by L. P. Dover
His eyes blazed. “Don’t you think I know that? She might’ve chosen you, but I’ve known her a whole hell of a lot longer. That’s why I want to help.”
“You, help me? That’s a joke, right?”
“Call it whatever you want, but you said it yourself, something’s not right. I can feel it in my bones. She was supposed to go to the hotel, not head north. Why the fuck was she heading out of the city?”
I threw my hands in the air. “Fuck if I know, but I’m going to find out.”
“And I’m going to help you,” he offered.
“No, you’re not,” I snapped, getting into the car. “I work alone. What I do is dangerous. It’s not like the figure skating bullshit you do on the ice.” I didn’t even hear his retort because I slammed the door in his face and tore out of the parking lot. I wasn’t going to rest until I found out what happened to Hadley.
Blake
“Are you doing okay?” Logan asked. “Robert told me everything. I can’t believe this shit.”
I gripped the steering wheel so hard, my knuckles turned white. “It’s like a fucking nightmare I can’t get out of. I had to get wasted just to get through the night.”
“I understand, brother. Hadley was an amazing woman. Where are you headed now?”
“Burnsville. I’m going to see what I can find. I just want to know what happened, and the fucknuts here seem to be satisfied with calling this an accident.” I was only ten miles away and the closer I got, the more I felt the weight of her loss.
“Is there anything I can do? Your resources are probably limited, being away from home.”
“I brought my laptop, but I was too drunk last night to do anything. Do you mind tapping into the satellite feeds and see if you can find any kind of video of what happened? I need to see the accident.”
He typed away on his computer. “On it. I’ll give you a call back.”
“Thanks.”
We hung up and I concentrated on the road. Burnsville was a small, Sleepy Hollow type of town. It was so miniscule, no one had ever heard of it. The crash site was easy to spot with all the flowers, charred ground, and yellow tape. I didn’t want to imagine Hadley’s life ending there, but it was staring at me, right in the fucking face. There was no goodbye, or one last touch. She was simply . . . gone.
As soon as I got out of the car, all I could do was stand there. My feet wouldn’t take me any closer. I thought I could handle it, but I was wrong. Dropping to my knees, I punched the blackened ground, over and over. The throbbing ache in my chest was almost too much for me to take.
Placing my hands on the ground, I closed my eyes and squeezed them tight, trying to hold back the tears. “I’m sorry, Hadley. I’m so fucking sorry.”
A car door slammed and the sadness turned to rage. Why couldn’t I have one fucking minute to think without someone interrupting me? Getting to my feet, I swiped at my eyes and turned around. “What are you doing here?” I growled, glaring at the inconsiderate cocksucker headed my way.
Nick sighed and approached cautiously. “I followed you. I told you I wanted to help. Plus, I think there’s some things you need to know.” His gaze landed on the charred ground and he froze. “I didn’t realize how hard it was going to be to come here.” Tears flooded his eyes and he cleared his throat, looking away.
I snapped my fingers in front of his face, drawing him back. “Focus! What do I need to know?”
“I was at the station this morning and Mr. Rivers was there. I overheard him on the phone saying he was leaving for a couple of days but he’d be back for the funeral. Why would he be leaving when his daughter was just killed?”
“Fuck if I know. He’s a busy man.”
His brows furrowed and he shook his head. “Too busy to grieve over his own daughter? No. It’s strange. He’s not exactly acting like a father who just lost his daughter.”
“What exactly are you saying?”
He shrugged. “I think you might be right. Something about Hadley’s death is wrong and I don’t like how everyone’s brushing it off as an accident. I heard some of the guys at the station say you’re one of the best undercover cops around. Is that true?”
Turning on my heel, I stormed back to the car and opened the door. “If I was, this never would’ve happened.”
“Then let’s figure this shit out.”
“Don’t you need to go take care of your sister and handle the paparazzi or something?”
His jaw clenched. “Stop being a dick and let me help you. I’ve known her for years and if I’m able to help in even the smallest capacity, isn’t it worth keeping me around?”
We stared each other down, but I could see the determination in his eyes. He loved her too. “Fine. Get in my way and I’ll break both your legs. Let’s see how you play hockey then.” I got in my car, and of course, fuckhead followed me to the motel; it was the only one in the small town. One thing was for sure, I wasn’t leaving until I had my answers.
“Are you going to be up my ass the entire time?” I opened the door to my room and Nick brushed past me.
“Have you heard anything?”
“No, I haven’t. It’s been three hours. Now calm the fuck down.” I slammed the door and sat back down at my computer.
Blowing out an angry breath, he ran his hands through his hair and paced. “I’m trying. I don’t see how you’re all calm about this.”
I glared at him. “I’m calm because I have to be. I can’t do my job being irrational and angry.” I wanted to be angry and beat the shit out of things, but I couldn’t.
Nick sat on the bed and lowered his head. “I just never thought she’d be taken away from me.”
I sighed and turned my gaze back to the screen. All of the pictures Hadley took in Wyoming were saved to my computer. I couldn’t stop looking at them, at her. “Neither did I,” I murmured.
For the next hour, I searched through everything I could find on George Rivers’ whereabouts. I called his office and all they would say was that he was out of town for a couple of days. There wasn’t much to go on, especially since he hadn’t paid for anything with any of his credit cards recently, so I could track his location. There was, however, a sum of five million dollars taken out of his bank two days ago, the day Hadley was killed.
“What are you up to, George?” I mumbled at the screen.
“What do you mean?” Nick asked.
I’d been completely engrossed in my work and forgotten he was in the room. I pointed at the screen and he walked over. “You see this? That’s five million dollars taken out of George Rivers’ account two days ago. Why the hell would he need that much money?”
Nick shook his head. “Have you figured out where he’s at?”
“Not yet. I’m trying to tap into his phone to see if I can locate him that way. It just takes time. Once I link in, all we’ll have to do is wait.” I typed in the information and waited for the wheel of death to stop spinning. Nick watched on in fascination and we both breathed a sigh of relief when my software synced with George’s phone. I knew it would, but being in the middle of a desolate town, I figured it’d take longer.
“How long do we have to wait?”
“I don’t know,” I answered with a shrug. “It depends on how far away he is. Once we find him, hopefully, it’ll give us an idea of what he’s up to.”
“You don’t think he had anything to do with the accident do you? He was always so overly protective of Hadley.”
“You’re right. I don’t believe he would ever purposely hurt her. I just want to know what he’s up to.”
I clicked over to another screen where a picture of her working in the barn popped up. She wasn’t looking when I’d taken it, but I had to have proof that I’d gotten her to shovel shit. She would’ve killed me if she knew I took it.
“Is that Hadley?” Nick asked. Nodding, I turned the computer toward him. His eyes lit up when he looked at her. “What is she doing?”
Chuckling, I pointed at her picture.
“Shoveling shit. When she first came out to Wyoming, I didn’t want her there. I thought it was an insult to my talent to have to babysit a spoiled Hollywood brat.”
“She was never like that,” he snapped.
I held up my hand. “I know, but it took a while for me to see. Anyway, I made her sweep out the stalls and help me in the barn. She turned out to be one hell of a rider. Nightshade loved her.”
“I went about it all wrong,” he grumbled. “Who would’ve thought she’d want a guy who made her clean up horse shit?”
The memories made me laugh. “My thought exactly.”
A sad smile spread across his face. “Do you mind if I scroll through the pictures? I’ve never seen her like this.”
I nodded and turned the computer toward him. He burst out laughing when he saw the pictures of me in the Mexican pointy boots. I didn’t want to think about what it was going to be like getting on a plane and going home without her.
A phone rang. My pulse spiked when I saw who it was. “Logan. Got any news?”
“Do I ever,” he exclaimed. “Are you sitting down?”
“Yeah.”
“Good, hold on. I’m sending over a video.” He clicked away on his computer. “You’re never going to believe this shit. I was having trouble with the clarity, but I had one of my friends clean it up for me. Let me know when you get it.”
Heart racing, I grabbed my computer back from Nick and logged into my government email. “I have it. Clicking on it now.”
“All right. It’s dark, so we had to look at it through the night vision sensor. Tell me when you see the crash.”
Taking a deep breath, I held it in as I watched the car slam into the tree. I’d been in car accidents before and knew that hit shouldn’t have incapacitated them.
Nick gasped. “No fucking way. That’s it?”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand how they couldn’t have gotten out.”
“Who’s with you?” Logan asked.
I rolled my eyes and huffed. “Nick Myers. He followed me out here. The idiot thinks he can help me.”
“Prick,” Nick mumbled, flipping me off.
Logan chuckled. “I bet that has to be interesting.”
“You have no idea.”
“Well, things are about to get crazy. Tell me what you see now.”
Focusing on the video, I couldn’t believe my eyes. We watched as the driver door opened and Connor stepped out like nothing happened. “What the—”
“Exactly. Now watch. They aren’t alone.”
A car pulls up behind them and another man gets out, slapping Connor’s shoulder in passing. What the hell was going on? Connor proceeded to open the back door and lift Hadley into his arms, while the other guy dumped something into the front seat.
“Is that what I think it is?” I growled in disgust.
Logan sighed. “I think so. I don’t know where they got the ashes, but what else could it be? That guy dumps a container into the backseat as well.”
I watched Connor carefully place her into the backseat of the second car, as the other guy set flame to hers. “She’s alive,” my voice creaked out.
Nick fell to his knees. “Thank fucking God.”
Logan cleared his throat. “You know what this means, right?”
The car with Hadley inside of it sped away. “She’s out there and I’m going to find her. I don’t care how long it takes or what I have to do. I won’t rest until I have her back.”
Hadley
Cinnamon apples. I loved the smell of cinnamon apples so much that I had a candle in every room of my house. Was I home? How could that be? Footsteps sounded on the hardwood floor below me, but I wasn’t the one doing the walking. A set of arms held me tight and I sighed, thinking it was Blake but the cologne was different. I recognized it.
“Connor?”
“It’s me. I’m moving you to a different room,” he murmured. Ever so slowly, I could finally move my arms and my legs. My muscles ached across my chest; especially when Connor laid me down in the bed. By the time I could open my eyes, I watched him walk out the door.
“You’re awake,” a voice called out to my right.
Groaning, I turned my head to the side. “Dad?”
He smiled at me and grabbed my hand. “How do you feel?”
“Like I’ve been run over by a train. What happened?” I glanced down at my arm where a bandage covered the inside of my elbow.
My father glanced down at my arm and cleared his throat. “You were in an accident. They just took you off the IV.”
“Where am I?” It looked like a house instead of a hospital. A really nice house, as a matter of fact.
“Connor brought you here and had a private physician check you out. We didn’t want the media attention. They can’t touch you here.”
“Accident? What kind of accident? I can’t remember anything.” All I could remember was being in the car and then . . . nothing.
He squeezed my hand and stood. “Connor lost control of the car and ran off the road. He’s fine and so are you.”
“Where are we?”
For a split second, he hesitated and then answered. “In Canada. Connor knew you’d be safe up here.”
“Canada,” I shouted incredulously. “That makes no sense. Where’s Blake? He was coming for me. I have to let him know where I am.”
“Shh, it’s okay,” he uttered gently, kneeling down by the bed. “Blake knows where you’re at. The media is following him around, hoping he’ll come to you. Don’t worry, you’ll see him soon.”
I glanced around the room. “Where’s my phone? I need to call him.”
“It was lost in the accident. We’ll get you another one.”
“I can use yours,” I said, holding out my hand. “I don’t care if the media is following him around or not, he can still talk to me on the phone.”
Sighing, he leaned over and kissed me on the head. “My phone’s in the car. I have to head back to New York for a bit. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“How long do I have to stay here?”
He smiled and I could see a hint of tears in his eyes. Something was wrong. “Just for a few more days.”
“Dad, what’s wrong? You’re keeping something from me.”
He shook his head. “It’ll all work out in the end. But right now, I have to go. Connor and his people will take care of you.” Turning on his heel, he hurried to the door and rushed out.
“Dad, wait!”
He didn’t answer. He was gone.
There was a feeling in my gut I couldn’t shake. Trees surrounded the house and there was nothing around from what I could tell. Where the hell was I? Not to mention, there was no phone in the room. I had to call Blake.
Stumbling over to the closet, I opened it up to find an entire wardrobe in my size. Even the bathroom was stocked with the same toiletries I used. Instead of changing clothes, I walked out of the room in my hospital nightgown, and ventured downstairs. The house was enormous and nothing like I’d imagine Connor living in.
“Hadley, what are you doing?”
Gasping, I turned around and grabbed my chest. Connor stood there, dressed in a suit with a gun in his waistband. Why was he carrying a gun in here? “Why aren’t you all sore and feeling like shit like I am? You were in the car with me.”
He chuckled. “I’m not a woman.”
“Ha-ha, very funny,” I retorted, glancing around the house. There were pictures on the wall, expensive pieces of artwork.
“You have clothes in your room if you wanted to change. The stuff in the bathroom is yours too. Your father made sure we had everything you needed.” That answered one of my questions. “Are you hungry?” he asked.
I nodded. “I feel like I haven’t eaten in days.”
“You haven’t. Why don’t you go upstairs to change, and I’ll get you something to eat. Meet me down in the gardens and we’ll picnic outside.” He pointed to a glass door off to the side. I could see the flowers in t
he garden. They were beautiful.
“Can you bring a phone as well? Dad said mine is gone and there’s not one in the room. I need to make a few calls.”
“He called everyone, Hadley. My job is to keep you stress-free. The last thing you need to do is worry about everyone else.”
Dread settled into the pit of my stomach. I got the feeling they were keeping me away for a reason. Why was I meeting such resistance over a stupid phone call? “I just want to call Blake. That’s it. He’s probably worried sick about me.”
He pointed to the stairs. “After dinner. Now get dressed. You look like you could use a glass of wine.”
I wanted to argue but he walked away, leaving me by myself in the large foyer. I hurried up the stairs back to my room. Why did I have so many pairs of clothes? I changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and slowly made my way to the gardens.
There was a gate off to the side that led to the front of the house. Since Connor wasn’t out there, I decided to explore. The house was huge, much larger than my father’s. A car door slammed out front so I hurried down the sidewalk to see who it was. I would’ve given anything to see Blake. Before I could turn the corner, a man dressed in a dark gray suit with slicked back brown hair and shades stepped in my way.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in the gardens?” he stated matter-of-factly. He was Irish, judging by the accent.
I could feel his penetrating glare through the glasses; it made me uneasy. Crossing my arms over my chest, I stood firm. “Am I not allowed to look around?”
“You are, but I believe it’d be in your best interest to keep an escort.”
“Am I in prison?” I snapped.
“No, and I’d be more than happy to assist you in anywhere you want to go.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Connor spoke up. He grasped my elbow and pulled me into his side. “Let’s go, Hadley.” I went with him willingly and glanced over my shoulder at the other guy who turned and headed back to the front of the house.
“What was that about?” I inquired, not wanting to run into that guy anytime soon.
“I suggest you stay away from him.”
