by Tl Reeve
Kyle lifted his cup of coffee to his lips and swallowed the remaining contents before stepping back into the kitchen. He placed the empty mug in the sink and headed for the living room, grabbing his jacket.
Stuart was staying home with Sabine while he checked out the bar she worked for. There has to be security footage or someone who saw something. No one is kidnapped just out of the blue. Or so Kyle thought. It was a topic he and his partner always clashed about. He was practical. Abductors were methodical people. They followed their victims, learned their patterns, and when the opportunity presented itself, they took it.
If he was correct in his assumption, someone had followed Sabine for a while before they struck. The only way to prove it would be to grab as much information as he could and retrace her steps. He glanced back toward her bedroom one last time and sighed. What he wouldn’t give to slip back into bed with her and hold her close. Sabine Babineaux was a rare treasure. He could wax poetic about her from now until the cows came home, but it didn’t change their predicament. The case came first, and they would have to wait and see whatever happened afterward.
His hand reached for the knob, and he heard a feminine throat clear softly. Kyle turned around and found Sabine standing by the couch. Her arms were folded across her stomach. The pain he’d seen in her eyes the first day she woke up was gone. But there was something else there. Fear mixed with a healthy dose of desire, maybe? His body reacted to the gentle pout of her lips and the way her nipples automatically pearled into tight beads. His mouth watered. His dick stiffened, pressing at the front of his pants “Hey.” His voice was husky with need.
“Are you leaving already?” There was a thread of vulnerability in her words, and he hated it. He wished he could fix it right then and there.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “I need to stop by the station, and then I want to hit The Three Princesses. I shouldn’t be gone too long. Stuart’s here as well. He’s sleeping.” That surprised the hell out of him. Usually the guy was out of bed before he was.
“Oh, okay.” She hadn’t moved from the spot she was standing in, and Kyle cocked a brow at her, trying to figure out what was going on.
“Is there something wrong, Sabine?” When she was released from the hospital, they’d made it a point to stop back at her tiny apartment and grab her clothes and everything she would need to feel comfortable with them. Or as comfortable as possible.
“No.” She shook her head, and he watched her rub her hands down the sides of her robe. She was nervous, he could tell. “I was just curious is all. Could…I mean, if it’s possible, could we go out tonight? I feel—”
“Cooped up?”
“Yeah.” She breathed a sigh of relief at his understanding. “So do you think we could?”
“I don’t see a problem with it. Pick a place and let Stuart know. I shouldn’t be too long, and when I get back, we’ll head out. Maybe if things go as planned, we can make a day of it.”
“Thank you.” She smiled, visibly relaxing in his presence.
“Not a problem, Sabine. Now rest up, and I’ll see you later.” Kyle opened the door and stepped out into the bright light of the early morning sun. For a moment, he stood there and waited for her to head back to bed. Son of a bitch, we’re in trouble.
The frail vulnerability in her tone had made it too hard to tell her no. She’d been through so much in such a short amount of time. But putting her out on the street again could backfire in their faces. Kyle knew the chances were high they, too, were being watched. If so, all it would take was one misstep on their part, and Sabine could be gone forever. Yet it could work in their favor as well. The thought of using her as bait made his gut clench. It shouldn’t even be a thought. However, if things didn’t pan out at the bar, what were they out?
Absolutely nothing.
He got into his car and pulled out of the driveway. In the time it took to drive to the police station, he tried to come up with several viable ways to protect her while also putting her in the spotlight once more. All of his ideas made the protective side of his instincts roar to life and deny each and every plan. And as he parked the car in his designated spot, he was nowhere near the right answers to solving the case.
Kyle took the steps two at a time and opened the door. The sounds of the station assailed him. Phones rang while people milled around talking to one another. Others were questioning criminals or victims. He made his way through the throng of people and stopped by his desk before knocking on the chief’s door.
“Come in,” Granger’s gruff voice called out to him.
Opening the door, Kyle stepped inside, making sure to close it behind him. “Morning, Chief.”
Granger looked up from the report he was reading and took off his glasses. “Morning, Novak. Do you have any updates for me?”
“Not yet, sir. I’m actually on my way to Miss Babineaux’s employer. I was hoping to find some security video or catch someone who knows the victim. Hopefully, we’ll have a tighter case by this afternoon.”
“And the girl?” His boss cocked a brow.
“Safe and sound. She’s healing quite nicely. However, she is getting antsy being cooped up in the house. I can’t say I blame her, sir. I would have gone stir-crazy by now.” He took a seat across from his boss. “She wants to go out for the afternoon, and I think it’s a good idea.”
“Her father wouldn’t agree with that assessment.”
“With all due respect, sir, her father hasn’t even called her. He didn’t even appeal to the people of New Orleans to help bring her home. Nor did he come to the hospital to see her or call in to check on her.” Kyle bit back everything else he wanted to say about the man Sabine called father. He knew there were security issues, but they had procedures in place if her father wanted to see her or talk to her.
“He is well aware he can talk to her.” Granger’s voice held a hint of censure. “He’s also the mayor. He’s a very busy man, Novak.”
“That’s bullshit, sir.” Kyle had to watch his step, but they had put safety measures in place before Sabine came home from the hospital. “We have secure lines monitored from here twenty-four hours a day. We have a couple of plainclothes officers watching the house as well. So I’m sorry, sir. But there is no reason he can’t call her.”
His emotions were getting the better of him, and Kyle knew he needed to back off. However, the thought that the mayor wouldn’t want to see his only daughter, who had been held captive for three weeks, pissed him the hell off.
“Watch your tone, son.” Granger stood up and pinned him with a glare. “Now you don’t know what he’s doing or not doing. Your job is to keep his daughter safe. Remember your role, boy.”
Boy? Did Granger just call him boy? His hands fisted at his sides, his jaw clenching. Every retort he could come up with sat on the tip of his tongue. “You got it, Chief.” He didn’t wait to be dismissed. Kyle stood, turned his back on the man behind the metal desk, and stormed out of the office. He had things to do, and dealing with slow witted, backwoods assholes wasn’t one of them.
Once he was out of the building, he climbed back in his car and drove to the bar. It wouldn’t take him long to get there, so he had to rein his temper in. He couldn’t walk through the doors of the club with a chip on his shoulder. He wouldn’t learn anything about Sabine and who could have been hanging around the property while she worked. By the time he had gotten to Canal Street and turned left onto N. Roman Street, he was calmer. He pulled into the parking lot of The Three Princesses and got out.
There were only a few cars around him, which wasn’t typical for the lunchtime rush. He hadn’t realized he’d wasted so much time with the chief, nor that he had driven around the city for considerably longer than he’d expected. When he pulled open the door to the establishment, the hushed sounds of blues music came pouring through the speakers. Most of the patrons were there on lunch breaks, and some, Kyle was sure, were regulars. Stepping farther into the establishment, he glanced around and found
the bartender coming out of a back room located behind the bar. Two waitresses made their way through the little sitting area and, for a moment, he couldn’t believe Sabine worked in such a place.
“What can I get you, sweetness?” a little blonde waitress asked, walking over to him. She smelled like cheap perfume and wore more makeup than was humanly possible.
“I need to talk with your manager.” He pulled out his badge and showed it to the girl.
“He’s not here right now.” She bit the corner of her lip and held up the pad of paper in her hand. “Are you sure I can’t get you anything to drink?”
“No thanks.” Kyle made his way over to the bar and leaned against it. It was a long shot. The bartender studied him for a second then strolled down to him.
“What will it be?” The man was nothing like Clancy. He was shorter and a hundred and twenty pounds lighter.
“Tonic and lime.” Wouldn’t do him any good to be drinking on the job.
“Why didn’t you order it from Suzie over there?” The bartender lifted his chin in the direction of the woman he’d just spoken to.
“You’re more my speed,” Kyle shrugged. “I need a favor.”
“I don’t swing that way.”
“Thankfully, neither do I.” He laughed. “I need to know if you have the security footage from three weeks ago before Sabine was kidnapped.” The kid didn’t move. “Come on, kid. I already know she works here…or worked here. I just need to see the tape.”
“My boss would kick my ass if he knew what I was about to do.” Kyle was sure the guy was telling the truth about that, but it didn’t change the fact he needed that footage. Glancing down, he noticed the nervous twitch in the guy’s hand.
“I only need to see it. I know if I come back here with a warrant, you could possibly lose your job anyway. It’s a win-win for me either way, kid.”
“Shit.” The kid sighed. “Go around back, and I’ll let you in.”
Kyle nodded. “And, kid, if you fuck me over, we’re going to have serious problems.”
Kyle walked out of the bar and made his way around the building. His eyes constantly scanned the area for hidden cameras and to make sure he wasn’t being followed. When he reached the rear door, he knocked twice and waited. The bartender opened the door and ushered him in. “While we’re taking a look at the footage, which bartender was on duty the night Sabine disappeared?”
“I was. Why?”
“Why didn’t you offer up your security tape that night?” The kid squirmed. “Were you asked for it?”
“No,” he said quickly. “But I wouldn’t have been able to give it to you anyway.”
“Why?” Kyle had to hear this one. What logical excuse could this kid come up with for not giving over the footage?
“A warrant. My boss has told all of us the police need to present you with a warrant before you hand over any information about the establishment.”
Huh, interesting. “Well, kid, we’re doing things differently today. If I have to get a warrant for the video, I will shut this bar down for as long as I want to.” The kid didn’t need to know he was bluffing. “So the ball is in your court, man. What’s it going to be?”
The bartender’s shoulders slumped, and his gait slowed. “Man, you’re going to get me killed for sure. No lie; my boss is…dangerous.”
A shiver ran down Kyle’s back. There was truth in what the guy was saying. He honestly believed he would die for helping the police. Together they walked down a dark, narrow hallway until the kid stopped at the door of the office and fished the key out of his pocket. Once the door was open, he led Kyle over to a bank of monitors and opened up a laptop. The system was state of the art for a dive like this. The bartender clicked a couple of keys, and all the monitors came on. There, in the center screen, was Sabine.
“I’ll be damned.” Kyle watched as she walked out of the bar and across the parking lot. She paused momentarily, glanced down at something in her hands, then continued on. From the third monitor on the left, he watched a black-on-black van screech into the parking lot and stop directly in front of Sabine. The side door flew open. The poor girl never had a chance. Suspect number one grabbed her while suspect number two stabbed her with a needle, and she went limp in number one’s arms. “I’m going to need all of this footage.”
“I can’t,” the kid said, shutting everything down.
“You will, or I will get that fucking warrant, remember?”
“Fucking cops.” The guy grabbed a DVD and popped it into the computer. Within minutes, the video was being transferred to the disk. When it was finished, the DVD drive popped out, and Kyle picked up the disc. “You got what you wanted,” the kid said.
“Not everything,” Kyle replied. “I still need the owner’s name.” He had already checked the records in the county commission office, but he wanted to hear what the kid had to say.
“His name is Steffen Rutherford.”
“Works for me. Thanks for your cooperation.” He turned away from the bartender and headed out. When he got home, he and Stuart would have their hands full of work. The bar was suspicious as fuck, and he knew the minute he found Steffen Rutherford, the case would be blown wide open.
Chapter Six
“Ah, come on, Ref. Cormyr fouled him!” Stuart yelled at the TV while Sabine sat giggling next to him.
“I think you take this way too seriously.” She laughed. “Are you always like this when a game is on?”
“When it comes to soccer, yes.” Stuart had played some during high school and college. He was a striker, which for his size and bulk had been interesting, to say the least. Several opponents didn’t pay much attention to him…until he got a run on goal and took the shot.
“You’re rabid.” She shook her head and stood up. “I’m thirsty. Want something to drink?”
“Yeah, bring me a beer. Please.” He watched her walk out of the room and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already after four, and Kyle wasn’t back yet. The bastard let him sleep in, and when he finally did wake up, Sabine had been in the kitchen making breakfast.
The sight of her lithe body swaying to a tune she hummed as she scrambled up some eggs and turned the bacon sizzling in the pan next to her made his cock stiffen to the point of pain. She was beautiful. The silky strands of her strawberry blonde hair hung loose around her shoulders. His fingers itched to run through it, to feel its texture. Stuart bit back a curse. Just thinking about her made him want to strip her bare and lay her out like a sensual buffet.
“You haven’t told me where we’re going for dinner tonight,” she said, walking back into the living room. “I was thinking some place festive. We need to have fun, don’t you agree?” In the last few days, the icy veneer she wore had melted. In its place was an outgoing, spunky person, making her even more desirable.
He was about to answer her when the door opened, and Kyle stepped in. The look on his face said things didn’t go very well. “Hey, man,” Stuart said, standing up. “What did you find out?”
Kyle didn’t say a word. He simply walked across the room and wrapped his arms around Sabine. He buried his face in her neck and took a deep breath. “It’s not safe anymore.”
“Wait. What do you mean it’s not safe?” Her voice was whisper soft. “I thought you said we’d always be safe?”
“I know, sweetheart. But I found out some information today that changes everything. I’m sorry.”
Sabine looked crestfallen. Stuart’s gut knotted. He knew his best friend would never say something so damning if there wasn’t a reason. “How about you get ready to go out, and when you’re ready, you come join us, okay?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed out a breath. “Fine.”
Before Stuart or Kyle could answer, she walked back to the guest bedroom they had set her up in and closed the door. His partner took off his jacket, hung it up, and walked into the kitchen. When he came back, he sat down on the couch and popped open his beer. “We’ve
got a huge problem on our hands, Stuart.”
“Tell me about it,” he said, turning the game off.
“I went to the station first and had a run in with the chief,” Kyle started.
“Let me guess. It didn’t go well?” Just by the expression on Kyle’s face, Stuart knew.
“If he had told me Sabine could eat shit, I wouldn’t have been surprised.” He took a pull from his beer and went on. “I told him that Sabine’s father should call her. He said, and I quote, ‘the mayor has been busy,’ and ‘there are security issues.’”
“What?”
“Yeah, that’s what I said, too. I informed the chief we had security measures in place, and it would be good for Sabine to hear or see her father.” Kyle shook his head, and Stuart knew what was coming.
“Still said it wouldn’t happen, didn’t he?” Stupid fuckers. Why was it so hard to call someone and just say hi? What was the hardship in that? It would take all of two minutes.
“Sure did. The moment I called her father out, I was reminded of my place in the department.”
