head from side to side. Trapped in the middle of this was Elizabeth and her son. So many lives at stake. Lives in Penny’s care. Immense pressure.
If she could come up with a way to keep Elizabeth and little Sam safe and get Zac back, this thing might work out. Capturing Heath would make the scenario perfect, but he’d managed to be a tough opponent.
At some point, she’d handed Heath control. She wasn’t sure when, but slowly, he’d seized power.
Take it back. Right now. Take it back.
Penny sat forward. She needed to get ahold of Colin Heath. Quickly. And dummy her, she’d failed to mention it to the person who could make that happen. She picked up her desk phone and dialed Jenna’s cell. “Hi. Sorry. I forgot something. There’s a man named Simon Caldwell. He’s in prison. Murdered my client’s husband. There are notes on him in the file. I need to get a message to Colin Heath. I think Simon will know how to find him.”
“Oh, goody,” Jenna said. “I’m on it. If I can get to him, what’s the message?”
“Just tell him I have an offer Heath can’t refuse.”
* * *
RUSS STOOD IN THE HALLWAY outside Penny’s apartment, waiting for her and Brent to come up the elevator. Only nine o’clock and it felt as if he’d been awake for three days. The smell of cooking meat lingered in the hallway and his stomach rumbled. When had he last eaten? Not lunch. He’d skipped that. He thought. Who knew?
Colin Heath. This guy was the biggest pain in the chops he’d faced. Next to Penny, of course. Penny at least was a fun pain. She challenged him, made him crave verbal swordplay. Not to mention the physical aspects they’d explored. The fact that she enjoyed it just as much wasn’t lost on him. What that said about them, he wouldn’t analyze.
Right now, he wanted to get his eyes on that compact body of hers and strip her naked.
Again.
Another issue because they had Zac Hennings being held hostage somewhere and Russ needed to think about that particular Hennings. Not the one currently consuming him.
From the middle of the hallway, the elevator dinged—finally. Brent stuck his giant head out, and for some reason, Russ found it funny.
Damn, I’m tired. Why else would he find Brent’s head sticking out of an elevator amusing? He shook his head, jammed his knuckles into his eyes and rubbed. “You’re clear.”
Brent stepped into the hallway. “What’s funny?”
Your enormous head. “Nothing.”
And then Penny—his daily dose of torment—walked toward him on her stilt shoes and...and...Brent who?
For such a tiny woman, Penny knew how to command space. Her navy suit, the one she’d changed into after they’d explored various erogenous zones, somehow still looked neat and pressed. As she neared, he spotted the dark shadows under her eyes.
“Hello, Russell,” she said in a tone that warned him they had company and whatever thoughts he’d employed needed to be suppressed.
“Hello, Penny.”
He turned to her apartment door and unlocked it with the key she’d left him in case he needed to get back in.
“You checked the apartment?” Brent wanted to know.
“Yeah. She’s good.”
Penny turned to Brent. “Thank you for everything today.”
“No problem. Try to rest. It’ll be a long day tomorrow.”
“I will.” She glanced at Russ, their eyes connected for half a second, but not enough for Brent to look sideways at, and nodded. “Good night, gentlemen.”
“Good night. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Thank you.”
With Penny inside the apartment, Russ focused on Brent. If possible, Brent appeared in worse shape than Russ. His hair stuck up in various places, the wrinkles in his suit looked three days old and his tie knot hung loose. “You’re a disaster.”
“I know.”
They’d both been dealing with Penny’s saucy mouth and stubbornness for days now, and as much fun as it provided, the woman’s energy could take the toughest of men down.
“When are you off?”
“Another hour. The third-shift guy was working a lead on Zac. I told him I’d stay later.”
A lead. At this point he’d take anything, considering he’d just spent three hours hunting down Heath’s family members. “Something good?”
“I don’t know. Someone saw a white van on the South Side. Million white vans on the South Side. He’s probably chasing his tail.”
“Never know.” Russ propped a shoulder against the wall and jerked his chin toward the door. “How is she?”
“Distracted.”
Interesting answer. Not upset, not hysterical, not quiet. Distracted. What Russ needed to know, but wouldn’t ask, which was a problem because the FBI agent in him would be all over it, was if Penny was distracted because her brother had been kidnapped or because she was up to something.
Whatever the issue, when Russ stripped away the layers, he and Penny had a beast inside them. It was part of his attraction to her. They understood each other. The beast kept them curious and strong and fighting. And if Russ had a brother who’d been kidnapped, the beast for damn sure wouldn’t tolerate waiting. The beast would be planning.
The fact that he didn’t full
y trust her bothered him. Or maybe what bothered him was the hit his ego took because Penny wanted her own investigator hunting Heath.
He’d talk to Penny. Just to remind her they’d made a deal involving her client becoming a cooperating witness and he expected her to stick to that deal. No matter what.
“Why don’t you take off? I’ve got Penny. I need to talk to her anyway. I’ll wait for the next guy.”
Brent scratched his head. “You sure?”
“Yeah. You look beat. And she’ll need you sharp tomorrow.”
“I like her. She’s high maintenance, but she’s funny. Makes me want to help her. You know?”
“Trust me. I know. She tore into me on the stand once and somehow I didn’t mind.”
Brent laughed. “I could see that.”
“Go home.”
Russ waited for Brent to step on the elevator, then knocked lightly on Penny’s door. The snick of the lock sounded and she swung the door open, wearing a bright pink tank top—no bra this time—and a pair of running shorts. The sheer lack of sex appeal in that outfit made it all the more erotic.
He took one long perusal of her body and zeroed in on her breasts. He needed her in a bed in the next five minutes. Forget the talk. And everything else. “You need to stop opening the door in these getups. I could have been Brent.”
“I heard you tell him to leave.” She batted her eyes. “I was listening, Russell.”
“You’re a witch.”
She stepped back and waved him in. “Flattery will get you everywhere. Now tell me about my brother.”
“Nothing new. Not yet. We’re working some informants, though, and they’ve given us locations to check. You never know. How are you holding up?”
“You know, I don’t think Heath will hurt Zac. It occurred to me that he needs me. If he...” She closed her eyes, threw her shoulders back and opened her eyes again. “If he hurts my brother, I can unleash Elizabeth. He knows I have evidence that will put him in prison. He won’t risk my wrath.”
Let’s hope.
“You could be right.”
“You don’t think?”
He shrugged. “I don’t make predictions. I want to believe you’re right, though. It’s logical. And you’re smart.”
THE DEFENDER Page 14
