Broken Promises (19 page)

Be strong.
“This can’t happen again,”
she murmured into his shoulder.

He levered up on one elbow. “Don’t know why
not.”

“Nothing’s changed. You’re still a Fed, and
I’m a mobster’s daughter.”

His brows drew together as if he were
considering his options. “Maybe something could be worked out.”

“
Something?
” She shook her head. She
could see the doubt written in his eyes, no matter what he said.
“You’re dreaming.”

He swung his feet to the floor and winked.
“Let’s continue this conversation in the shower.”

The last thing in the world she needed was a
round of shower sex. She chewed her bottom lip. “I don’t think so.
You go ahead. I’ve got stuff to do.”

“More important than…” His eyes widened with
disbelief.

“Afraid so.” Best she got away now while she
still could. Rather than spend the rest of the day in his arms—no,
that was way too dangerous. Too dangerous for her heart.

She wasn’t sure where her future lay, but it
certainly wasn’t in Special Agent Alex MacGregor’s bed, his arms,
or, least of all, his heart. No matter what he said in the heat of
the moment.

“Fine, but if you change your mind…” He
lifted the corner of his mouth as if he thought he could change her
mind with his charm alone.

“I won’t.” She hopped from the bed, snatched
up her fallen clothes, and pulled on her panties. She felt his gaze
lingering on her breasts and crossed her arms. “Go on. No free
peepshow.”

Heading for the shower, he laughed, waving
his hands in a gesture of surrender. “All right, if you say
so.”

She exhaled a sigh of relief, her thighs
trembling with the urge to follow him. Swallowing the lump in her
throat, she steeled her resolve. Booty call was over. Work was
calling her name. Even if it was Sunday, she could straighten the
office. No doubt the cops had left a mess with fingerprint dust and
crap.

Okay, so she was running.

Big deal. Running away was something she was
good at.

Chapter Nineteen

Guilt was a bitch. What the hell had she been
thinking? Making love while Jackie was still missing. Bette waited
until she heard the shower running and quickly wrote Alex a note,
telling him where she was headed and why, then propped it on the
beat-up coffee table.

She fastened Shadow in her backseat crate,
then headed to the office. The locum would appreciate Bette’s
efforts in the morning. As she neared the office, she flicked on
the turn signal, then turned into the parking lot. At the same
time, her cell phone chimed.

She waited until she parked before answering
the unfamiliar number showing on the screen. Curiosity got the
better of her, so she answered.

“Bette! I’m so glad—got you. I need—help.” A
burst of scratchy static. “Quick. Be—he—back.”

“Jackie? Is it really you?” Stupid. Of course
it was. In spite of the poor reception, static and dropouts, she’d
know her boss’s panicked voice anywhere. “Are you all right? Is
Cody with you?

“We’re—deserted wine—side Naples.
Hur—not—time. He’s com—”

“Which—?”

A cry of pain followed by a sharp click, then
the mocking whine of the dial tone.

Bette’s heart slammed until it threatened to
rip from her chest. Okay. So, the too-stupid-to-live heroine always
took off on her own and then needed the hero to come charging to
the rescue. Not this time. Maybe only part of the cliché was true.
She certainly hadn’t imagined Jackie’s voice on the phone. That
much was true. Maybe she’d made the call under duress, and it was a
trap.

Even so, she had to follow up. Forewarned was
forearmed, right?

No, first call Alex.
Together they
stood a much better chance of finding and rescuing his sister and
nephew. Due to check in with him anyway. She hit his number on
speed dial.

No answer. It rolled to voice mail. “Fat lot
of help you are. I just heard from your sister. As far as I can
tell, she’s in an old deserted winery outside Naples. Jackie told
me about it, so maybe you’ll know which one I mean. Sure hope so,
’cause I’m not waiting around. I’m heading up there right now to
have a look-see. Hope to see you soon—like really soon.”

Okay, so now she’d officially gone into
too-stupid-to-live territory, but who the hell knew where Alex was
or how long he’d be. She swallowed the lump in her throat. It was
their first solid lead, and she couldn’t just sit around and
wait.

She turned on the ignition and whipped the
car around.

High Road, here I come.

~~*~~

The High Road was a picturesque twisting
two-lane road with the hills on one side and glimpses of the lake
far below. The air was clear, and even with the AC on full blast,
the interior of her ancient Corolla was definitely on the warm
side. Might as well roll down the window and breathe fresh air
instead.

While she drove, she considered her options
as well as her chances of finding the right old winery. It couldn’t
be Widmer’s because, while it was closing, it wasn’t deserted by
any means. If she remembered Jackie’s quick Canandaigua history
lessons correctly, there was at least one other winery which had
stopped production back in the early nineties.

She reduced her speed and peered over the
steering wheel for a sign of the little-used road. There it was.
She braked and turned into the road. Make that more like a
double-rutted track.

Damn. Bringing the vehicle to a stop, she
banged the steering wheel in frustration. Maybe this wasn’t the
right road after all. A weathered wood gate barred her from further
progress. The canopy of trees was densely grown and shut out the
sun, but it seemed as if there was a clearing ahead. What could it
hurt to check it out?

She got out of the car and released Shadow
from her crate. “Come on. Let’s see what we can find. Alex ought to
show up sooner or later.” Sooner preferred.

She eased her way through the gate, and the
dog followed. They hadn’t gone more than a few yards when a
crawling sensation inched its way up her neck. Someone was
watching.

Shadow yipped as the leash was ripped from
Bette’s hand and a strong arm wrapped around her neck. She clawed
at a hairy forearm and gasped for air. He dragged her backward. Her
feet scrabbled for purchase, but her efforts were wasted. And there
wasn’t a soul in sight to help her.

His grip on her neck tightened until her
vision grew fuzzy and Shadow’s barking grew dim.

Then, nothing.

~~*~~

Alex emerged from his long solo shower,
drying his head with a thick towel. The bedroom was empty. He
wandered into her sitting room. Ditto. Where the hell was
Bette?

Maybe she’d taken the dog out? He glanced
around the room and spied a piece of paper propped against a can of
Diet Coke. “Dammit!” What was she thinking, going out alone? Bad
enough he was falling under her spell, but he couldn’t even take a
shower without her running off to get into trouble. Straighten up
the office—right. She wanted to get away…from him.

Just as well. Every time they made love, they
grew closer. She felt so right in his arms. But their being
together wasn’t going to work in any shape or form.

He shook away the memories of their
lovemaking. He tried calling her cell. Busy. Okay, time to get his
ass in gear. He redressed and raced for his rental car, cursing the
fate that put them in the same town.

Five minutes later, he reached the vet’s
office, but Bette’s car wasn’t in the lot.
Dammit
. He picked
up his cell phone to call her again and give her a piece of his
mind, but found she’d already left him a voice mail.
Double
dammit
. Might as well listen and hear what she had to say for
herself. Her message—talk about a good news and bad news situation.
Elation that she’d heard from his sister—such as it was. And Bette
was on her way to the rescue.

Damn!

But did she use her head and wait for him?
No, she and that dog had likely headed off on what at best was a
wild-goose chase. The worst-case scenario didn’t bear thinking
about.

Before he could turn around and head for
Naples, his cell phone rang.

About damned time she called. But no, it
wasn’t Bette. In fact, he didn’t recognize the number. Possibly, it
was one of his feelers calling back. “What?”

“I have them,” the voice said in a raspy
whisper.

“Them?” Alex’s mind raced while he strained
to hear the caller’s voice. Maybe he could determine the sex or an
accent. But no way to tell either from a whisper.

“All three of ’em.”

Three
? Bette too? The kidnapper had
Bette? Was that how the kidnapper knew Alex’s cell number? Somehow
he had to get the call triangulated.

“Did you
hear
what I said?”

“Yes, I heard. What do you want? How
much?”

“We have to meet, but only after I’m certain
you aren’t being followed.”

“I have to know how much. I’m not rich. It’ll
take time to pull the money together.”

“One million each. Your sister. Your nephew.
And your girlfriend.”

“That’s a hell of a lot of money. See here,
dude, I’m a low-level federal employee, and I don’t have anything
like that.”

“From what I hear, your sister’s husband has
plenty stashed away in offshore accounts. Surely, he wants his son
back, even if he doesn’t care about the others. It’s a package
deal. Three mil for three people
you
hold dear. I’ll call
again.”

“No! Wait—”

The connection went dead.

“Dammit!” He pounded his fist on the steering
wheel. All right. No choice but to call in the Bureau. No way could
he come up with three million dollars at the drop of a hat. He
needed surveillance equipment. His phone—they could triangulate the
call.

He made four calls. One to Spitz. One to the
retired Detective Ross who, according to his daughter-in-law, was
out of town. One to the Buffalo field office. And finally one to
the home office in Chicago. A ransom demand called for manpower. No
way could he muddle through this on his own.

It was clear the kidnapper was escalating.
He’d taken three people. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Three people
Alex cared about were in the hands of someone. Someone who harbored
a personal grudge? Someone here in the town he’d avoided for at
least the last ten years. Why? Who could he have pissed off so
badly they found it necessary to kidnap everyone he loved?

Loved? His sister and little Cody were a
given.

And Bette
. Yes, he loved her, in spite
of her prickly temper, love of all things canine and questionable
family connections.

Screw it all. It didn’t make sense. None of
it. Maybe
he
was the one the kidnapper wanted. Maybe Jackie,
Cody, and Bette were just bait, which begged the question: if they
were bait, were they dispensable?

Bigger question: was it possible they were
already dead?

Who could hate him this much? Could it
possibly be the same person responsible for killing his
brother?

~~*~~

Dark. Bette opened her eyes and still
couldn’t see a damned thing. Something rough and scratchy rubbed
against her cheek. Her head pounded like Big Ben was striking
twelve.

Movement. Lying on her side, she was jostled
as if the vehicle was being driven over a rough road. The smell of
rubber and oil. Must be in the trunk. Okay, where was the trunk
release? All modern cars were supposed to have them. If she could
just see. She tried rubbing her head against the trunk floor.
Anything to get the hood off. Hands tied behind her. Okay, if she
could just get her legs to move, maybe she could kick out one of
the tail lights. Someone might see she was being held prisoner in
the trunk.

A
prisoner
. The sickening truth sank
in, and she had to swallow back the urge to throw up. Every woman’s
worst horror was being kidnapped. Kidnapped by some rapist who
would torture and kill her and leave her body for insects and
animals to snack on. And where was Shadow? Had the bastard just
left the little dog to run loose and get lost in the woods?

She’d watched too many of those forensics and
true crime shows. Her heart pounded and raced, drowning out Big
Ben. Could this get any worse?

Of course it could. The vehicle slowed and
stopped. Then moved forward after about a fifteen second pause.
Waiting for an automatic gate to open? She counted the time
intervals, trying to determine distance. Another thirty seconds and
the vehicle shuddered to a stop. The driver’s door opened with the
slightest of sounds, then the crunch, crunch of his slow footsteps
in the dry brush. Taking his time, was he? Must be secure in his
surroundings. Okay, better make the most of her ears, since she
couldn’t see a damned thing.

The trunk opened. She sucked in a breath of
fresh air. Filtered by the hood, the smell of pine and cedar filled
her nostrils. Sounds of birds. Insects buzzing. A dog barking. Not
Shadow. No, a big one, by the sound of it. Still in the woods. That
figured. Fewer witnesses to whatever horror was about to take
place.

Her
horror. Oh, God.

Before she could roll on her back and kick
whatever body part she could, he scooped her up like a sack of
potatoes and slung her over his shoulder. He was damned strong, and
he strode calmly to wherever the hell he was taking her.

Her hell. Oh, God. Alex, where are you?

She wiggled and pounded his thick-muscled
back with her fists, but nothing deterred him. Swallowing her fear,
she found her voice. “You won’t get away with this. He’ll find you,
and you’ll spend the rest of your life in prison.”

He didn’t respond. Likely he recognized her
threat as a vain one.
If
Alex ever found him. Big word,
“if.”
If
Alex noticed she was missing. Of course, he would.
She was supposed to call him on the hour. How long had it been
since she’d been grabbed?