Page 78 of Lay Down the Law

“I’ve been calling your apartment every five minutes for the last half hour, Officer McNeal.”

A sane person would have frozen in fear at the sound of Vic DiCarlo’s voice. Erin wasn’t feeling particularly sane.

Satisfaction rolled slowly through her that he’d done something so predictable. Thinking fast, she pressed the record button of her answering machine. “I’ve been busy,” she said levelly. “You’ve got something I want.”

“Ah, you don’t disappoint me. I appreciate a woman who likes to get down to business quickly.”

The cold ruthlessness in his voice made her break into a sweat. “Where’s the little girl?” she asked curtly.

“I’ve been taking good care of her. I have a soft spot for children, you know.”

Erin closed her eyes against the sudden rush of heat behind her lids. She tried not to imagine how frightened Stephanie must be. How helpless she must feel not being able to walk or run away from the bad man. Erin’s police training told her to keep this impersonal. To keep her emotions out of the situation. But the part of her that was a woman and loved that child, the part of her that loved Nick, cried out with pain and fear and outrage. “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you,” she said.

“We both know I’m not interested in this child. I am, however, very interested in you.”

She gripped the phone, her heart thundering. “What do you want?”

“I want you in exchange for the child, of course.”

“I’m listening.”

“There’s a deserted grain elevator on Highway 59 about ten miles south of Logan Falls.”

She looked at her watch. “I can be there in ten minutes.”

“A word of warning, Officer McNeal. Come alone. If you call the police, if you contact anyone, including that police chief of yours, I won’t hesitate to kill this child.”

Bile rose in her throat, but she choked it down. Her hands shook so violently that for a moment she thought she would drop the phone. Oh, God, please don’t let him hurt her. “I’ll come alone,” she said.

The line disconnected.

* * *

Nick paced the confines of the police station lobby like a caged beast. Terror and frustration rampaged through him. Something darker hovered just beneath the surface. The thought of his sweet, innocent child frightened and alone twisted like a knife in his gut. The thought of losing her—

He broke off the thought with ruthless precision. He wouldn’t think of losing her. He wouldn’t let that happen. He would die before letting her down again.

The phone shrilled. He snatched it up, cutting the ring short. “Ryan.”

“It’s Frank. I’m en route. Any news?”

“No.” The quality of the connection told him Frank was on his cellular. Nick had called him on his way from the motel to the police station and briefed him on the situation.

“If I can hold it at eighty without getting stopped by the Indiana Highway Patrol, I should be there in an hour. Have you contacted the FBI?”

Nick glanced at his watch, realizing with a stark sense of despair it had only been five minutes since he’d hung up with the Chicago FBI office. “They’re sending a team.”

“What about Erin?”

Nick had sworn he wouldn’t think about her. He didn’t want to think about her. Didn’t want to dig his emotional hole any deeper than it already was. But the simple utterance of her name was all it took to bring the image of her to the forefront of his mind. Make him remember the way she’d looked at him when they’d made love, when she’d been open and vulnerable beneath him, her eyes as soft as a Midwest sunset. He didn’t like the feelings roiling in his chest. They were too close to something real and terrifying he didn’t want to face. They made him realize he was in miles over his head and floundering helplessly to save himself.

God help him, he hadn’t wanted to fall in love with her.

“She’s at the Pioneer Motel.” Nick’s voice was hoarse.

“Good. Keep her there.” The other man paused. “How are you holding up?”

“If DiCarlo hurts Steph, I’m going to kill him, Frank. I swear, I’ll kill him.”