Page 72 of Unraveled

The cop eyed him shrewdly. “We’re examining each lead, and we’ll do our best⁠—”

Carter was already shaking his head. Sometimes the best just wasn’t good enough. The police were bound by policy and red tape—but he wasn’t. “I’m telling you—he has her. He’s⁠—”

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he met the detective’s steely gaze. “Can I get that?”

The officer dipped his chin, and Carter slowly reached back to retrieve it. Knox’s name flashed on the screen, and hope flared in his chest as he swiped his thumb over the screen. “News?”

“Police are checking his house now, as well as the home where Lucy had been staying. Taylor also found an old trailer registered to Peter Raines—Nate’s paternal grandfather.”

They would search the obvious places first, the places Nate frequented. They couldn’t waste time running off to check every little thing with no evidence.

“Where?” The officer rattled off the location, and Carter’s gut twisted even as he prayed he was wrong. It was an isolated area, private and secluded—perfect to carry out a murder. “I’ll meet you there.”

He hung up with Knox the same time the detective’s phone rang. “Am I free to go?”

The officer held the phone away from his ear as he spoke to Carter. “We’ll be in contact if we need anything.”

Carter left the building at a dead run before the officer had finished speaking. They were going to find her one way or the other. He just prayed it wouldn’t be too late.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-EIGHT

Audrey watched with an odd sense of detachment as Nate slowly rounded the metal table, tears burning in her eyes. She saw every movement, but she couldn’t move, couldn’t fight back. Her eyes remained frozen open, the paralytic rendering her muscles completely useless. They had barely made it inside before he injected the neuromuscular blocking agent into her system, and she had gone limp within seconds. She prayed that, like the drug he had used to knock her out at the clinic, it would wear off quickly. She was still slightly disoriented but fully aware of the pain coursing through her body.

She could still feel the tiny bits of gravel scraping over her back and sides from when he had dragged her from the car, across the overgrown drive, and up the stairs of the small porch. She had felt each jolt as her back and head collided with the steps, unable to scream through the tape covering her mouth. He had used the same medical tape to bind her wrists and ankles, hampering her ability to fight back. Every inch of her ached, and she couldn’t even shift her weight to alleviate the worst of it.

As soon as the paralytic had kicked in, Nate had ripped the tape from her mouth and cut her hands and feet free. He wasn’t a big man, and he had nearly knocked her out trying to get her up onto the table. She almost wished he would have, knowing what was coming next.

Her head lolled to the side like a broken doll’s, her limbs just as limp and useless. From her vantage point, she had a view of what must have been the kitchen. The trailer was small and appeared to have been gutted of everything, save the stainless steel table and a variety of instruments scattered across the cracked yellow Formica countertop.

She felt the restraints snap into place around her wrists, then her feet as he moved to the end of the table. Out of her range of sight, she heard Nate rustling around behind her. Her heart nearly stopped when he turned back, scalpel in hand. She couldn’t tear her eyes away as he lowered it to her chest, bracing for the pain.

Was he going to kill her now? She hoped he would make it quick instead of dragging it out, but she knew better. If he had wanted to kill her right away, he would have done so back at the VA. Instead, he had drugged her, restrained her so she couldn’t fight back but would still be aware of everything around her.

The sound of ripping fabric filled her ears, and her vision blurred with tears as cool air washed over her. She wanted to be brave, but fear stole into her heart, taking over. She hated him for that.

He leaned forward and swiped up a tear trailing down her cheek. “What’s this?” He rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger, a cruel smile twisting his mouth. “You called me a coward. Remember that, Audrey?” He chuckled softly. “Who’s the coward now?”

He paused, then stared down at her. “Have you ever loved someone so much that you’d do anything for them?” He let out a wistful little sigh. “I’d give anything to have my mother back.”

So that was what this was all about. She wished she could speak, but her tongue remained thick and unwieldy. She wanted to keep him talking, ask about his mother and her injuries, what he meant by doing anything to save her.

“She deserved the best, but I never would’ve been able to afford it. And my father didn’t care,” he replied bitterly. “Eli loved her, but in the end, he gave up on her, too. All she had was me. I had to take care of her.”

She took his words apart in her mind, reassembled them, put them back together. Finally, it clicked. Eli—Dr. Kellerman. Had he been involved, too, or was he just collateral damage? Had Nate killed him out of resentment because he had given up on Lucy ever healing?

“Do you have any idea how expensive those machines are?” He gave his head a little shake. “How do they expect people to pay for that? It’s like they don’t actually want patients to get better.”

He had been smuggling organs to… pay his mother’s medical bills? The irony was not lost on her, and it made her ill all over again.

“Everything was perfect—until you came along.” He rested one hand on the table and leaned further over her. “No one suspected a thing, exactly the way it was supposed to be. Of all people, you had to be the one to find that body.” He gave a rueful shake of his head. “And what were the odds of you coming to work at the VA?”

“Thank God you suspected Eli first.” He laughed. “Such a smart girl. But I’m always one step ahead, Audrey. You want to know a secret?”

She wanted to shake her head, terrified of the answer. He leaned so close that his nose almost brushed hers, his voice dropping several octaves. “I like it.”

Those icy eyes met hers. “Do you know how hard it is to do all that work by yourself? Harvesting the organs and transporting them in a timely manner? Then having to get rid of the body without anyone finding it or seeing you in the process?”