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Boone’s forehead wrinkled and he lifted one shoulder. “Only what I’ve told you. Fitz said he saw the SUV drive up, they shot out his tires, then grabbed her. I’m afraid that’s all I’ve got.” He cupped Asher’s shoulder. “Now tell me what I don’t know.”
Asher dropped his head and exhaled slowly, trying to find the sane part of his brain. The one that didn’t want to tear the town apart looking for Remy. “We went and spoke with Lars’s sister, Christine Violi. She has had no contact with her brother. It’s pretty clear that she’s not comfortable with the fact that he’s involved with Joaquin King.”
“Smart woman,” Boone said, folding his arms.
Asher agreed with a nod. “Although they’re not close, she did indicate that the only reason Lars would be interested in Remy is because she’d done something that hurt his family.”
Boone lifted an eyebrow. “Any idea what that is?”
“Not a clue,” Asher said, beginning to pace the sidewalk. He kept feeling like he was one step behind this. Not a favorable position.
“If you ask me,” Rhett said, examining the skid marks that the SUV obviously left when it sped out, “there’s something we don’t know.” He placed one foot on the curb. “Remy’s got herself involved in something. Nothing about any of this makes sense. We know Lars met with King, and somehow that connection relates to Remy.”
Asher pondered. “It’s gotta be Fanning. That is the only connection here.”
“I’m not arguing with you,” Boone said with a knowing look. “But the only one who can help us understand that connection is Lars, and right now, he’s gone.”
“What happened to the tail we had on him?” Asher asked.
“He lost them,” Boone reported. “That call came in twenty minutes before Fitz radioed in.”
Asher moved to Remy’s car, leaned against it, and folded his arms. Pounding behind his eyes clouded his vision as he stared down at the very spot that someone wrapped their arms around her and yanked her into danger. “This doesn’t fucking make sense.” He rubbed his hands on his face, feeling the tension roll through him. “What in the hell does Violi want with her enough to abduct her?”
Rhett kicked at the curb. “You found nothing connecting Lars with the two King guys he met at that restaurant in Whitby Falls?”
Boone shook his head. “They’re two retired Navy SEALS who are now working for King, but beyond that, I couldn’t find a single link between them.”
“Perhaps Lars has hired them?” Asher offered.
“It’s possible,” Boone said.
“Yeah, it’s possible,” Rhett countered. “But what would Lars need protection from? Again, there’s a piece missing from all this.”
A sudden squeal of tires had Asher glancing down the road. For a heartbeat, Asher held his breath, hoping to hell it was Remy. Disappointment settled in a second later when he saw Kinsley driving her Jeep with Peyton in the passenger seat. They parked behind one of the cruisers and then came running to them.
“Did you find her?” Kinsley asked, her face ashen.
Boone shook his head. “Not yet.”
Kinsley dropped her head into her hands, her shoulders shaking with her cries. “I should have gone with her to the hardware store. I’ve done this.”
“You haven’t done anything,” Boone said, taking his sister into a hug. “No one is responsible for this but Lars.”
Peyton’s eyes watered. “What does this guy want with her?” she asked.
“Exactly what I want to fucking find out,” Asher growled, thrusting his hands through his hair. “I don’t even fucking know where to look for her.” The world spun a little and Asher squatted, leaning against her car. A thousand things flashed through his mind; terrible things of what Lars was doing to Remy. Having seen people at their very worst, it was impossible not to let his mind wander to dark places. “I can’t lose her.”
He wasn’t sure if he said that aloud or in his head, until Boone s
aid, “You won’t lose her. We’ve got every station from here to Portland looking for that SUV. Someone will see it.”
What if that call came in too late?
The world rocked beneath him, nothing seeming stable, everything crumbling around him. “I can’t lose her,” he repeated, the thought sending him falling into a dark pit he knew he’d never climb out of.
Kinsley suddenly squatted next to him and placed a warm, comforting arm around his shoulder. “What can we do to help?”
Asher shut his eyes. He was always the strong one. The comforting one for victims. He knew what to say to make everyone feel better. That’s what he did. That was his job. He felt lost now, spiraling out of control, with no answers for anyone.
