Out Of Control (33 page)

She
shook her head. Gaylen had appeared with a glass of water and handed it to her.
Her hands were shaking so badly she almost spilled it.

“Gaby
called me last night. She was scared to death. I tried to tell her she didn’t
have anything to worry about.” Grace paused, took a deep breath and let it out
slowly, making an obvious effort to keep herself together. “She’s so much older
than Leanne and Shannon that I didn’t even think of her as a target. But she
looks a lot younger.” She raised her eyes to Cole’s. “Do you think he’s killing
them based on age? Shannon was older than Leanne, and Gaby a lot older than
Shannon.”

An
unpleasant thought tried to work its way through Cole’s brain, but he couldn’t
quite make it come to life. “What else, Grace?”

“She
was scared. She wanted to leave town until this maniac is caught, but Stacy
talked her into spending the night with them. I said she could move in with me
for a while, but I thought she was seeing bogeymen in the closet.” She set the
glass on the table and dropped her head into her hands. “Oh, God. What have I
done?”

“Grace?”
Cole prodded. “How did Stacy know she’s missing?”

“Gaby’s
boss, Manny Sandoval, called her. He didn’t get to the office until almost
noon. Gaby’s car was in the parking lot, but she wasn’t in her office. The
dizzy receptionist said she hadn’t seen her and didn’t know anything about her
car. Manny called Stacy and she called here. Oh, Cole. I just know he’s got
her.”

Cole
looked at Nita. “Can you take care of her?”

“Of
course. Do what you have to.”

Cole
introduced his chief deputy to Scott. “Gaylen’s been here longer than anyone,”
he said. “Including me.”

“Where
do we start?” Gaylen asked.

“First,
I need to call my boss,” Scott said, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. “Tell
him what’s happened and see what he can do to speed things up at Quantico.”

Cole
clenched his jaw, using every bit of self-discipline to keep himself under
control. “Gaylen, how many deputies can we get here right now?”

The
answer was immediate. “Fifteen. Not counting you and me.”

“And
me,” Scott put in. “As soon as I make my call. Give me a map and I can go
anywhere. And I’m sure Clark will send in more troops.”

“Okay.”
Cole looked back at Gaylen. “Get everyone on the horn right now. Start
searching the area around Gaby’s house. This guy has left the bodies in
convenient places, so we need to cover the area sector by sector.”

“I’ll
get it done.” Gaylen had already picked up the dispatch microphone to send out
a message to everyone on the road.

Scott
looked up at Cole. “You’d better call Dana Moretti and let her know what’s
happened. There’s a possibility this guy is escalating. If there’s any chance she’s
next on his list, she needs to be warned.”

“Right,
right. Okay. Give me a few minutes and we’ll get started.”

Cole
closed the door to his office and sat down behind his desk, taking a moment to
pull himself together before pulling out his cell phone. He’d set it on vibrate
when he returned to the office so he wouldn’t be interrupted, but now he saw
Dana had tried calling him. He listened to the message then pressed the button
to return the call.

“Oh,
good. You got my message.” Her voice was breathless, touched with suppressed
excitement.

“Yeah.
Just now. Sorry, darlin’. I turned it off while I was in with Scott and Nita and
just now turned it back on. Listen, Dana—”

“I
wanted to tell you about the meeting Ivy set up for me. Cole, I have some
information that I think is very important.”

“Can
you hold on with that for a minute?” He forced a calm into his voice he didn’t
feel. “Right now you need to know there’s been another abduction. Gaby Marquez.
Twenty-six years old.”

“What?
But that’s way beyond his age preference.”

“Yeah,
except for one thing. Scott Clayton agrees that your appearance here opening
the old cases might have been the trigger. If so, you could very well be his
ultimate target and he’s working his way up to you in steps.”

“Oh,
God.” Silence hummed across the connection for seconds.

“I’m
worried about you. You’re at my place, right?”

“Yes.
I said I’d come back here.”

“I
want you to stay there until this madman is caught. If you need anything from
your house, I’ll get it for you.”

“Okay.”

There
was a long pause and he wondered if she’d just hung up. When she spoke again,
her voice sounded small and shaky. “I have something to tell you, Cole. And not
just what came out of this morning’s meeting. I…know how busy you are, but I
don’t want to tell you this over the phone.”

His
heart thudded. Was she finally going to tell him her secret? “Can it wait,
darlin’? We’ve got every available resource including me on this search for
Gaby.”

“Please,
Cole? I know how urgent Gaby’s situation is, but this, um, may help you.”

If
he knew anything, it was that with her background, she wouldn’t ask this of
him, in this situation, unless it was really urgent.

He
raked his fingers through his hair. Gaylen would just have to take over for a
bit. “Okay. I’ll leave right now. And Dana?”

“Yes?”

“Do
not let anyone in but me.”

“But
Cole, this is
your
place. No one’s going to come after me here.”

“Humor
me, okay? I’ll call you as soon as I turn into the driveway.”

“Okay.
Hurry.”

Chapter
Thirty

He
could tell his victim had been fighting to get free while he was gone. Her
wrists were raw and bloody where she’d been pulling against the ropes. Tears
streaked her face. He leaned down and licked them off. He loved their tears.
They were better than the sweetest candy.

She
tried to pull her face away, but he clamped his hand around her jaw.

“Don’t
do that, or I’ll have to punish you. Yes, I know you’re a good girl. That’s
your appeal. That’s why I chose you. And why I’m going to enjoy it so much.”

And
then he began the song in a high-pitched voice.

“There
was a little girl, who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead…”

Behind
the tape, she screamed into the silence.

Chapter
Thirty-One

“Nita
called Grace’s husband to tell him she’d be bringing his wife home,” Gaylen
said as Cole made his way to the front door. “She explained the situation to
him.”

“Tell
her thanks.”

“I
also made more copies of the maps we used the other day when we searched for
Shannon,” he went on. “Same sectors and all, and handed them out to the
deputies. But we’re starting close to her home.”

Scott
was sitting at one of the desks in the bullpen, cell phone to his ear. “That
was Clark,” he said when he disconnected the call. “He’s sending more manpower.”

“I
appreciate it. Can you guys hold the fort for a few? I have a quick errand to
run, but I won’t be gone long.”

“It
must be urgent to pull you away now,” Scott commented.

“It
is,” he growled. “Trust me.”

He
floored it on the way to his place, and in the driveway, he called Dana from
his cell. “It’s me. Look out the window. Then you can open the door.”

She
was standing just inside, holding her hands together, but she couldn’t hide the
trembling. He pulled her into his arms and she folded into them, letting him
wrap himself around her. Tremors racked her entire body. She was coming
unglued, falling apart before his eyes, and he ached so badly for her. If only
he could take all the pain for her himself.

After
a while, he lifted her in his arms and carried her into the living room,
sitting her down on the couch. “I think a shot of whiskey is called for again.”

When
he brought it back to the living room, he set it on the side table, picked Dana
up, and sat down with her in his lap. Then he held the glass to her lips.

“Drink.
Not too fast, but get it all down.”

“A-are
you trying to get me drunk?” She tried to force a grin.

“Darlin’,
when I’m trying to get you drunk, you’ll know about it. Now start sipping.”

It
took a while, but she finally got most of it down. By the time she finished,
she’d stopped shaking and he settled her on his lap again, one hand stroking
her arm.

At
last, she straightened up and looked at him. “I should have told you this
before now.” She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. “If I hadn’t
waited this long, maybe you wouldn’t be out looking for Gaby Marquez. And maybe
Leanne and Shannon wouldn’t be in the morgue.”

“No
excuses, darlin’. I’m sure you had a good reason for holding back.”

“Only
my own screwed up mind.” She let out a breath. “I’ve buried this deep inside me
for so long, but it’s past time for me to do this. The monster’s loose again.
And you need everything you can get to catch him.”

“Dana?”
He tilted her face up to his and kissed her softly, gently. “Whatever it is, it’s
okay. Understand that.”

She
dropped her gaze to her lap. “I can’t look at you when I tell you this. Can you
just…hold me?”

“For
as long as you want. Forever.” He tightened his arms around her.

“You
might not feel that way when you hear what I have to say. Please, please,
please try not to hate me for not telling you before.”

“I
couldn’t possibly hate you for anything.” He kissed the top of her head, his
hand still stroking her arm.

She
was still shaking, and he had no idea how to calm her except to cradle her
against him and stroke her body, hoping his touch reassured her. His fingers
sifted idly through the corn silk of her hair before his hand lowered again, following
the line of her rich curves, so unexpected on such a slender body.

She
took a deep breath. “The first thing I have to tell you is my real name isn’t
Dana Moretti. It’s Carrie Nolan. I’m sure you recognize it.”

Cole
did his best to hide the shock he felt, but he saw the realization in Dana’s
eyes that he knew all too well who Carrie was. Their hazel was now more green,
the thick lashes unable to hide the pain that still lived inside her. He’d
suspected the truth, but hearing it out loud was another matter. He knew it was
important to maintain a reassuring presence for her, but it took every bit of
his self-control to do it.

The
story she launched into chilled him to the bone. It took a long time, because once
she started, every detail she’d kept tucked away in her secret places came
spilling out. As she described what happened in the barn, Cole was afraid he
might be sick. He was shocked to his very soul, agonizing for Dana at the
nightmare she’d endured. For the first time in his life, he knew what it was like
to actually want to murder someone.

But
he forced himself to push his emotions aside. This wasn’t about him. This was
about Dana. So he let her talk, and he held her and rocked her and soothed her
until, at last, she got it all out. Every detail. Every impression of the man.
Things she’d probably buried all this time.

“Jesus,”
he breathed. “No wonder you’ve been afraid of men. And sex.”

“I’ve
never been able to really talk about it in detail with anyone.” She had a
slight catch in her voice, and silent tears ran down her cheeks. “Not even the multitude
of therapists I’ve seen since it happened. It’s like there were certain things
I was too ashamed for anyone to know about me.”

“Ashamed?”
His square jaw tensed. A muscle ticked in his cheek. “Why the hell would you be
ashamed? You did nothing wrong.”

In
a small voice, she said, “I didn’t save my sister.”

Silently,
Cole cursed the pedophile, calling him every vile name he could think of.
Swearing at the damage he’d done to an innocent child. Many innocent children.

“It
wasn’t your fault, Dana. You have to believe that. For myself, I’m damn glad
you survived so you could come into my life.” He kissed the top of her head. “Very
glad.”

She
chewed her bottom lip. “I’ve had the strangest feeling since the first day I
got here. Cole, I think he’s here and he’s seen me. Recognized me. It’s been
like he’s watching me, waiting for something. As if he was finally going to
finish me off after all these years. That’s why that thing at my house freaked
me out so much.”

“I’m
pretty damn sure this bastard never thought Carrie Nolan would ever come back
here. Seeing you must have scared him shitless.” He brushed her hair back from
her face. “He’s wondering when you’ll look at him and make the connection.”