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“Thank you so much. ” Liam ended the call, then whirled on Hammer. “What were you doing, threatening the only man who can help us? Keep your head screwed on straight. ” Then Liam shoved the paper in his direction. “The cabbie dropped her here. Where is this?”
Bringing up a map of the city, Hammer nearly choked when he spied the familiar cross streets.
“Motherfucker!” he roared, jumping to his feet. His entire body trembled as he turned to face his friend. “It looks like she’s gone back home. ”
Liam blanched. “Where she lived with her father?”
“No, but close. A drugstore near her old neighborhood. ” Hammer’s blood ran cold. He shoved the desk chair away and marched to the safe in his office, withdrawing an envelope. He turned to find Liam standing there. “We’ll start searching there. On the way, you can tell me exactly what you said to Raine when you removed her collar. It might give me some clue where she’d have run. ” He pulled his keys from his pocket, anxious to follow her trail.
“Don’t order me about like I’m one of your bloody subs. ”
“I’m going out of my fucking head, in case you haven’t noticed. ” Hammer raked a hand through his hair. “We’ve got to find her. ”
“Then let’s go. ”
They raced to Hammer’s car. When Liam slid into the seat next to him, he peeled out of Shadows’ parking lot.
As he watched the busy traffic crawling down the road, Liam buckled up. “Over the past week, Raine has crawled deeper into her shell. Even on a good day, she didn’t communicate, she isn’t honest, and she doesn’t trust. None of that is news to you. ”
“No,” Hammer admitted.
“I’ve tried ‘modifying’ her behavior in every way you can think of. I’ve punished and rewarded. I’ve coaxed. I’ve praised. I’ve demanded and expressed my disappointment. Nothing. ”
All that? Then again, Liam had never been less than thorough. Why would he have started slacking with Raine? He wouldn’t. In fact, as devoted as Liam seemed, he would have tried even harder than usual to reach the girl. And if Raine was truly giving that little… Hammer wondered if he wouldn’t have released her, too.
“Are you saying she’s more shut down than either of us realized?”
“Now you’re getting it. ” Liam leaned back against the seat, looking exhausted. “I made it crystal clear that I wasn’t giving up on her, that I would be there for her. She didn’t listen to me. ”
“All she heard is that you didn’t want her,” Hammer confirmed.
“Of course I want her. I tried to show her how much. Just because I’d released her didn’t mean I’d stopped caring or stopped protecting her. ”
Who the hell was protecting her now? Hammer’s inner voice screamed that he needed to go faster. Hot and urgent, his thoughts raced as he tried to focus on the road. But terror clawed—an ominous déjà vu—back to when Liam had taken Raine from Shadows and sequestered her far away. While he’d nearly lost his mind then, there’d been comfort in the fact that Liam was caring for her. She’d been safe. But now…
“Raine is out there alone, upset, feeling unworthy and unwanted by both of us. I hope to fuck she doesn’t do something impulsive, like visit her father. Bill might be an old bastard, but he’s still mean. ”
“Why would she go anywhere near her father? That makes no sense. ” Liam rubbed the back of his neck.
“It does and it doesn’t. Raine will eventually realize that she needs to confront her past. Then it wouldn’t surprise me if she paid daddy a visit. But I hope I’m wrong. ”
Ten long minutes later, Hammer pulled into the parking lot of the drugstore. The two men hurried inside and approached the young cashier. Her nametag read TONYA. The need to find Raine and hold her in his arms rode Hammer hard.
“Excuse me, lass,” Liam whispered in a buttery soft lilt. He’d used this verbal seduction on women for years. “Might I have a wee minute of your time?”
“Sure,” the young woman sighed with wide eyes and pink cheeks. She looked awestruck.
In unison, Hammer and Liam whipped out their phones, flashing the cashier different photos of Raine. Both turned to scowl at the other.
“Have you seen this woman today?” Liam asked.
Tonya stood nervously, nodding. But she didn’t speak.
Fucking hell. Hammer reached for anything resembling patience. “So she was here?”
The blonde with the heavy black eyeliner and nose stud jerked her head in his direction, apprehension flashing in her pale eyes. She nodded again.
He’d had enough of her goddamn bobblehead bullshit. “How long ago? What did she buy? What direction did she go when she left? Was she with anyone, girl? Tell me now!”
“Hammer,” Liam growled and shoved him to the side. “As you can tell, it’s rather important we find this woman. Can you tell me anything about her?”
Tonya twirled her finger around a chunk of pink hair streaked through her platinum tresses. After what seemed like an interminable lifetime, the young woman stammered, “She, um, b-bought a bottle of tequila. About twenty minutes ago. ”
Hammer looked at his watch. It was almost eleven. Raine was either planning on getting shit-faced drunk or she’d bought the bottle to ply her father with so he wouldn’t put up a fight when she confronted him. Or killed him. Hammer’s blood ran cold. He wished to hell he knew where Raine’s head was at, along with the rest of her hot little body.
“Did you happen to see which direction she left in, lass? Catch a glimpse of a car or taxi cab, perhaps?” Liam urged, turning on his Irish charm.
“I…I don’t know where she went. She wasn’t with anyone, just carrying a suitcase and looking sad. ” Tonya cast her eyes toward the floor. “I’m sorry I can’t be more help to you. ”
Hammer let out a heavy sigh. Damn it, the girl standing before him screamed “submissive. ” He shouldn’t have been so harsh. “You’ve done well. ”
Liam reached beneath her chin and tipped her head up, then gave her a warm smile. “Thank you. You’ve been very helpful, indeed. ”
As they raced outside the drugstore, both men scoured the streets in either direction, looking for Raine—a hotel, a bar, a restaurant, anything that might have snagged her attention. He saw all of the above and more.
“She could be anywhere. ” Liam gave voice to his concern.
Hammer pulled out his mobile again. “Raine’s phone is still off. ” He pressed a few more buttons. “No activity on her bank account. ”
“How much money does she have saved?” Liam asked. “Can’t be much. God knows, she likes her shoes and bags and frilly things well enough. ”
“A few hundred bucks,” Hammer said grimly. “She’s got no head for money. I took care of her expenses for the most part. I’ve had a bad habit of indulging her because I knew she did without so much as a child. ”
Liam’s blistering glare said he hadn’t known. “We’ll discuss that later. ”
Whatever. Hammer didn’t intend to budge. If he wanted to buy Raine something pretty, he would. “Do you think she left in the taxi again?”
“The supervisor said the driver dropped her here and left. Though I suppose she could have called for another one. ”
“But how? She hasn’t turned on her phone. ”
“And Tonya didn’t say that Raine made any phone calls from the store. I don’t see a payphone. ” Liam double-checked with a glance, but shook his head.
“Then let’s go. She wouldn’t stay here. There’s no reason. She’d have a suitcase in her hand. It’s probably heavy. So is the bottle of tequila. She couldn’t carry them for long. ”
“Right. And she wouldn’t stay on the street. ” Liam frowned and reached for his phone, too. “Is there a bus terminal nearby? Or someplace to stash the suitcase?”
Hammer shook his head. “We’re getting close to suburbia out here. Our best bet is looking for her at a restaurant or motel. ”
“She
didn’t eat breakfast. Or much dinner last night. ” Clearly, that worried Liam. “She’s got to be hungry. ”
“We’ll get back in the car and drive around. We can cover more ground that way. We’ll stop at all the restaurants and ask a few questions. Maybe we’ll get lucky. ”
They cruised up and down the road once, then peeked into fast food joints, a mini-mart, even roamed the inside of a pancake house. Not a damn thing. Minutes slid into an hour. Where the fuck could she have gone on foot?
“Does the city bus come out this far?” Liam asked, obviously wondering the same thing.
“I don’t think so. We haven’t seen one since we’ve been here. Let’s stop and think. ” Hammer raked a hand through his hair as he jogged back to his Audi. “She’d want somewhere to set down her suitcase. I’m betting she’s got plans for that bottle of booze. ”
“Is there a park nearby?”
“Yes, but she could get arrested for drinking in public. If she’s the one drinking the tequila, she’s going to want to do it in private. But if it’s not for her…”
“Who else would it be for?” Liam prompted, following him.
“Her father. He’s a drunk from way back. If she wanted answers, bribing him with tequila would be one way to get them. Son of a bitch,” Hammer snarled as he pulled the car back onto the main drag. “I hate to say it, but we should pay a visit to dear old dad. ”
“Then let’s go. ”
Hammer took off, gripping the steering wheel. “I need to prepare you for what you’re about to see. ” Raine’s childhood home was the last hellhole he wanted to visit, but if she was there, she needed him… needed them both, to rescue her. “Ol’ Bill is a crafty son of a bitch. If Raine went there, there’s no telling what he’s done to her. And if he’s laid a finger on her again, he’s a dead man. I trust you’ll help me bury the fucking body. ”
“That bad?” Liam scowled.
Hammer reached into the glove box and handed Liam the manila envelope he’d retrieved from his safe earlier. “See for yourself. ”
Chapter 8
Finally, Raine caught a break. It was Friday. The hospital wasn’t a large one, and Beck practiced in more than one location. But she remembered a passing conversation with him about the fact that he’d begun to office here on Fridays. Granted, he might be in surgery, but a roomful of patients in his waiting room gave her hope otherwise.
After Raine introduced herself and pleaded with his office manager, the woman finally agreed to tell the good doctor that she was here.
Beck came barreling in three minutes later in a long white coat and a dress shirt, looking surprisingly respectable. He didn’t bother with preambles. “What’s wrong?”
The rest of the people in the waiting room stared. Even the office manager didn’t disguise her curiosity. She shouldn’t have barged in on him at work, Raine realized. He was diligent about keeping his professional and private lives separate.
“Sorry. My mistake. You’re busy. Will you just…call Hammer and Liam when you get a break and tell them I’m fine? I’m not in danger, and they don’t need to look for me. That’s it. ”
She turned for the door. Beck captured her arm in an unyielding grip, then he jerked her around. His face didn’t change much, but his eyes… That was the glare of a disapproving Dom. He didn’t say anything for a long moment, just let her feel his concern and displeasure.
“Stay here,” he growled.
With a few steps, he marched over to the woman behind the counter. “Cancel the rest of my appointments for the day. ”
Raine gasped. “Don’t do that. Please. ”
He ignored her. “Call Dr. Martin and tell him I’ve had something come up. See if he’ll take my emergencies. I’m off call. ”
“Right away, Dr. Beckman,” the woman said primly, then looked at Raine with unabashed interest.
Her eyes were probably still red. Her nose, too. She didn’t have on a shred of makeup. Her wardrobe was only suited to a couch potato in football season. And she was holding a brown paper bag that couldn’t be mistaken for anything except a bottle of booze. Horrifically embarrassed, Raine looked away.
“What would you like me to do about that consultation with the Mayo Clinic? It’s in less than five minutes,” the manager reminded. “You’ve already rescheduled on them twice. ”
Raine could see Beck biting back a curse. Then he stormed back to her. “Listen to me. On the first floor of the adjoining building, there’s a cafeteria. Wait there. Give me fifteen minutes. You came to me because you need something, clearly. I’ll help you. ” His stare sharpened as he grabbed her arm again. “Don’t. Leave. Or you’ll be sorry. ”
