Baker’s Law (28 page)

“What are you talking about?”

“Marissa. She was supposed to cater the bridal shower. I can’t get her to return any
of my calls. She was supposed to be here an hour ago.”

Jax glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was half past nine. He’d slept harder
than he thought if it was so late in the morning.

“Marlie can’t even get her to answer
her,
” Callie went on.

The gnawing in Jax’s stomach increased and tension pulled through his shoulders. Jax
hung up on his sister as she continued her mini-tirade. He immediately called Marissa.
Straight to voice mail again.

He shoved his feet in his boots and grabbed up his keys. As he hurried out the front
door, he called in to the station. “Hey Mace, I need to send whoever’s on duty over
to Marissa Llewellyn’s house.”

“Okay, Chief. And when he gets there?”

“If she’s there have them contact me immediately. I’m headed over to her bakery.”
He was five minutes away. He skidded to a halt at his truck as a thought slammed into
him. “Any luck on the APB out on Bryant Travers?”

“No sir.”

“Dammit.” He hung up with Macey and dialed Marissa again as he jumped into his Cruiser.
“Marissa, I need you to call me. It’s an emergency.”

“Someone is jonesing to get ahold of you.” Travers tapped Marissa’s cell phone.

They’d been holed up in her stockroom since he’d grabbed her the night before. No
matter what she’d said to him, he believed Hill would come by at some point and he
was determined to wait it out.

He’d tied her hands up in front of her with one of her aprons and shoved her down
on one end of the sofa. He’d sat himself behind her desk, propped his feet up as casual
as you please. And waited. She’d hoped he’d fall asleep at some point so she could
get out, but Travers was wired and showed no sign of fatigue. After the days of searching
and worry for Hill, she’d nodded off a time or two despite every effort not to.

It scared her more to be vulnerable during those moments of blessed sleep. Once when
she’d woke, she’d found Travers eating at her desk. He’d carried a tray of cupcakes
in, eaten every damn one of them right there and smirked when he stretched out afterward.

“My employee will be here later to open the store. What do you plan on doing then?”

Travers dropped his feet to the floor and narrowed his eyes. “Shut up.”

She hadn’t bothered to tell him about her morning delivery. She was already an hour
late. At the rate her phone kept going off, Marlie and Callie were trying to get ahold
of her. She did worry that one of them would come up to the shop. Thankfully, though,
neither had a key so they wouldn’t be able to get in. Kya, on the other hand, was
due in at noon.

Marissa was so damn tired, even with the few catnaps, that figuring a way out was
proving to be a little more difficult than she’d have imagined. And she was stiff.
Her neck and shoulders were so tight. She’d tried to loosen the knot in the apron
ties at her wrists, but the more she worked at it the tighter they seemed to get.
If nothing else, she could buy time until Kya showed up and then she could scream
like crazy for the girl to go get help.

She tried to roll out a crick in her neck when a knock came at the front of the shop.

Travers smirked. “Told you Hill would show up.” He stood.

Hill had a key. There was no reason why he’d knock. She was opening her mouth to tell
him when he left the office.

It was now or never. She jumped up from the sofa and ran to office door and slammed
it shut. It was hard to engage the lock. Her hands were stiff, but she got the little
button to turn. Once she did, she hurried over to the phone and fumbled with it until
she finally managed to dial 911. Before the dispatcher even got on the line, Travers
was pounding on the door.

“You stupid bitch.”

Marissa nearly jumped when the call connected. “This is Marissa Llewellyn. I’m being
held captive at my shop by Bryant Travers.”

“Are you okay, dear?”

“For the moment. I need…” The door creaked and shuddered, but didn’t open. “I need
Chief Carlisle. Tell him to hurry. Please.” Marissa dropped the phone onto the desktop,
but left it connected. Her gaze darted around the office as she tried to find something
for a weapon. With her hands bound in front of her, she was limited in what she could
grasp.

The door splintered again.

One more hit and it would open. Marissa grabbed the butterfly letter-opener Marlie
had given to her for Christmas one year and she crouched under the desk, hiding, making
herself as small a target as possible just as the door burst open.

* * *

Jax knocked again on the glass door, just as his cell rang. “Carlisle.”

“Chief, Marissa Llewellyn is on the line. She says the Travers boy is holding her
hostage in her shop.”

Jax all but dropped his phone. “I’m here now.” Sweat beaded at his temple and tension
rolled through his shoulders. “Send me backup ASAP.” He shoved his phone in his pocket,
didn’t even bother to check to see if he’d turned it off. He slid his service revolver
from his hip holster. As he leaned close to the glass door to see if he could get
a good look inside, a crash echoed from somewhere in the back of the shop.

Not knowing what was going on inside, he had a split-second decision to make whether
to go in or wait for backup. He didn’t even have to think about it. He moved over
to one of the picture windows at the front of the shop, turned his gun around and
smacked the glass with the butt of his gun. The window shattered on the second strike.
Jax wasted little time stepping through the opening. He hunched down and kept his
gaze peeled toward the back of the store.

There were no sounds other than his own labored breathing as he rounded the counter
and made his way into the stockroom. From his vantage point, he could see that the
door to Marissa’s office hung off-kilter. He took a moment to scan the kitchen area.
No one was hiding as best he could tell, and with all the stainless-steel appliances
some reflection would show.

He straightened as a loud bellow rang out, followed by a man yelling.

“You stupid bitch!”

Jax’s stomach plummeted as he rushed back to the office. A young man was behind the
desk swinging his hands at the space beneath.

“Freeze, Travers.” Jax trained his gun on the man. The wail of sirens gradually grew.

Travers looked up, his eyes wide and wild. Instead of staying still, he staggered
backward. “The bitch stabbed me.” He gripped at his thigh, fell against the wall,
then slid down.

“Marissa?” Jax rounded the desk. He held his gun on Travers and tried to peer around
the desk. The chair was half in the leg space. Something—someone—had hunkered down
in the small space. “Honey, can you hear me?”

Travers moaned and blocked out any response he may have gotten from Marissa. Jax looked
down at the guy. There was something sticking out of his leg, just above his knee.
Blood stained the dark denim.

The sirens grew louder, and then a thunder of feet came through the shop. “Chief?”
Connors came around the corner with his gun drawn.

“This guy needs medical attention.” Jax turned his back on Travers. “And arrest him.”

Travers moaned. “I’m dying here.”

“Shut the hell up,” Jax called over his shoulder before he dropped to his knees and
crawled over to the space where Marissa was hunched under the desk. “Marissa, honey,
it’s Jax.”

Marissa’s arms—bound with some black material—covered her head. Her entire body shook.

Jax reached out and set his hand on her shoulder. She jumped at his touch and shook
harder. “It’s okay, honey. He can’t hurt you.” Jax let his hand sit on her shoulder
for a long moment, let her get accustomed to his touch, then slid his hand up to her
neck. “Marissa, can you look at me?” Jax nudged her chin with his thumb.

Slowly she lifted her head. Her red-rimmed eyes darted all around before her gaze
finally landed on his.

“Hey.” He smiled at her. “You’re safe now.” He stroked his thumb across her chin.
His smile fell. Fresh bruises covered her upper arms. “Are you hurt?” Other than what
I can see, he wanted to ask.

“A little.” She winced as she shifted. “I don’t know.”

“Connors.” Jax kept his voice low so as not to startle Marissa. “What’s the ETA on
the paramedics?”

“Any minute now, Chief.”

“What happened, Marissa? Can you tell me?”

For a long moment she stared off into space saying nothing. Finally she said, “I was
leaving here last night and he just sh-showed up. He wants H-Hill.” Her eyes widened,
her chin trembled.

“Hill’s safe, honey. He came to the station last night, turned himself in.” A bustle
of noise echoed on the other side of the room as the paramedics arrived. Jax stood
and waved Granger Peet over while Ian Duncan went to Connors to help with Travers.
Granger had been a few years above Jax in school. He was a good guy and after working
a couple of traffic accidents with him, Jax knew he had the temperament to handle
a traumatized victim. “She’s been held since late last night, bound at the wrists.
She has visible bruises on her arms. Travers was hitting her—” his voice caught “—as
I came in. I have no idea what else he may have done.”

“I’ll take care of her.” Granger patted Jax’s shoulder and squatted down next to Marissa.

Jax moved back to give the man room to work. Truth be told, he’d love nothing more
than to drop into the chair. His knees had threatened to give out the moment he found
Marissa hunched up like a child. Then the bruises just about drove him over the edge.
Had Travers not already had something sticking out of his leg, Jax wasn’t entirely
sure he wouldn’t have beaten the hell out of him himself.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. It had been going off nearly nonstop since he’d
moved into the shop, but he’d ignored it as instinct and duty took over. He slid it
out and glanced at the screen. It was his sister. He pressed the ignore button and
dropped it back into his pocket.

Duncan had Travers loaded up on a gurney. The leg of his jeans was split up to his
thigh and a white bandage covered the area above his knee. He shook his hands but
Connors had cuffed him to the railing. For a brief moment he locked eyes with Jax.

Whatever he saw written across Jax’s face stilled him, and he stopped struggling,
then let his head fall back.

“Stay with him, Connors. As soon as he’s fit, I want him in a cell.”

Connors nodded and followed the gurney out. When the room was clear, Granger coaxed
Marissa from under the desk. She stood on shaky legs and blinked rapidly.

“Chief.” Granger jerked his head for Jax to come over to his side. “I have scissors
in my case. Will you…” He motioned for Jax to take his spot next to Marissa.

Jax was at her side in a heartbeat. He wrapped his arm around her waist and she grimaced.
“Sorry.” He whispered into her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

When Granger turned from his medical bag, he eased up next to Jax and lowered his
voice for Jax’s ears only. “He kicked her a few times when he found her hiding under
the desk.”

Jax gritted his teeth.

“We’re going to take her up to the hospital.” His voice returned to normal. “We’ll
get her checked out.” He cut the bindings at her wrist. When the material was free,
Granger slipped it into a plastic bag. “That was your cruiser I saw out front?” When
Jax nodded, Granger continued. “Miss Llewellyn, I’m going to get Chief Carlisle to
drive you up to the hospital if that’s okay.”

Marissa gave an almost imperceptible nod.

To Jax, Granger said, “I don’t think it’d be good for her to be cooped up with the
man who did this.”

Granger closed up his medical bag, then waved at Jax and Marissa to follow him out.
In the front of the shop, they all climbed through the busted-out window. Marissa
gave a small squeak. “My window.”

“I’m sorry, honey. I had to bust it to get in.” Jax settled her into the front passenger
seat as Granger climbed into the back of the ambulance where Travers was loaded.

Officer Garrett was pulling in in front of the shop. Jax gave him a quick rundown
of what had happened, asked him to get the window boarded up and see to the scene.

“We’re going to run you up to the hospital now,” Jax said as he climbed behind the
wheel of his cruiser.

Marissa gave a quick nod, then leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She massaged
her chafed wrists the entire ride up to the hospital. It had taken every ounce of
his strength to be gentle with her and not bury his head in her hair. He wanted nothing
more than to pull the cruiser over to the side of the road and take Marissa into his
arms and hold her until his own shaking subsided. And then hold her longer still.

He’d been in love with her just seeing her devotion to a homeless kid who had no one.
And how she’d hadn’t backed down, didn’t take any crap from him… Not many people—men
or women—stood up to him. The moment he’d realized she was in trouble, his heart all
but stopped, then to see her injured… He realized then, too, that he loved her more
than anything he’d ever loved before. He’d do whatever he had to in order to protect
her and help her. He made a mental note to call in those last few favors for Hill.
Whether she knew it or not, her family had just grown to include two very lucky men.

Jax pulled in right behind the ambulance; Connors was parked just up around the edge
of the circular drive. Granger gave a few instructions to Duncan, who wheeled the
stretcher in through the doors, then he met Jax at the side of the cruiser with a
wheelchair.

The two men eased Marissa into it, then Granger whisked her inside.

Connors walked over to Jax’s side. “How’s she doing, Chief?” The young officer darted
his gaze toward the hospital entrance.

“She’s the strongest woman I know,” Jax said almost to himself as he handed Connors
his keys. “Will you move this for me before you go stand guard over Travers?”